The following version of this book was used to create this guide: Allende, Isabel. Violeta. Ballantine Books, 2022.

Isabel Allende’s novel Violeta is an epistolary work in which the titular character recounts her life to her grandson. It is written primarily from the first-person perspective. While Violeta periodically addresses her grandson using the present tense, the majority of the novel is written in the past tense.

The first section of the novel, “Exile,” covers the period between 1920 and 1940. Violeta Del Valle is born in an unnamed South American country during the influenza pandemic. She lives in a large house with her well-off family, which includes her parents, aunts, brothers, and various domestic helpers. Worried that Violeta is spoiled, her parents hire a British governess, Josephine Taylor, to look after her. Violeta and Josephine quickly become close. Violeta’s brother, José Antonio, confesses his love for the governess. After a battle with cancer, Josephine falls in love with a local feminist, Teresa Rivas. During the Great Depression, Violeta’s father’s business collapses and he eventually commits suicide. The Del Valles move to the south, where Teresa Rivas’ family owns a farm called Santa Clara. The Rivas welcome the Del Valles, and Violeta accompanies Teresa’s parents on journeys to educate rural children. She spends much of her adolescence at Santa Clara. José Antonio, meanwhile, attempts to begin a new business. When Violeta is a young woman, a worker attempts to rape her. Torito, who works for the Del Valles yet is considered a family member, rescues Violeta and possibly murders the man.

In the novel’s second section, “Passion,” Violeta meets a German immigrant named Fabian Schmidt-Engler. Although Fabian is quite boring, Violeta begins a romantic relationship with him. José Antonio begins manufacturing prefabricated homes, and Violeta soon joins the business. She moves to Sacramento, a nearby city, but returns for the death of her mother. In 1945, she marries Fabian. Working with her brother, Violeta becomes financially independent. She is unhappy in her marriage, and she later meets an attractive, adventurous pilot named Julián Bravo, with whom she begins an affair. Although Violeta leaves Fabian, he refuses to annul the marriage. Violeta and Julián later have a son, Juan Martín. Julián proves to be abusive and adulterous; he later becomes involved with organized crime and is often away from his family. He and Violeta have a second child, a daughter named Nieves. As the children grow older, Juan Martín becomes a sensitive and intelligent young boy while Nieves emulates her father’s recklessness. At the end of “Passion,” Teresa dies and Fabian finally agrees to annul his marriage with Violeta.

“Absence” covers Violeta’s life between 1960 and 1983. Violeta and Julián’s relationship splinters, as Violeta pursues her businesses in South America and Julián spends time working for both the Mafia and the CIA in the United States. Their children’s lives also diverge; Juan Martín volunteers for leftist organizations in his home country, while Nieves parties and uses drugs in the U.S. Roy Cooper, a private detective, monitors her from a distance. Several years later, Violeta and Julián check Nieves into a rehab clinic from which she eventually escapes. During this time, Violeta and Roy begin a romantic relationship. Later, Roy finds Nieves and sends her to live with his friend, Rita, in Los Angeles. Nieves is pregnant and dies during childbirth. Violeta commits to raising Nieves’ son (Camilo, the recipient of the overall narrative). A military coup overthrows the government in Violeta’s home country. With some assistance from his father, Juan Martín flees to Argentina. Torito accompanies him on the journey, but news eventually arrives that government soldiers had captured Torito. Violeta again moves to Sacramento with Camilo and a close friend, Etelvina. Violeta later learns that Juan Martín safely arrived in Argentina, but eventually fled to Norway with the help of a man named Harald Fiske. At the end of “Absence,” José Antonio and Josephine both pass away.

In the final section, “Rebirth,” a priest discovers a cave full of corpses (all casualties of the brutal military regime). Torito’s body is among the dead. Violeta suspects that Julián tipped off government officials as to Torito’s whereabouts; she collaborates with one of Julián’s girlfriends to expose his involvement with drug trafficking and tax fraud. Violeta and Roy often take vacations together, but Roy eventually dies of cancer. Violeta grows close with the other women who found remains of their loved ones in the cave. She uses her considerable financial resources to support women’s rights in her country, particularly after the collapse of the military regime. Violeta marries Harald Fiske and they visit Norway together. Camilo, meanwhile, proves to be a troublesome and rebellious young man, but later decides to become a priest. On Violeta’s ninety-fifth birthday, Harald dies of a heart attack. In the final chapter, Violeta returns to Santa Clara. The coronavirus pandemic begins. She says goodbye to Camilo and prepares to die after one hundred years of life.