Clarisa (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Isabel Allende
- First Published: 1989
- Type of Plot: Fantasy
- Time of Work: Unspecified; possibly the 1980's
- Setting: A city somewhere in South America
- Principal Characters: Clarisa, Eva Luna, The judge, Don Diego Cienfuegos
- Genres: Short fiction, Fantasy
- Subjects: Homosexuality or homosexuals, Poverty or poor people, Miracles, Mental retardation, Popes or papacy, South America or South Americans, Saints or sainthood, Charities, Nuns, Fund raising
- Locales: South America
The Story
Eva Luna tells the life story of her old friend Clarisa, who died of amazement when the pope arrived for a visit and was met in the street by homosexuals dressed as nuns. (The reference is likely to one of John Paul II's visits to South America in the early 1980's.) The bizarre old woman, who is well into her eighties, is widely considered to be a saint but from performing humble and improbable miracles such as curing hangovers and minor illnesses.
Eva traces the story of Clarisa's life from her unhappy marriage to a greedy and vulgar provincial judge who is...
[The entire page is 1378 words long]
