What is the theme in Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende?

The theme of gender equality is complex in this novel. In Chile and Europe, women are still considered delicate and second-class. They do not own property and their only career options are housekeeper or prostitute. Rose expresses to Eliza that being a widow is the best possible option, since it provides freedom and an income without loss of respect from others. It is notable when Pauline de Santa Cruz makes a bargain with her husband to keep a percentage of the profits he makes on a speculation that she suggested. She ends up creating a successful business alongside her husband in California.