The House of the Spirits Summary

From the day a priest accused Clara del Valle of demonic possession, and her Uncle Marcos's corpse arrived at her home with a puppy named Barrabás, she started recording her life's events in a journal. Later in life, her husband Esteban and granddaughter Alba would use these journals to trace their family's history. Clara, who possessed clairvoyant abilities to predict but not alter the future, witnessed the death of her beloved sister Rosa, who was accidentally poisoned. After Rosa's death, Clara lived a mute life for nine years. Meanwhile, Esteban, previously engaged to Rosa, earned a fortune by exploiting labor and sexual favors from the local peasants, including Pancha and prostitutes like Transito Soto. After his mother's death, Esteban marries Clara, and they move into a grand house built by Esteban, where his sister Ferula also resides.

Clara and Esteban's first child, Blanca, was born a year after their marriage. During a vacation at Esteban's estate, Tres Marias, Blanca falls in love with Pedro Tercero, a peasant's son. Clara becomes pregnant with twins, Jaime and Nicolas. A tragic car accident takes Clara's parents' life, and she finds herself in labor shortly after recovering her mother's decapitated head from the accident site. Ferula, deeply infatuated with Clara, is ousted from the house by Esteban who discovers her in Clara's bed. As Blanca grows older, she continues her clandestine romance with Pedro Tercero, despite Esteban's discontentment over their class difference and Pedro's revolutionary ideas. Their affair is eventually exposed, leading to Blanca moving out of Tres Marias and Esteban severing all communication with Clara.

Years later, Blanca becomes pregnant and is manipulated into marrying Jean de Satigny by her father, who falsely claims to have killed Pedro Tercero. After ending her marriage due to Jean's deviant sexual tendencies, Blanca gives birth to Alba. Despite political turmoil in the country, Alba, under the belief that Jean is her deceased father, develops a close bond with Esteban. She later attends university, falls in love with a revolutionary named Miguel, and gets involved in anti-conservative protests. The socialist victory in the elections, leading to the peasants seizing Tres Marias and Esteban's capture, further complicates the family's situation. Blanca and Pedro Tercero, with Esteban's reluctant assistance, escape to Canada amidst a military coup. Alba, abducted by Esteban Garcia, the grandson of Pancha and Esteban Trueba, is eventually released with the help of Transito Soto. Following Esteban's death, a pregnant Alba continues writing their family's story.