Just an angel?
"Elisenda let out a sigh of relief, for herself and for him, when she saw him pass over the last houses, holding himself up in some way with the risky flapping of a senile vulture. She kept watching him... until it was no longer possible for her to see him, because then he was no longer an annoyance in her life but an imaginary dot on the horizon of the sea" (Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 371-372).
I chose to write a sentence analysis on the story of "The very old man with enormous wings" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. In this story, an "angel" falls from the sky into a family's yard. These people then exploit him until he finally grows back enough feathers to fly away. It is this part of the story, where the old man flies away, that I found my quote. When I first read the story, I was slightly surprised that Elisenda was relieved that the old man was leaving. After all, her husband and she had built their lives off of him. However, Marquez's use of the word "vulture" in this quote helped me connect the dots.
Throughout the story, Elisenda is quiet about her views on the angel; however, in this quote, she finally reveals her feelings on the matter. Although she was the one who birthed the idea of making money off the angel, it is clear she never wanted him there. The relief she feels when he flies away gives incite into the reality of the angel staying there. In the beginning, the neighbor lady said that the old man had originally come to take their baby who was very sick. This suggestion is an obvious trigger for the parents as they love their baby. Therefore, it is from the very beginning that we can see tensions rising between Elisenda and the old man. In this light, one might even come to the conclusion that her suggestion of profiting off the angel's present could be a means of distancing him from her or her baby.
The use of the word "vulture" conveys Elisenda's view of the old man, not as an angel, rather as something more sinister. Later in the story, his sprouting feathers were referred to as "the feathers of a scarecrow." By itself, the description of the old man's feathers resembling a scarecrow could be interpreted as that's just what happens when angels get old. However, in combination with Elisenda's view of him as a vulture emphasizes how ugly, and possibly even scary she finds the angel. It could be her feeling of helplessness toward the angel that keeps her mouth mostly shut on the matter. Neither vultures nor scarecrows are beautiful, in contrast, they are both ugly; vultures who eat the leftovers of life and scarecrows built ugly to scare. Both tease out what Elisenda's tension toward the old man stems from.
Elisenda said that she was living "in hell full of angels." With this in mind, as well as all other descriptions of the angel, I determined that, in Elisenda's eyes, the old man was an angel of death. The old man originally came to take their child. Then, the scarecrow description symbolizing her fear of his ability, and vulture which eats life's remains all points to Elisenda's mounting stress deriving from her fear of the old man being a death angel. The fact that she watched him until she could no longer see him shows how relieved she was with the departure of this angel of death. This moment is so relevant and long because she feels that her family is finally safe with him gone, and after so long, it is hard to believe. She watches until he disappears behind the horizon to reassure herself that he is finally gone. In terms of the story overall, this quote makes me question if the story was actually about a fallen angel, or Elisenda's efforts to protect her family from the devil. And if it was the latter, was it actually Elisenda's consciousness that the author followed through the story?
I chose to write a sentence analysis on the story of "The very old man with enormous wings" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. In this story, an "angel" falls from the sky into a family's yard. These people then exploit him until he finally grows back enough feathers to fly away. It is this part of the story, where the old man flies away, that I found my quote. When I first read the story, I was slightly surprised that Elisenda was relieved that the old man was leaving. After all, her husband and she had built their lives off of him. However, Marquez's use of the word "vulture" in this quote helped me connect the dots.
Throughout the story, Elisenda is quiet about her views on the angel; however, in this quote, she finally reveals her feelings on the matter. Although she was the one who birthed the idea of making money off the angel, it is clear she never wanted him there. The relief she feels when he flies away gives incite into the reality of the angel staying there. In the beginning, the neighbor lady said that the old man had originally come to take their baby who was very sick. This suggestion is an obvious trigger for the parents as they love their baby. Therefore, it is from the very beginning that we can see tensions rising between Elisenda and the old man. In this light, one might even come to the conclusion that her suggestion of profiting off the angel's present could be a means of distancing him from her or her baby.
The use of the word "vulture" conveys Elisenda's view of the old man, not as an angel, rather as something more sinister. Later in the story, his sprouting feathers were referred to as "the feathers of a scarecrow." By itself, the description of the old man's feathers resembling a scarecrow could be interpreted as that's just what happens when angels get old. However, in combination with Elisenda's view of him as a vulture emphasizes how ugly, and possibly even scary she finds the angel. It could be her feeling of helplessness toward the angel that keeps her mouth mostly shut on the matter. Neither vultures nor scarecrows are beautiful, in contrast, they are both ugly; vultures who eat the leftovers of life and scarecrows built ugly to scare. Both tease out what Elisenda's tension toward the old man stems from.
Elisenda said that she was living "in hell full of angels." With this in mind, as well as all other descriptions of the angel, I determined that, in Elisenda's eyes, the old man was an angel of death. The old man originally came to take their child. Then, the scarecrow description symbolizing her fear of his ability, and vulture which eats life's remains all points to Elisenda's mounting stress deriving from her fear of the old man being a death angel. The fact that she watched him until she could no longer see him shows how relieved she was with the departure of this angel of death. This moment is so relevant and long because she feels that her family is finally safe with him gone, and after so long, it is hard to believe. She watches until he disappears behind the horizon to reassure herself that he is finally gone. In terms of the story overall, this quote makes me question if the story was actually about a fallen angel, or Elisenda's efforts to protect her family from the devil. And if it was the latter, was it actually Elisenda's consciousness that the author followed through the story?
I had struggled with understanding why Elisenda would feel relieved when all her wealth derived from the angel, but after reading your analysis, it makes a lot of logical sense. Throughout the story, the angel is never once deemed as something beautiful or worthy of high praise. His wings are desheveled, he himself is an old man, and he creates miracles that one doesn't truly desire. The angel is treated as zoo animal: a sort of "weird" attraction for visitors to stare at in awe. Even the church can't make a decision on whether the angel is a holy figure or not. He is a weak, feeble creature who is reliant on Elisenda for shelter. If anything, the angel is just a nuisance who couldn't provide anything for her other than becoming an attraction. With all this in mind, I believe the answer to your question is the latter: the story follows Elisenda's perspective .
ReplyDeleteI believe that this short story follows the perspective and consciousness of Elisenda. Despite the many material advantages the old man brings, Elisenda’s attitude toward him is primarily one of annoyance and exasperation. Once the old man’s usefulness as a roadside attraction dwindles, Elisenda sees him only as a nuisance. The old man becomes so ordinary in Elisenda’s eyes that it isn’t until he finally flies away that she seems to see him for the wonder he is. Elisenda watches him fly away with and during that very moment she realizes that something extraordinary has left her life forever.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though I just concluded a journey after reading your post. Your interpretation raises several questions. I am unsure if the winged old man is the devil, why he is described as weak, deteriorated, and exploited by Elisenda. I would like to purpose an idea. What if the very old man with enormous wings is the devil, who recently had been banished from heaven? I feel like it would make sense. The old frail frame which expresses that the devil had just concluded fighting with god and the other angels in heaven. The black feathers could be a the devil after being marked by god, or he was possibly burned while fighting and now bears black wings with maggots residing in the devils burnt skin, shielded by his scorched feathers. Excellent work! I thoroughly enjoyed your sentence analysis!
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