The judges wife
The judges wifeFulfilling Ones Desires
The struggle for freedom is a universal issue that all people must
go through. People are always looking for freedom, whether it is little
things such as trying to get more freedom from your parents or
freeing yourself of inner demons, which is what Isabel Allende writes
about in the “The Judges Wife”. The two main characters, Nicolas
Vidal and Casilda are both trying to find freedom from their inner
demons and fight their desires for love and intimacy, but Isabel
Allende shows that no matter how hard you try, everyone must
eventually give into their desires.
In the “Judges Wife”, “Nicolas Vidal had always known a woman
would cost him his life”. (203) This prediction had made him avoid
any serious relationships with women throughout his life which also
him to a lonely life and never fulfill his desires. To avoid women,
Vidal surrounded himself with all men who were outside the law and
led dangerous lives. Living this life style made it hard for any woman
to get attached to Vidal. But Vidal could not seem to get Casilda out
of his mind. Every other girl, he quickly forgot about, but when it
came to Casilda he seemed to remember every small detail, for
example “the translucent young girl in her traveling suit, with bashful
eyes and delicate fingers”. (203) Vidal also sat and watched her
marriage to Judge Hildago, a curious thing to do because Hildago
can put Vidal in jail. Allende sets all this up to show that Vidal is
trying to find freedom from his desire for love and intimacy, but he
can’t resist his desires. Allende writes, “Nicolas Vidal fled from love
his whole life…”, but in the end of the story, Vidal gives in to his
desire to love another woman and this eventually will cost him his life.
He could have run away after raping Casilda but instead stays
because he has finally found love and he is willing to give up his life
for it. He tried to find freedom from his desire to love another
woman, but in the end he couldn’t run away and gave into his desires
and this cost Vidal his life.
Casilda is another person looking to find freedom from her
desires. She married Judge Hildago who “was several times her
age, and had slept alone for so many years, that he did not know
how to begin to please a woman”. (204) This marriage was surely
for Casilda just a marriage of convenience, for a girl who wanted to
live comfortably and securely. She brought her kids up in a rich
household where they could be well fed and schooled. She never
truly loved him, because he could never truly satisfy her intimately.
For a young girl growing to adulthood, she must have wanted to be
satisfied sexually, something a man like Judge Hildago surely could
not do. He was too old and not skilled in lovemaking. The only
reason she stayed with him is for the sake of the children and
because of her fear of what would happen to her if she left. Casilda
would have lost her comfortable life and had to raise her children with
very little money. She was also very reserved, “She gave the
impression of not being there….”. (205) She never expressed
herself, or even smiled in public, giving the impression of someone
who was not happy in her marriage. She is looking for freedom to
express her repressed desires. Casilda gets this opportunity when
Nicolas Vidal comes looking for Judge Hildago and his family. On
the run from Vidal, Judge Hildago suddenly dies from a heart attack
and this leaves Casilda a widow and no longer in her husband’s
shadow. With her husband dead she no longer has any
reservations and can express her feelings. When Casilda is finally
confronted by Nicolas Vidal, all she plans to do is pleasure him
sexually only to save her children and let them run away. But when
she is confronted, and starts to pleasure him, she finally has a chance
to express her repressed sexuality. From a “modest and shy
woman; she had been married to a man who had never seen her
naked”, “she let herself go, marveling at her own sexuality and
somehow grateful to Vidal”. (214,215) She was trying to find
freedom from her desire to be intimate with a man, but eventually
gave in. She even begged Vidal to run away before the troops
came, because she was so grateful to him for finally doing what
Judge Hildago could not, satisfy her sexually. Casilda’s desire for
Vidal was strong enough for her to disrespect her dead husband.
Casilda was trying to find freedom from her desires to be truly
intimate with another man, but she eventually gave in.
By writing the “Judges Wife”, Isabel Allende gives us her view of
what freedom means, and if can be truly attained or not. Nicolas
Vidal and Casilda are both looking for freedom from their desire to
love another person and be intimate with another person. But
Allende shows us through her story that it is impossible to not fulfill
ones desires for an entire lifetime. To fulfill their desires one gave up
his life and the other disrespected her dead husbands memory.
Both of these characters were trying to live normal, but unsatisfying
lives, but both failed because their desires were to strong.