My Name Is Emilia del Valle

“The hotel had illusions of respectability; when they handed me the key, they proudly informed me that the mattresses were free of bedbugs.”

Here, Allende establishes the fact that the appearance of respectability is especially important in the 19th century. Everyone is expected to behave within the set standards for their race, class, and gender. Businesses, too, try to craft an image that they are respectable and meant for a respectable set of patrons.

“Being a woman is a serious inconvenience to success in general and particularly in a profession dominated by men.”

Emilia is rightfully frustrated throughout the novel when her gender interferes with her ability to do her work. She recognizes the double standard between women and men in the 19th century, pressing against it when she can. Her wry tone indicates that while she recognizes this issue and takes it seriously, she also understands its inherent irony.

“In his case, the world cared very little about his appearance. In my case, looks were of the utmost importance, even if we were headed into war.”

Eric Whelan can wear clothes again and again and appear less put together than his female counterpart. Emilia, as a woman, must consistently present herself neatly and cleanly to keep up with the set of standards for women at this time. Emilia finds this to be especially frustrating as they prepare to enter the chaos of war, when appearances should be the least of people’s concerns. The juxtaposition of these two sentences, which outline the expectations for two journalists who are only different in gender, starkly highlights the different standards applied to them.

“The rest of the population looked to have indigenous heritage but were often mestizo, mixing various races, or newly arrived immigrants with nothing to their name; they would do the heavy lifting and be sent to die in the war.”

One of the major themes of this novel is The Effects of War Across Social and Economic Classes, and this quote exemplifies how those in poverty often bear the brunt of a conflict. They are foot soldiers who carry out the political and martial aspirations of the wealthy leading class. The straightforward tone of the passage strips away any attempt to pretend that this is the case.

“There is no such thing as safety for anyone in war.”

The destruction in Chile from the war is total. So many are killed during and after the conflict, and Emilia herself is only just saved in time from being murdered. Emilia conveys the utter chaos as a way of showing that the costs of war are high and often indiscriminate.

“I read everything I could find, and spent the following days talking to people: waiters, street peddlers, and cart drivers, even some public functionaries that I caught in passing.”

Emilia draws on her childhood in the Mission District and her working-class background to her advantage as a journalist. She is approachable and genuinely cares about those she interviews, and this empathy allows her to get information that would otherwise remain a secret.

“He told me also of his years as a military surgeon, the battles he’d witnessed, and how history is written by the victorious; atrocities committed in the name of patriotism are often conveniently omitted.”

Emilia experiences the traumatic effects of war first-hand, and she has to live with what she has seen. By the end of the war, she is tired of hiding this suffering under the guise of human-interest stories, recognizing that a war in another country is only a passing fad for her readers. This quote highlights how war affects everyone, regardless of class or privilege, and how conventional morality is suspended.

“In war, there’s no honor or mercy, no one is ever right, Miss Emilia. Everyone behaves like bloodthirsty beasts.”

Emilia sees horrific things while covering the war in Chile. Her friend Rodolfo makes this statement before the violence begins, but Emilia sees it made manifest in the absolute terror and destruction wrought by both sides of the war.

“And I imagine they were tortured by the inevitable fear that they would never again set eyes on any of those things; all they would see was the black eye of a rifle or the gleam of a bloodied bayonet.”

Staying with the soldiers at the military encampment brings Emilia face-to-face with those who may soon lose their lives. Many, she comes to discover, are only there as a means of earning money, making their deaths even more heartbreaking.

“How had I reached this state? I had left San Francisco as a respectable journalist, packing an evening gown and a pair of fashionable hats without ever dreaming I would find myself in a filthy borrowed uniform in the middle of a battlefield thousands of miles from my home and family. I could die there, and my body would simply decompose alongside so many others at the bottom of a pit.”

Emilia transforms over the course of the novel from simply a reporter to a storyteller, developing the theme of Self-Discovery Through Travel and Storytelling. She grows to understand that everyone, including herself, has a story to tell. However, war also shows her that there is much senseless violence in the world and her decision to get up close to it also puts her at risk.

“As we advanced, I felt a wave of heat and fury rise up from my guts, a superhuman force came over me, a war cry formed in my throat, and I forgot all my doubts and fears as I became invincible, immortal, protected by some magical armor.”

Emilia finds a combination of fear and bravery in herself during battle, and she is lucky to emerge alive. She cares for those around her and wants to do justice to the canteen girls who have shared so many of their stories with her. Their bravery inspires her to move forward.

“I had never seen violence and death up close—nothing in my twenty-five years of existence had prepared me for so much barbarism, so much suffering.”

Emilia’s upbringing and life in America sheltered her from the brutality of war. Living in California, the American Civil War was far from her home. Being in Chile brings conflict to her up close, and it changes her forever.

“How is it possible that, from the dawn of their presence on earth, men have systematically set out to murder one another? What fatal madness do we carry in our soul? That propensity toward destruction is the original sin.”

The inexplicable violence of war haunts Emilia, and her time in battle marks a major moment in her character development. While she has never shied from the morbid, no amount of crime reporting could have prepared her for what she would encounter in Chile. Her narration in this quote shows how she questions the very nature of humanity.

“The human interest stories that my editor had wanted for the entertainment of his indifferent readers six thousand miles away seemed ridiculous and offensive in the face of the reality I had witnessed in Concón.”

Emilia is in Chile to report on the war, so long as it remains of interest to her American readers. However, after experiencing war firsthand, she no longer wants to exploit Chileans for their stories, recognizing that they are all people and that their stories deserve to be told not for entertainment but to be honored and remembered. She emphasizes the shift in her understanding of her job, calling it “ridiculous” and “offensive” and emphasizing how far her readers are from the violent reality of the war.

“That’s how it was in the United States; more men died in our Civil War than in all the other wars we’ve had. The country was left deeply wounded and I’m not certain it will ever heal.”

Eric’s comment prompts readers to consider how civil wars between citizens have shaped society. Committing violence against one another causes deep rifts, ones that are difficult to heal. While the war in Chile is over a different issue, Eric reminds Emilia that there are still similarities to be found.

“I once again asked the Virgen de Guadalupe to keep me from faltering, that the dawn would bring me valor and dignity. And She responded that She would stay with me, that there was nothing to fear, that it would be quick.”

Emilia turns to Our Lady of Guadalupe in her time of need, finding comfort in the religious figure who adorns the medallion she’s carried since she was a young girl. Her prayer connects her both to the comforting idea of heaven and the afterlife and her family at home. Emilia’s interactions with Our Lady of Guadalupe incorporate elements of magical realism into the narrative.

“They did not set me free, because I was unpresentable. They could not allow me to appear outside the prison walls, filthy, beaten, encrusted with dried blood, hunched over like an elderly woman, and breathing in tiny sips of air because of my broken ribs.”

Because Emilia is a woman and a member of the foreign press, the rebels who imprisoned her are faced with a problem: Releasing her in the state that they’ve left her will show that they have disrespected a woman, which would be unacceptable. While men are expected to have been caught up in the dirt and grime of the war, in order to maintain good relations with other countries, the revolutionaries have to make it seem like they still followed societal expectations about women.

“I would never again be my old self, but maybe in the south I would become a new and stronger version of the woman I had been.”

Emilia needs to see her father’s property and complete the final piece of her own personal puzzle in Chile. She has been forever changed by her experiences there, and she senses that she needs to find some closure in the land after being surrounded by war and violence. She sees traveling to her father’s property as part of the journey of self-discovery that began when she came to Chile.

“If we meet again and we have the time, maybe I will, Captain Janus. For the moment, start taking notes on what you remember; that is how you begin to write a life’s story.”

Emilia thinks that everyone has a story to be told, including the captain who accompanies her through southern Chile. When she gives him this advice, she is on her own journey of self-discovery through travel and storytelling, recognizing that, for her, to discover herself is to write because it helps her to understand the new people and places she encounters.

“Suddenly the idea of claiming the land bequeathed to me by my father seemed as absurd as trying to take possession of the air or water. My objective was ridiculous; that pristine nature belonged only to the gods and spirits. I did not own anything, I was merely a visitor.”

When Emilia arrives near where her property is in Chile, she is awestruck. Recognizing its beauty, her comment conveys the idea that humans created the idea of property, and it so often leads to destruction. Instead, she realizes that she just wants to respect this place and take it in, not control it, a further sign of her growth over the course of the novel.

“I write and write although I can barely make out the letters through the cottony gloom. My notebook is full, and when I reach the foot of this final page, I will not be able to add a single word more. But I will continue writing my life in another until I run out of memories.”

Writing is very meaningful to Emilia. It is her way of explaining the world to herself, using it to make sense of her thoughts and feelings about what has happened to her. Ultimately, she comes to understand how important her own voice is, writing her story down as she completes her journey in Chile.

“This is the only explanation that occurs to me to describe my irresistible attraction to this faraway land at the foot of the volcanoes. My father’s legacy is much more than fifty hectares of land, it is my roots.”

Emilia’s sense of self immediately deepens when she travels further into Chile. The unmarked territory and its breathtaking beauty fill her with a sense of awe, and her narration demonstrates how much her apathy toward her father’s side of the family has changed over the course of the novel. Now, it holds great meaning to her because it has brought her on a great journey where she has learned so much about herself.

“Maybe she needed to exorcize her terrible memories of the war or maybe she was looking for God. I don’t know. But at some point, the calling of Emilia’s family and our love would be more powerful than the magnetic attraction of this paradise. I decided that when that happened, I would be at her side to take her by the hand and help her find her way back to the life she had before.”

Eric loves Emilia with all his heart, but he knows that she cannot be contained or controlled. Unlike so many of the men who seek to dampen her journalistic hopes or wish to place her in a specific societal role, he encourages her to follow her heart, even when it means that he will be sad that she is away from him.