Dictators and the irrelevance of life
Tulip Chowdhury speaks of terrible truths in a work of fiction
The master storyteller in Isabelle Allende holds up a world of dictatorship through the eyes of a poet in Of Love and Shadows. It is a story of love, triumph and tragedy that can occur under a dictatorship. It is a love story about a journalist, Irene Beltrán, and a photographer, Francisco Leal. They live in a country in Latin America that is run by a military dictatorship. It is also a story that unearths the brutalities perpetrated under harsh military rule. It is a beautiful story that grows in the folds of atrocities, love that finds roots while two souls search for justice. "The first sunny day of spring evaporated the dampness that had accumulated in the soil through the winter months and warmed the fragile bones of the old people who now could stroll the gentle orthopedic paths of the garden…." The story begins with this vivid description of spring coming to the land. The scene opens in an old people's home. It is the home of Irene and her mother Beatriz. Beatriz remains busy with taking care of the geriatric people who have made her home their final place of rest before passing on into mortality. Irene comes in once in a while to see how the old people are faring. That is done out of the kindness that rules her heart but her main work lies with the magazine that she works for. Her work carries her to a faraway farm, to the home of the Ranquileo family. The Ranquileos have a daughter Evangelina, who has fits of epilepsy. But some queer things happen when she has her fits. During her fits the furniture around her start shaking. The rumour spreads that she is possessed by spirits and that she can be a healer for many diseases. Everyday around afternoon the Ranquielos' home is filled with visitors watching the girl. Irene takes Francisco and goes to visit the possessed girl. The strange tale of the young girl reaches the ears of the military. One day soldiers led by Lieutenant Juan de Dios Ramirez come to check on the girl. When Ramirez approaches Evangelina, she has a seizure and becomes extremely violent. She strikes him on the face and then, taking him bodily, hauls him out to the patio. Ramirez is enraged. He comes back another night and holds the Ranquielo family at gunpoint. On that night he arrests Evangelina for the humiliation he had suffered and takes her away. Beatriz and Francisco are horrified at the brutality. The girl is taken, leaving no trace. Irene thinks of seeking help from her ex-fiance, army captain Gustavo, but cannot. She realises that she would endanger Francisco's safety in the process. As Irene and Francisco try to unearth the mysterious disappearance of Evangelina they stumble across other crimes and atrocities committed by the dictators of the country. There are hundreds of other cases of disappearances of people who have dared to speak up against the dictatorship. There is Pradelio Ranquileo who has to hide out in the treacherous mountains to escape from certain execution. Irene and Francisco travel to the remotest parts of the country to search for Evangelina. While Irene gropes for some information relating to the disappearance of the girl, she is aware that if her ex-fiance finds her out that may be the end of her journalistic career or may even be the end of her own existence, so brutal is the military junta. Irene has not been fully aware of the hideous cruelties of the military until she Evangelina's disappearance changes things. She has been busy dealing with popular lifestyles for her magazine. Isabelle Allende has shown a sharp contrast between innocence and the shadow of violence and brutality. For ordinary citizens like Irene have been unaware of the atrocities carried out around them. Irene and Francisco go to the morgue to look for Evangelina's corpse, but they do not find it among the many cadavers of people who have been beaten or tortured to death. Irene spots new realities through her veil of innocence. She perceives the brutal and repressive nature of the military dictatorship. The revelation seems to transform her from an innocent girl to a woman overnight. She finds her innocence lost to a life that is cruel and deathly. Digna Ranquileo, Evangelina's mother, comes to Irene to ask for her help in getting Pradelio out of the country. Pradelio's younger brother, Jacinto, leads Irene and Francisco to the cave where Pradelio is hiding in the mountains. Pradelio tells them that Evangelina is dead. Pradelio's friend Rivera has witnessed the carrying out of the murder. Lieutenant Ramirez has buried her body in an abandoned mine in Los Riscos. Irene and Francisco decide to go to the abandoned mine. Fifteen bodies lie there. Some have been shot at point blank range and some have been tortured to death. They find the body of Evangelina and take several photographs of the dead girl and collect other evidence of the killings. Troubled and tormented by their findings, Irene and Francisco decide to disclose their secret to Francisco's father, Professor Leal. The professor decides that the only institution they can approach for help is the church. Francisco's brother Jose Leal is with the church and hence he takes up the matter with the cardinal. Francisco decides to keep Irene's name out of it all. The cardinal warns Jose that he may come under police interrogation and that it will also mean his brother Francisco's involvement. Francisco and Jose take the risk. With the cardinal's intervention, a commission headed by Auxiliary Bishop and directed by Jose Leal arrive at the abandoned mine. The body of Evangelina and many more decomposed bodies are unearthed. Francisco realises that Ramirez has his men watching him and that he can very well be the next victim to be arrested and executed. However, he is determined that Irene should be left out of it all, that is, if they can escape the clutches of the military watchdogs. The dictators remain heedless to the findings of the atrocities. And Ramirez has one solution for all troublemakers: do away with them. However, as word of the atrocities reaches the people and international agencies move into Los Ricos, the site where the dead bodies are found becomes a shrine. An endless chain of people, Jose Leal at their head, make a pilgrimage there. They go on foot, chanting hymns and revolutionary slogans, carrying crosses, torches and photographs of the dead. Gradually other mass killing sites are found, some of innocent children killed while they were suckling at their mothers' breasts. Jose Leal, with the help of the cardinal, is able to produce the evidence of the atrocities committed by the dictators before a military tribunal. Irene and Francisco are able to provide the witnesses and evidence of the brutalities. Precisely at that point an attempt is made on Irene's life. Although she makes a very slow recovery with the help of her transsexual friend Mario, danger lurks at every corner for her. Francisco and Irene face the reality; they have to flee to the neighbouring country if they want to be alive. Yet they are under constant surveillance. Mario, a beautician, takes the risk and is able to transform the looks of Irene and Francisco. Francisco and Irene start on their journey with the end in complete uncertainty. Will they be able to make it as lovers or will they meet their end at the hands of some waiting killers? Of Love and Shadows keeps the reader on the edge of the seat. Each page holds new revelations and yet holds forth new mysteries. There is a roller coaster ride of thrill and compassion. This book is entertaining and enlightening as it projects the story of thousands of Latin Americans who have been victims of the political system of the region. Allende's work contains depths of empathy and embraces compassion rarely found in fiction that comes entwined in a political cause. She is able to present the truth that it is ultimately people who matter most, even against brutal dictatorship. The book is a super read, from the first page to the last. Tulip Chowdhury teaches and is a writer and poet.
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