Two Words

In the short story “Two Words,” Isabel Allende explores how destiny can be shaped and lives can be changed by the Power of Words. Through the lens of the characters and their experiences, she examines the transformative power of language to create opportunities for freedom and independence.

The omniscient third-person narrator weaves elements of mystery and magic into the story of a young woman who escapes a life of poverty and servitude, overcomes great adversity, and takes control of her destiny when she discovers the power of words. Having grown up in poverty in an inhospitable environment in which her siblings die, the protagonist, Belisa Crepusculario, discovers that words are a means of escape, and language has the power to alter her fate.

Allende uses the recurring motif of journeys to represent change, growth, and transition. At the outset, Belisa survives a perilous journey. The rugged terrain and harsh conditions that she overcomes signify the perseverance necessary to alter the course of her destiny. However, as is typical of Allende’s works, the story is anchored in a message of optimism and hope. Belisa’s journey foreshadows the Colonel’s transformation by showing that change is possible. Belisa is a strong female character who is stubborn and determined to “trick death” and survive (4). Many others attempted this journey and perished, which demonstrates that only the most resilient and determined will succeed.

Belisa’s success and her mastery of language bring her independence and self-determination, which are symbolized by her ability to choose her own name. Her choice of words that mean “twilight beauty” reflects the story’s optimistic tone and evokes images of serenity and peace at the end of the journey. She is the only character in the story whose name is revealed; the others are reduced to descriptors of ethnicity or military roles. This omission presents the story’s female protagonist as its only fully developed character and indicates the limited range of possibilities for the others. For example, lacking access to the written word, the Colonel has no power to shape his future and is undefined until Belisa gifts him with a speech and magical words.

Allende’s exploration of the transformative power of language through the protagonist’s use of words to support and protect herself reflects a frequent theme within 20th-century Latin American literature. After Belisa discovers words on a discarded newspaper, she quickly recognizes their potential. She harnesses the power of language by learning to read and becomes a gifted writer, using words as currency to support herself and reshape her future. Language frees her; she is no longer a poor, uneducated girl whose prospects are limited to becoming a domestic servant or a sex worker. Becoming a seller of words as an itinerant storyteller brings her respect and fulfillment.

Belisa’s use of storytelling to ensure her survival connects her to the tale of Scheherazade of Thousand and One Nights. Both Stories of Eva Luna, from which “Two Words” is taken, and the 1987 novel Eva Luna open with epigraphs from this text. Eva Luna narrates Belisa’s story, and the others in the collection, as part of a nightly ritual with her lover. Although she is not in danger, she echoes the role of Scheherazade, who forestalls her murder at the hands of a sultan by telling him a new story all night, ending on a suspenseful point each dawn. She repeats this for 1,001 nights, ensuring her survival—and sparing the other virgins who would have been executed during that period—through the power of storytelling.

Belisa’s movement from village to village evokes the constant growth and change that language facilitates. Her two journeys to the Colonel’s camp will change her life. The first is made under duress. However, she returns to the camp willingly a second time to win the love and companionship of the Colonel. His transformation, softening due to the power of her words and her seductive effect on him, reflects Allende’s frequent practice of building toward a happy ending, often one achieved through romance. However, Belisa also reflects Allende’s feminist perspective: She is a survivor who finds a way to support herself and is unafraid and indignant when kidnapped by fierce warriors. Although Belisa is their prisoner, she gains power over the Colonel as the source of the language he needs to achieve his transformation.

Belisa’s speech explores the futility of violence and demonstrates the power of language and diplomacy. The Colonel seeks change. Weary from war, he must enlist Belisa’s help to alter the outcome. His need for Belisa is one way in which Allende demonstrates the power and ascendency of women. Using the language Belisa selects, the Colonel can abandon violence as a means of gaining power and use rhetoric to win the hearts of the populace. Her words instill hope and raise the possibility of democratic reform. The exercise of choice by the populace bestows a measure of self-determination in those who hear the speech. This emphasis on free democratic elections and the ability of the populace to choose its own president mirrors Allende’s sociopolitical views on the need to bring democratic reform and change to the Latin American countries engaged in civil war and political conflict. In this way, Allende demonstrates the power and potential of language to bring about peaceful change.

Ultimately, the two secret words are the instrument used to effect meaningful and far reaching change and transformation. These two words alter the course of both Belisa’s and the Colonel’s destinies, but the narrator never reveals them. The Colonel refuses to repeat the words, even to his closest advisor. They evoke memories of Belisa’s scent and her body each time the Colonel repeats them, echoing their initial effect on him. Given the words’ continual connection with Belisa, some critics have suggested that she simply whispered “Belisa Crepusculario,” claiming him as her own. Others suggest that the words were “Te quiero,” Spanish for “I love you.” The details are not revealed, but the words have an incantatory effect on the Colonel, who is satisfied only when his fixation upon them returns Belisa to him. Thus, regardless of the specific words uttered, they have the effect of provoking his obsession with their speaker; Belisa is unsurprised when El Mulato comes to retrieve her for the Colonel, indicating that she anticipated and controls the words’ effect.