✨His only supernatural virtue seemed to be patience.✨
A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings by Gabriel García Márquez is a story about an old man with wings, looking very sick and speaking in a foreign language, comes to a town. Fascinated by this supernatural being, humans assume him to be an angel. But when Father Gonzaga and a doctor examine him, they both state that this being is not an angel since he can’t speak Latin and his wings seem simple (in comparison to the ones the angels have).
A couple-Pelayo and Elisenda- shifts this being to their home, in their chicken coup. Since he is treated as an attraction by the townspeople, the couple charges a viewing fee and becomes rich. The being does seem to have some form of magical elements but the miracles that people attribute to him when touched by his feathers are atypical- when a blind man touches his wings in order to be cured of his ailment, “didn’t recover his sight but grew three new teeth”.
The story serves as a reflection of human callousness and cruelty, therefore making it disheartening. But it also leaves the readers with an optimistic note, the supernatural being bears his suffering with much patience until he wins his freedom in the end.
Marquez’s human characters are portrayed as emotionless- with the exception of Father Gonzaga, no one perceives the being as human. No one helps him or tries to understand his pain. Although he seems to be above human, he does feel pain which is illustrated when he is branded with iron by the crowds. This evoked sympathy from the readers and rooting for the being to get better and gain his freedom.
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings is a great short story with a unique plot and fantastical elements- belonging to the magical realism genre, it combines the modern realistic world with magical elements to elevate the normal narratives. It is a must-read as the story is poetic and layered, somewhat dreamlike, and it is a great introduction to the genre.
Nicely written!