“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” and “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” – Two Portrayals of Christian Mythology

           Gathered from the two stories of Garcia Marquez, the genre of magic realism seems to be a natural combination of mythology and everyday life. Whether or not Garcia Marquez intended his two magical stories, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” and “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World,” to be perceived as portrayals of the Christian mythology, the two characters from which the stories gain their titles from seem to be a some sort of representation of Christ in life and in death, and the other characters’ response, the everyday life element, to this mythological element tell readers something of human nature.

           Starting with “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” the story seems to refer to the Second Coming, the coming of Christ again. This unknown creature seems to be a celestial being in that it has wings and it is reminiscent of an angel, and this celestial creature came down to earth. However, other than the winged state of the man itself, the portrayal of the old man cannot be rendered any more un-angelic. His wings were “huge buzzard wings, dirty and half-plucked” and he himself had “only a few faded hairs left on his bald skull and very few teeth in his mouth.” In fact, if it were not for the wise neighbor’s declaration of “he’s an angel,” it is doubtful that anyone would have made a similar connection. Due to his dilapidated and filthy appearance, he is abused by the people around him (just as Jesus Christ was doubted by and later tortured by people around him). “The cripples pulled out feathers to touch [the wings’] defective parts with, and even the most merciful threw stones at him, trying to get him to rise…” This reflects the cruelty of human nature and raises the question that if people would recognize the Second Coming if it actually occurred. The messiah rarely seems like one and with our human limitations to only focus on appearances and results, the story questions our ability to actually perceive and acknowledge the miracles around us. Many children’s fables take on this kind of plot – a disguised king roams a village and the single one villager who acts decently in front of the disguised king is the ultimate hero. Yet, the reality is not that one villager, but the rest of the villagers. Take Pelayo’s family, for instance – the representation of common people. The coming of the old man actually blessed them with miraculous benefits as with his coming the fever of the baby dissipated and great wealth was garnered. However, rather than being thankful to the old man, they are unappreciative and resentful to him. It is only when he flies away when Elisenda seems to feel a tinge of regret.

           Thus, if “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” spoke of the limitations of human nature through magic realism, then “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” tells of how people can improve on their lives. Before the arrival of the drowned man, Esteban, life in the village was monotonous and hard as connoted in the descriptions of the village with descriptions such as “stone courtyards with no flowers” and “desert-like cape.” There is no sense of compassion or empathy until they find Esteban and this drowned man springs up emotions in the villagers – both in women and in men. After they send Esteban away, the village is enriched in order to honor the memory of Esteban, but in doing so they actually improve their own lives as well. (1) They are prompted to become a true close-knit community as “through him all the inhabitants of the village became kinsmen.” (2) Furthermore, the previous descriptions of “stone” and “desert” turned into “gay colors,” “springs among the stones,” and “flowers on the cliffs.” In Christian mythology, Jesus Christ’s death brought renewed life and redemption for the people. In the short story, Esteban seems to be the martyred Christ, then the village is the common people and since the villagers are redeemed by their interaction with him, so perhaps the world can be redeemed and improved.

           Indeed, this interpretation of the two short stories is only one level of the story and there can exist other interpretations. However, I perceived that the magical element of the two stories was the Christian mythology and the realism element was the ordinary inhabitants of the setting. Thus by the representation of Christ in life and in death and the other ordinary characters’ response to this in “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” and “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World,” Garcia Marquez is making his commentary that human nature has its cruel aspects but it is something that can be improved on or redeemed.

(1) Steele, Helen, “THE HANDSOMEST DROWNED MAN IN THE WORLD,” GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:wD4RF8vOFIMJ:www.guernicus.com/academics/pdf/marquez.pdf+&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShUEDupOg5IVUilo7QzcRWDkEzYW3r3zPdYUR2IogICunhbn0jtHEU4SstyDJsfdZPUsPA_WQJqV-GqJVMWy_-ztL7YrpLe07iUBq-FVpV3pU0sOMUkYfjL5ooewX2YSoSrf-VX&sig=AHIEtbR13bIOYaBRG7Ooodbk508alGQOlw

(2) ibid.