Aesthetics

Allende often discusses the concept of physical beauty in her writing, sometimes to emphasize its importance in visual attractiveness, other times to explore the social and cultural differences in what one considers beautiful. In her postscript to several erotic tales of yore, the author laments the modern fascination with the slim and bony female body, recalling the "friendlier" times when a woman's curves were a great feminine asset to her beauty and not a disease called cellulite. However, she adds, the definition of what is erotic is different for each person; her story "Colomba in the Nature" features a man's lust after an obese woman.

In both sex and food, the aesthetic appeal is as crucial for evoking the appetite as any entreaty directed toward the other senses. In the chapter "At First Sight," the author reveals the secret seduction of the flesh according to her grandfather: "Temptation...