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Eva Luna: Magic Realism Eva Luna by Isabel Allende embodies magic realism. Magic realism is a perfect device in an oppressed environment such as Latin America, to express and voice opinions or use as a means of social change. Magic realism takes the harsh truth and everyday reality of society, wraps it in the silky evocative language of myth, magic and fantasy, thus creating a softened blurred boundary between reality and surreality. Through this blurred realm can the author interweave themes and create awareness of social and political injustice and unobtrusively challenge the oppressive views constructed by society. Magic realism in Eva Luna is evident and embellished through the structure and language of the narrative, the characterization, the contrasting environments, time and change, intertextuality, political / historical representation and context, and through themes such as death and remembrance, cultural identity, the use of storytelling and the union of opposites. The structure and language of Eva Luna creates the basis for magic realism. The figurative, evocative language and vivid imagery fabricates the magic and fantasy of everyday scenarios Eva lives through. The opening paragraph places us squarely in a world of magic created to displace ourselves from reality. The language allows the reader to magically see, hear, smell and even taste the world as the characters experience such senses. Like the language, the story line is that of magic and fairytales. The plot is set as a myth, beginning with a clear title and character name. The main character Eva has heroic father and mother figure, a miraculous conception, and goes on a journey of discovery, meeting friendly helpers with magical gifts. During this journey Eva undergoes a magical transformation from a domestic to a liberator, rescues her love, saves the prisoners and lives to tell the tale. The fairytale then ends with the expected ‘happy ending’ of love forever. But yet at the end, Eva suggests and admits that this is not so, that in reality love failed and that we ourselves construct reality in the image of our desires. This leaves the reader questioning and wondering whether the story Eva told of her experiences were in fact truth or the image of reality according to her desires. Eva Luna is filled with a myriad of characters all in some form impacting the development of Eva. This collaboration of characters presents to the reader conflicting and contrasting perspectives of values and ideals. Eva Luna is a female created by a female writer, in a text that shows women as they see themselves, not as men would see them. This offers a construction of both men and women, that does not support popular views, or expectations of genders based on stereotypes. Eva is a woman empowered by her experiences, her imagination, her gift of storytelling, her lineage, background and her sexuality and she uses these gifts to move and adapt to each character. Rolf Carle is Eva’s Masculine counterpart and lover. Eva and Rolf create the typical myth of two lovers thrown across two sides of the universe. Both must make their way to each other to become their complete self and gradually become whole. Huberto Naranjo is a brother figure to Eva and was once a lover. Despite his revolutionary ideas, never does Huberto allow revolution or change within his ideas of gender values and relations. This makes relationship with Eva impossible. Riad or also known as ‘The Turk’ is the father figure to Eva. He gives birth to a second Eva by taking her to Agua Santa where he gives her, emotional and financial support, freedom, proof of existence (identity) ability of reading and writing, guidance and eroticism. As Eva moves and adapts through the different characters she collects family. Madrina is her godmother, Elvira is her grandmother, Mimi is her sister, Huberto is her brother, Riad is her father figure and Rolf is her lover (Note all male figures are at some time lovers- reflects Eva’s attitude towards men).
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