Daughter of Fortune Essay | Critical Essay #3

Daughter of Fortune Critical Essay #3

Mayhew is a freelance writer. In this essay, Mayhew discusses the different interpretations of Isabel Allende's novel Daughter of Fortune.

Daughter of Fortune, Isabel Allende's ninth book, defies classification into a single type, or genre, of literature. Critical reviews of the novel, which was published originally in Barcelona, Spain, in 1998, offer up interpretations of Allende's work that focus on her apparent political views, the elements of magical realism in her work, and the aspects of her work that seem overtly feminist. None of these interpretations do justice to the story or to the complexity of the finished novel, which blends many elements together seamlessly to form a satisfying and complete whole.

The novel starts out by focusing on the early life and development of the female protagonist, Eliza Sommers. Eliza is a foundling who is left, shortly after her birth, in the garden of the house inhabited...
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