Set in an unnamed South American country, Isabel Allende's "Clarisa" is drawn from her collection, The Stories of Eva Luna, first published in 1989. Allende is celebrated for using magical realism, which transports readers to a world where the extraordinary intertwines with the mundane. Against the historical backdrop of societal shifts in Latin America during the second half of the 20th Century, "Clarisa" reveals one woman's remarkable journey through the twists of fate and unwavering compassion.

The story begins by introducing its titular character. Clarisa's life and death are mentioned from the very start.

Clarisa was born when the electric light did not yet exist in the city, she saw on television the first astronaut levitating on the surface of the moon and she died of amazement when the Pope came to visit and was met by homosexuals disguised as nuns.

Clarisa is described as a woman from another time. She experiences drastic cultural, political, and technological changes during her life. The narrator, Eva Luna, states that, after her death, Clarisa is treated as an unofficial saint, with some local Catholics placing her photograph on their household altars and appealing to her "for help in minor difficulties."

Clarisa has the touch of a curandera, a healer. People who either cannot afford to visit a doctor or do not trust modern medicine go to her for relief. All Clarisa needs to do is lay her hands on the sick or injured, and they will soon recover. 

Clarisa spends her life preaching morality and charitably giving away almost everything she owns so that she is quite poor despite her affluent background. Eva cryptically explains that her friendship with Clarisa "has lasted to this day, overcoming the many obstacles that lay in our way, including death, which has put a slight crimp in the ease of our communications."

Clarisa has a long and unfulfilling marriage to a judge. After the birth of their two children, who are both severely mentally challenged, her husband locks himself up in a room that he never leaves. Clarisa takes her children's condition in stride.

She considered them pure souls immune to evil, and all her relations with them were marked by affection.

Clarisa's virtue and kindness are extended to everyone. Even when a knife-wielding burglar breaks into her house, she treats him well, making him a cup of tea and giving him some cookies in addition to all her money. Her largest concern is that the would-be criminal is risking the fate of his immortal soul by committing the sin of stealing. Therefore, she insists she is giving him her money out of generosity.

Clarisa also uses her saintly nature to convince politicians to help others. For instance, she persuades a member of Congress, Don Diego Cienfuegos, to provide a refrigerator to a group of nuns even though he is a socialist and the nuns oppose him politically. She argues that the nuns feed hundreds of children, many of whose parents are his voters. The two of them strike up an unlikely and lifelong friendship. Furthermore, although she is devoutly religious, she eagerly convinces Catholic charities to help atheists, Jews, addicts, and prostitutes.

Clarisa believes God is compassionate and always strives to maintain an equilibrium in the Universe. Her belief in this is proven when she bears two healthy sons who help care for their older siblings. However, tragedy visits the household when the older children die from a gas leak.

Clarisa is a frail and older woman when the Pope makes his fateful visit. However, she rallies her strength and, accompanied by Eva,...