Two Words

Belisa Crepusculario, the protagonist, is the principal vehicle through which Isabel Allende explores the transformative power of language and examines themes of self-determination and independence.

Belisa represents power and determination. She successfully overcomes adversity, achieves independence, and gains the power to define her own identity, as demonstrated by her ability to choose her own name.

Her fortuitous discovery of language provides an opportunity for self-determination, which she seizes. Her chosen profession as a storyteller, using words as currency, is the mechanism through which Allende demonstrates the power of language to shape destiny.

Belisa defies the stereotypical roles of women in Latin American literature; she is not dependent upon a man for her survival, and she forges a life for herself by using her mind. Her intellect, as evidenced by her gift with words, brings respect and allows her to gain mobility and agency, traveling unchaperoned from one town to another. Her reputation as a wordsmith is a catalyst for the change that the transformative speech she writes for the Colonel provokes.

As the sole female character around whom the narrative is shaped, Belisa represents feminine power and ascendency. Her gender, sexuality, and femininity are not bars to her success but sources of power.