Many of times in life people pretend to be something they aren’t. For example they may put on a tough face because that is what they believe they are supposed to be. They think that they do not need love, that they are too strong for it. In Isabel Allende’s “The Judge’s Wife. Nicolas Vidal’s shroud of toughness and brutality is a central part of his character and we often see this through is interactions with people. However, in the end he has an epiphany and he is unable to resist the possibility of having love in his life. A man that seems so cold hearted to others, known throughout the land for his brutality, so quickly meets his demise when he truly experiences love. Casilda Hidalgo is able to show Vidal a side of love that he has…show more content… One example of Nicolas’s brutality as Bandit comes when the Judge captures his mom. Instead of going after her and being concerned for her health he says, “We’ll see who’s got more balls, the Judge or me” (614). Most people would do anything to save their mom, but not only does he refuse to make an attempt to save her but he does not show any emotion when he knows she’s suffering. In addition to ignoring his mother’s suffering Nicolas Vidal also goes throughout the area ravaging the people, “His gang gained such a fearsome reputation that the surrounding villages and estates paid to keep them away” (613). Vidal creates an aura of cold heartedness that makes him feared by everyone, including whole villages. This makes him unapproachable to people. The only way that people come into contact with him is if he wants them…show more content… As much as he has tries to resist love and drive it away he cannot. Up until he meets Casilda on the side of the road he has never felt the mentally stimulating side of sex and love. He has always held sex in his mind as a physical action. Casilda seduces Nicolas and he cannot resist despite the consequences of falling for her and his previous. For example, “Each minute brought the detachment of troops and the noose that much nearer but he gladly accepted this in return for her prodigious gifts.”(616) Love hit Nicolas harder than he knew though because not only does he let it break him down, but it makes him forget his whole nature. Prior to meeting Casilda Nicolas never would have had an intimate emotional connection, especially if his life were on the line. Casilda is able to open up Vidal’s mind allowing him to truly experience love, proving that even he, the great bandit, is human and can be broken down by love. Even as the soldiers were coming to hang him, “Nicolas Vidal chose to fold her in a last embrace” (617). Normally, Vidal would run to escape his death, but Casilda helps him to experience something he has never experienced before. The love and passion that Casilda shows him is able to bring him somewhere he has never gone before. Sadly for him, this love also brings about his demise because he is so intensely pleased and