Magical Realism in The handsomest drowned man in the world
Magical realism is a genre that portrays both reality and fantasy. As defined by Faris (2004) in Ordinary enchantments, magical realism is a genre of writing that includes an irreducible element of magic and details that suggest phenomenon (Faris, 2004, p. 7). He describes the irreducible element as: “…something we cannot explain according to the laws of the universe as they have been formulated in Western empirically based discourse…” (Faris, 2004, p. 7). In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s short story, The handsomest drowned man in the world, the facets of magical realism are rife. He uses magical realism to enchant the reader. The story is of a small cliff-side and coastal community
That phenomenon would likely never happen in the real world, but it makes readers question if this glorious being would actually return and be part of their village.
During the grand funeral, the villagers recognize the emptiness and dryness of their streets, land, and dreams. Not only do the people of the village desire Esteban to return, but they want to transform their village to be a better fit for him, and ultimately for themselves as well. “…everything would be different from then on, that their houses would have wider doors, higher ceilings, and stronger floors… they were going to paint their house fronts gay colors to make Esteban's memory eternal and they were going to break their backs digging for springs among the stones and planting flowers on the cliffs…” (Marquez, 1972, p. 4). Esteban’s marvel has charmed the village into wanting to better themselves. Even if over a non-living body, this village will now not be a bland and flowerless desert. The community is over all bettered through their blind faith in Esteban.
Is blind faith really a bad fixation? If a community chooses to become a greater place because of the belief in an unlikely event, then there does not seem to be much harm. And the concept is not only in fairy tales and magical realism stories. In many religions, the people believe in an idea that seems absurd; but, it can bring them together