Silence symbolizes power. Silence showcases the skill of moderation and often angers those on the other end of an argument who lack the ability to keep from erupting. Similarly, In The House of the Spirits and Madame Bovary, Isabel Allende and Gustave Flaubert emphasize the symbol of silence to highlight the lack of power Esteban and Charles suffer from within their families, society and their marriages. Allende Esteban distances himself from his family by wedging the silence between them like a barrier. As Esteban's marriage to Clara falls apart, Esteban observes, “She didn't even look at me. She walked past me like I was a piece of furniture, and every time I talked to her she acted like she was on the moon, like she didn't hear me or know who I was,” exposing the extent to which Clara's silence annoys Esteban, weakening him and, ultimately, his authority over his family (Allende 113). Clara distances herself from Esteban's reign of power, thereby diminishing his control. In Clara's eyes, Esteban ceases to exist, which corresponds to Jaime's attempt not to argue with his father: "To avoid arguing with his father, he had acquired the habit of silence and soon discovered that it was much more comfortable" ( Allende 332). Jaime inherits his mother's habit of silence, teasing Esteban even after Clara's death. The barrier that Clara builds early in their marriage only seems to grow stronger as the years pass, ultimately isolating Esteban from the symbolic source of support, family. Esteban blames silence for the loss of his family, unable to regain control over them, when he realizes: “I no longer had my son, and Clara, with her habits of silence and... middle of paper. .. .... silence” (237). Once again, the silence serves as a kind of apposition to the shadow, as a tool to hide behind and from which to reign in power and force Carlo's control to wither. Silence, usually seen as a sign of weakness, takes an unexpected form for Allende and Flaubert. Esteban and Charles ultimately come to a miserable, tearful and lonely end due to the silence they suffer from Clara and Emma. Stereotypically, this idea forces the audience to unconsciously see Charles as turbulent, as Allende brazenly describes Esteban, even though Flaubert does not characterize Charles as the obnoxious, loud, and demanding husband. Although Allende and Flaubert both undermine their main male characters with the symbol of silence, Allende describes Clara's silence as powerful through hypocrisy, while Flaubert describes Emma's silence as selfishness..