Leaf Storm
58 pages • 1-hour read
Gabriel García MárquezLeaf Storm
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Themes
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, child abuse, physical abuse, and ableism.
The Burden of Inherited Identity
In Leaf Storm, García Márquez examines three generations of a family to illuminate their differing reactions to the phenomenon of a disgraced man’s death. One of the novella’s central concerns is the question of inheritance, specifically the inheritance of identity and its influence on the shape that one’s life takes. The author shows this through the perspective of Isabel, who observes the close resemblance between herself and her late mother and between her son and his father, Martin. When Isabel first looks at herself in her wedding dress, she’s convinced that she’s actually looking at her mother, who died giving birth to her and was quickly replaced when the Colonel resolved to remarry. Isabel worries about her own expendability in the context of marriage, especially since the novella repeatedly conveys the sense that she and Martin don’t know each other well. Martin partly confirms her fears when he leaves town and fails to return, suggesting that in some sense he has indeed replaced their life together with something else. As Isabel looks at her son, she starts to worry that he might turn out to be like his father. This drives the idea that past flaws and faults can live on in the present, passing on from one generation to the next.
“Blacamán the Good, Vendor of Miracles” supports this insight by giving its two main characters the same name, distinguishing them via the denotation of Good and Bad. The story uses this dichotomy to underscore the antagonism of mentor Blacamán the Bad, which he embodies through his repeated abuse of the boy who comes to be known as Blacamán the Good. Blacamán the Bad clearly has no intention of helping Blacamán the Good achieve his aspiration to become a fortune teller. Rather, the mentor is using his student to rehabilitate his own image, turning the latter into a guinea pig for his experiments. The story moves toward its resolution with the revelation that Blacamán the Good has an uncanny gift, which propels him to fame as a faith healer. However, the ending shows that Blacamán the Good is no better than his mentor and is even more capable of cruelty, imprisoning his mentor in the torture of a living death. Blacamán the Good himself declares, “The truth is that I’d gain nothing by being a saint after being dead […] the only thing I want to be is alive” (181). He has effectively turned bad, inheriting his namesake’s indulgence and vanity.
In “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World,” the author offers a counterpoint to the anxieties and vices that Isabel and Blacamán exhibit. Esteban inherits his identity from the village that finds his corpse. Though he enters the story stripped of his dignity, the village restores his humanity out of admiration for his beauty. In this way, the village voluntarily bestows an inheritance upon Esteban, rooted in love rather than in character flaws or fears. They go so far as to reshape their village to accommodate him, and it becomes known as Esteban’s village, indicating their intent to pin their legacy on their deceased heir. Such inheritances neutralize the burden of identity and destiny.
The Impact of Social Dynamics on Moral Responsibility
Through the character of the Colonel in Leaf Storm, García Márquez poses the question of whether it’s nobler to live by one’s principles, even at the risk of losing social status. The Colonel, whose exorbitant charity defines him, can’t abide the idea of letting the doctor experience the town’s curse upon his soul. Isabel exposes the stakes of this choice, considering that this reputation will extend to her and her son’s lives in Macondo. If the Colonel chooses to prioritize the doctor out of charity, then he’s also condemning his descendants to a life of ruin. Isabel sidesteps the consequence of this dilemma through luck: She avoids facing the ire of her neighbors because she no longer has many neighbors to speak of, now that the banana company has left Macondo in a state of ruin.
Other characters in the collection expand on this dilemma, deepening it and offering more direct paths to resolution. In “The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship,” the community increasingly ostracizes the boy at the story’s center. His mother’s death makes him a target of misfortune because she dies in an unlucky chair. When he starts telling people about the ghost ship, they first dismiss him and then physically abuse him, believing that he’s trying to stir up trouble in the community. This, in turn, fuels his desire for retribution, so that even after he saves the ghost ship and causes it to materialize in reality, he steers it back to ram it into his own village. In this case, the boy cares about neither social dynamics nor moral responsibility, putting his vindication ahead of all else.
The title character of “Nabo” represents a contrast to the boy in the previous story. Rather than caring about his ego or his reputation, Nabo cares about doing his best at the job he was hired to do. When the saxophonist tells him that it’s time to join the choir, Nabo declines his invitation and remains preoccupied with his concern for the horses under his responsibility. In addition, the story emphasizes the difference between Nabo and his employers, who see him and the girl as inconveniences they must deal with. Because Nabo is the only character who treats the girl like a person, using his love for music to amuse her, it’s no surprise that he’s the only one who elicits a reaction from her. The story ends with the girl calling his name, validating Nabo’s decision to prioritize his duties over his standing. He mirrors the priest in Leaf Storm, who likewise prioritizes his duties as a spiritual guide and is revered for his endless goodwill, which he extends to everyone without any impact on his reputation. This underscores the idea that moral responsibility is deserving of respect in its own right, even if it leads to humiliation.
The Violence of Social Exclusion
Leaf Storm considers the impact that social exclusion can have on a person’s life. The doctor’s seclusion isn’t a random event, but the culminating point of a series of events that drive him to retreat from Macondo society. Before locking himself up in his house, the doctor is systematically barred from his career by the banana company and its moves to delegitimize his practice. When he starts spending more time at the barbershop, the community mocks him, starting a rumor that he’s trying to court the affections of the barber’s daughter, who has a similarly questionable reputation. He has reason to resent his adopted community, yet he experiences the force of their collective exclusion. The author thus shows how social exclusion can be an effective tool in destroying a person. The other stories in the collection underscore this point either through tragedy or social commentary.
In “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” a community casts the titular angel as a social pariah, increasingly dehumanizing him over the course of the story. Pelayo and Elisenda are initially struck by their conscience and decide that it’s better to let him go to sea than to keep him in their chicken coop. However, the crowd catches up to the spectacle before the couple has a chance to let the angel go. From then on, they all dishonor the angel to the point of making him a carnival attraction. He’s ironically eclipsed by the presence of an actual carnival attraction, suggesting that people are only interested in an angel’s ability to heal them, make them wealthy, or entertain them. Afterward, he loses his value in Pelayo and Elisenda’s household, and when he learns to regain his capacity for flight, Elisenda does nothing to suggest that she’s mourning his loss. The angel thus escapes from the captivity of his social exclusion.
Echoing the angel’s experience is that of the title character of “Nabo,” who, along with the girl who has muteness, is treated as less than human by his employers. After Nabo’s fatal injury in the stable, the family prays for him to die, as if the persistence of his spirit is an inconvenience to their lifestyle. Another parallel occurs in “Monologue of Isabel Watching It Rain in Macondo” as Isabel’s family is indifferent to the devastation that the prolonged storm causes in Macondo. When their house floods, the family isn’t alarmed for the community, worrying only about Isabel getting sick if she stands in the water too long. All of these incidents show the lack of sympathy and humanity that social exclusion drives within people. The more they practice it, the less likely they are to care for the suffering of humankind.
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