Podcast Summary: Isabel Allende's Latest Novel, 'My Name is Emilia del Valle'

Podcast: All Of It (WNYC)
Host: Alison Stewart
Guest: Isabel Allende
Episode Date: August 29, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features acclaimed author Isabel Allende discussing her new novel, My Name is Emilia del Valle, with host Alison Stewart. Allende delves into the inspiration behind her protagonist Emilia, the importance of historical context, themes of gender, class, and personal agency, as well as the connections between her own life and the narrative. The conversation offers listeners an intimate look at both Allende’s writing process and her perspective on the echoes of history in the present.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing Emilia del Valle

• Emilia’s Character:
  • Courageous, risk-taking, curious, and fearless; a woman ahead of her time.

    "She was courageous, she would take risks, she was curious and she was fearless and I like that. But many of my female characters are like that. They are women that are way ahead of their time."
    [Isabel Allende, 02:50]

• Setting and Historical Context:
  • The story shifts between San Francisco and Chile during the late 1800s Chilean Civil War, highlighting the interconnectedness of these regions.

    "The most important port of the Pacific was Valparaiso in Chile... there was a connection there from the time of the gold rush."
    [Allende, 03:19]

2. Family and Identity

• Origins:
  • Emilia is born to a novice nun in San Francisco and a wealthy Chilean who abandons them; her upbringing centers on her strong bond with her stepfather (“Papo”).

    "It was just a very quick. A quickie, let's call it. And from the quickie, we had consequences. And that was Emilia."
    [Allende, 04:21]

• Impact of Parental Figures:
  • From her stepfather: independence, language, confidence.
  • From her mother: discipline, practicality, and a sense of aristocratic roots, though Emilia herself is indifferent to this.

    "Her stepfather raises Emilia to be the person she eventually becomes. This self confident, risk taking, courageous, daring and funny woman."
    [Allende, 04:39] "Her mother is also very practical, very strong, workaholic, disciplined..."
    [Allende, 07:09]

• Personal Connection:
  • Allende shares that her portrayal of the stepfather is an homage to her own, emphasizing the significance of chosen family over biological ties.

    "My stepfather was exactly like Emilia's stepfather. It's just an homage to him. He died in 2019, and I miss him to this day. He was 102 years old, and he was my best friend, and he gave me a lot of what I have had in life."
    [Allende, 08:29]

3. Journalism, Pen Names, and Women’s Voices

• Female Writers in the 1800s:
  • Emilia writes under a masculine pseudonym for dime novels before insisting on using her real name in her serious journalistic work.

    "She was writing dime novels, and the dime novels of the time were read by almost illiterate men... And women didn't have time to read... And the women of leisure who had time to read would read Jane Austen."
    [Allende, 08:58]

  • The title’s significance:

    "...when she is sent to the war in Chile, she demands that her reports be with her own name. That's why the title of the book, My Name is Emilia del Valle. Don't call me any other name. This is my woman's name, and I defend it."
    [Allende, 09:39]

• Motivation and the Journalist Spirit:
  • Emilia’s determination mirrors Allende’s own journalism career, highlighting curiosity and the excitement of engaging with the world.

    "I could ring the bell in any house, ask the most impertinent questions, and people would answer because I was a journalist. It was just a key to everything."
    [Allende, 10:24]

• Columnist vs. Reporter:
  • As a chronicler ("columnist"), Emilia is able to infuse personal perspective and develop signature voice, which Allende also valued in her career.

    "If you were good at it, you would develop a sort of personal voice that people would recognize... they would know that it was you."
    [Allende, 12:15]

4. Sexual Liberation and Societal Standards

• Portraying a Sexually Adventurous Heroine:
  • Emilia’s sexual freedom is a conscious contrast to the restrictive 19th-century norms for women.

    "Society's standards were so boring and so limiting and so awful for women, while men had all the freedom in the world."
    [Allende, 13:19]

• The Gender Double Standard:
  • Emilia receives candid advice about discretion and safety, but little to no formal education on sex, a reflection of the era.

5. The Chilean Civil War: History and Parallels

• Historical Setting:
  • The novel covers the conflict between progressive President Balmaceda and conservative forces, paralleling Chile’s later 1973 coup.

    "What interested me really is that there are echoes of that event 80 years later, in 1973, when we had the military coup in Chile... both presidents committed suicide. So there is this parallel that you cannot ignore."
    [Allende, 14:47]

• Lingering Impact of Civil Strife:
  • Allende draws links between historic and current polarization.

    "Hate often lies dormant under the surface, only to sprout back up when given the correct circumstances."
    [Stewart quoting the novel, 18:31] "We have a sort of civilized deal... but if the wrong circumstances are there, then the worst of humanity comes forward... In this country right now, we are so polarized and there is so much hatred that is no longer under the surface. It's out there and people have guns... We are on a minefield."
    [Allende, 18:57]

6. Balancing Fact and Fiction

• Research and Authenticity:
  • Allende meticulously researched the historical backbone, using real figures and quotations, while exercising creative license mainly with her fictional characters.

    "Only with the characters, but the foundation of the book, which is the historical event. I research carefully and I stick to the facts."
    [Allende, 20:09]

  • Example: President Balmaceda’s dialogue is drawn from historical speeches.

7. Class Structure: Chile vs. America

• Class as a Barrier:
  • The name and supposed aristocratic lineage are essential for Emilia’s access in Chile.

    "Class is the equivalent of race in the United States, and there are shades of class, almost like in India... The fact that she has the name Del Valle... is because the mother somehow understands that it will open many doors."
    [Allende, 21:21]

8. Love, Loss, and Finding Oneself

• Dual Love Story:
  • Emilia is caught between her love for a fellow journalist and her draw to the Chilean land—the search for her place and self-understanding.

    "She falls in love with a man who is a journalist that has traveled with her, but she also falls in love with the land. And she's pulled between these two loves."
    [Allende, 23:42]

• Transformative Journey:
  • Trauma and hardship create a turning point, leading Emilia on a deeper search for her soul and her future.
  • Discussion of the book’s ending and edits made in response to the US editor’s suggestions.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Female Courage:
  "She was courageous, she would take risks, she was curious and she was fearless... women that are way ahead of their time."
  [Allende, 02:50]

• On Her Step-father:
  "He was my best friend, and he gave me a lot of what I have had in life."
  [Allende, 08:29]

• On Women Writers:
  "Women were not supposed to be writers... she uses this pen name to publish her chronicles... But then... she demands that her reports be with her own name. That's why the title of the book, My Name is Emilia del Valle."
  [Allende, 09:39]

• On Historical Echoes of Conflict:
  "What interested me really is that there are echoes of that event 80 years later, in 1973, when we had the military coup in Chile, again we had a progressive, visionary president ... And both presidents committed suicide. So there is this parallel that you cannot ignore."
  [Allende, 14:47]

• On Hatred & Division:
  "Hate often lies dormant under the surface, only to sprout back up when given the correct circumstances."
  [Stewart quoting novel, 18:31]

• On Researching History:
  "Only with the characters, but the foundation of the book, which is the historical event. I research carefully and I stick to the facts."
  [Allende, 20:09]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:50] – Description of Emilia’s character traits
• [03:19] – Connection between Chile and San Francisco in the 1800s
• [04:21] – Emilia’s family origins and the role of her biological father
• [08:29] – Allende shares about her own stepfather
• [09:39] – On Emilia’s pen name and insistence on being recognized as a female journalist
• [13:19] – Emilia’s sexual agency and societal double standards
• [14:47] – Historical background of the Chilean Civil War and political parallels
• [18:31] – Quoted passage on the lingering wounds of civil conflict and hate
• [20:09] – Allende on balancing historical facts and fiction in her writing
• [21:21] – Class structure in Chile and importance of the Del Valle name
• [23:42] – Emilia’s journey, love interests, and search for identity

Conclusion

Alison Stewart’s conversation with Isabel Allende provides a layered exploration of My Name is Emilia del Valle. Listeners gain insight into Allende's process, the historical framework of her novel, and the timeless struggles of gender, class, and politics. Through her protagonist, Allende celebrates courageous women who claim their voices and carve out their own space in society and history, while also reflecting on how the past echoes, and at times warns, the present.