Judges Wife Essay, Research Paper
Self Fulfilling Prophecy
In the story, ?The Judge?s Wife,? by Isabel Allende;
Nicholas Vidal, the son of Juana, the Forlorn, came in to
the world regardless of the countless tries of violent
abortions. Vidal was born with four nipples; therefore, the
mid-wife predicted that Vidal would lose his head over a
woman. This same prediction was later confirmed by a Turkish
fortune teller at the corner shop. Vidal lived his whole
life cold and ironed-hearted too all women. This included
his mother. Vidal avoided contact with women so that the
prophecy would not come true. In the end, faith caught up
with him in any ways.
Near beginning of the story, Vidal did not feel that
Casilda was attractive. He describe her as, ?This ethereal
slip of a girl in her wedding gown, eyes filled with wonder,
and fingers obviously unskilled in the art of rousing a man
to pleasure, seem to him almost ugly.? Vidal preferred his
women with dark hair. He never would have known that
Casilda would cause him to lose his life.
His mother was treated the same as any other women.
When the judge decided that he needed to capture Vidal, the
judge used Vidal?s mother as ?bait.? Locked in a cage in
the center of town without food and only a pitcher of water,
Vidal?s mother begged and suffered tremendously. Three days
without water Vidal?s mother could not begged any more. She
laid helplessly in the cage. This sight for any son would be
unbearable. Vidal did not come. Perhaps, Vidal did not
have any contact with his mother over the years. He may have
hated his mother for trying to kill him at birth. He knew if
he tried to save his mother it would be his death. Maybe
that was why Vidal did not save his mother.
Vidal wanted to kill the judge for revenge after his
mother?s suicide. His mother was ashamed that her own flesh
and blood did not even come to save her, so she committed
suicide. Vidal planned to put the judge to a grave death.
Afterwards, he would put him in a cage for all the town
people to see.
A Turkish shopkeeper informed Vidal that the judge and
his family had left for the seaside resort. This would be an
excellent time for Vidal to strike. The judge knew that
Vidal would come for him and his family, so he fled to the
next town to wa
judge suddenly had a heart attack and crashed his car. Not
knowing what to do, and fearing for the life of her
children. Casilda, ran into a cave and hid her children
there. She ran back down to the wreck to stall Vidal and his
gang.
Casilda thought that Vidal would come with his whole
gang, but only he rode up on his horse. Vidal may have
wanted to kill the judge himself. Angered at the judge or
himself for the death of his mother. He wanted to settle
this on his own.
Casilda played a small role in the story until the end.
Where she stood without fear to Vidal. Perhaps Casilda was a
smart woman and knew that if she showed fear he would
dominate her. Maybe, her fear for the life of her children
made her stronger. Casilda had to buy time for her kids and
she was willing to do whatever it takes.
Vidal had never meet a person that was not scared of
him. When he finally realized he had met an equal opponent
he lowered his gun. When Casilda seduced him, he felt a warm
intimate love that he have never felt before. His whole life
he had lived a lonely existence. He never knew how good a
women would make him feel.
Casilda?s heart changed from being protective to being
sympathetic. However, she did not forget that she was buying
time for her children. This was shown when she told Vidal
to leave when she heard the soldiers footsteps in the
distance. Caslida?s heart may have changed because she
understood his feelings towards the judge because what he
did to Vidal?s mother. Perhaps a certain attraction was
achieved during this dangerous situation, a feeling she had
never felt while she was with the judge.
In the end, Vidal did not leave because he felt that
Casida cared about him. His whole life he lived alone and
loveless. This new feeling he had was so fullfilling that he
was willing to die for it. Knowing how he would die caused
him to avoid women and lived a secluded life. Ironically in
the end, the propehcy came true. Casilda caused his death
because he stayed with her, enabling the soldiers to find
him and kill him. Maybe if he did not know about his
future, the ending would have ended in a different way. His
self-fulfilling prophecy came true because he believed his
destiny and made it to come true.