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Princess Briar Rose and the Snow Queen

From Kelly Link’s “Travels with the Snow Queen.”

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A Literary Review and Analysis of Gabriel García Márquez’s “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings”

Gabriel García Márquez’s short story, “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings,” tells the story of an old, winged man who has crash-landed in the courtyard of a home belonging to Pelayo, Elisenda, and their then-newborn child. Not knowing what to do, the couple calls in the help of a neighbor woman “who knew everything about life and death” and are told the man is not a castaway as the couple had first believed but an angel. The couple locks the man in a wire chicken coop with their hens and wake one morning to discover the entirety of their neighborhood crowded around the cage entertaining themselves by throwing the man scraps like “a circus animal.” The local priest, Father Gonzaga, arrives at the home to do his own examination of the man and quickly suspects him an impostor, warning the crowd “against the risks of being ingenuous.” However, this advice is ignored. With the number of onlookers increasing rapidly, Elisenda has the idea to begin charging five cents admission to see the “angel.” Pilgrims arrive from far away to see the man, and Pelayo and Elisenda quickly become very wealthy. Carnival attractions show up at the residence, one of them a “woman who had been changed into a spider for having disobeyed her parents.” The allowance to ask the woman anything they desired, the “sincere affliction with which she recounted the details of her misfortune,” and the winged man’s propensity for performing “consolation miracles”—a blind man gaining three additional teeth, a paralytic almost winning the lottery, etc.—all served to completely draw the public’s attention away from the man and toward the spider-woman. With the money they have earned, Pelayo and Elisenda build a luxurious two-story mansion. When the winged man’s health begins to decline, the couple worry the man may die, only because they do not know what to do with a dead angel, but with the eventual arrival of the next spring, the man’s condition steadily improves, his wings growing “large, stiff feathers.” The story ends with Elisenda watching the winged man succeed in taking flight and disappearing into the horizon.

“A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings,” is captivating in its exploration of human nature and seamless incorporation of the fantastical. Originally published in Spanish in 1955, it was later translated and published in English in 1972.

The quick introduction of the character of the winged man draws the reader in and the subsequent cruelties that are done to the man keeps their attention. The story is written in a style that is largely simplistic. The language is easy for the reader to understand and the plot is easy to follow, yet the thematic meaning of the story can be interpreted in several different ways. The people in this story seem almost unsurprised and disillusioned with magic and the fantasy elements we see in the story—the winged man and the spider-woman. They seem less awed by the winged man’s existence and more with the possibilities of what he can do for them and possibly also the mystery of his true nature. This seems to imply that the people of this fictional world have seen magic and have long accepted it as reality.

Also written simply is the casual cruelty and abuse inflicted on the winged man. Immediately upon the discovery of the man in the couple’s yard, the detail that the neighbor woman advised them to “club him to death,” and their response that they “did not have the heart” to do so is presented with an absurd sense of normalcy, which continues throughout the story. It begs the question: is it just the unusual presence of wings on an otherwise very human man that makes the townspeople abandon the standard of respect that all people deserve? Is it the wings in addition to his overall downtrodden and helpless nature? Which leads me to the message that I find in this story—people often view others that are different or disenfranchised or reliant on others as being lesser than. There are so many groups of people, both historically and today, that can be represented by the winged man and the way he is treated in this story.

Another element that I found interesting in this story is the possible commentary on mob mentality. We see this in several instances, such as when Pelayo and Elisenda go into the courtyard one morning: “they found the whole neighborhood in front of the chicken coop having fun with the angel … tossing him things to eat through the openings in the wire as if he weren’t a supernatural creature but a circus animal,” and later they, “pulled out feathers to touch their defective parts with, and even the most merciful threw stones at him … they burned his side with an iron for branding steers.” Everyone in the crowd feels comfortable participating in this abuse.

A lesser but still notable point made in the story is the discussion, perhaps even satire, of the Catholic Church. When Father Gonzaga conducts his inspection of the winged man, he greets the man in Latin, with the text stating, “The parish priest had his first suspicion of an impostor when he saw that he did not understand the language of God or know how to greet His ministers … and nothing about him measured up to the proud dignity of angels.” He then reminds the gathered crowd that “the devil had the bad habit of making use of carnival tricks in order to confuse the unwary.” He then promises to “write a letter to his bishop so that the latter would write to the Supreme Pontiff in order to get the final verdict from the highest courts.” I won’t go on about this critique of the Catholic Church, but there is something to be said about the Godly authority given to Catholic officials, the excuse of Satanic trickery in order to deny what is in front of them, and the strict hierarchy of the Church.

Finally, I believe the ending of the story speaks to how unappreciative we as humans often are and also to how those profiting off the suffering of others do not give credit or regard to those suffering. By the end of the story, Pelayo and Elisenda have enough money to build a mansion “with balconies and gardens,” buy whatever their hearts desire, and quit working altogether—as a direct result of the exploitation and abuse of the winged man. However, even then, the couple continues to treat the winged man as nothing but a subhuman nuisance. At one point, the text states, “the exasperated and unhinged Elisenda shouted that it was awful living in that hell full of angels,” the hell being their lavish mansion. Only when the winged man’s health is declining, the story says, “Pelayo threw a blanket over him and extended him the charity of letting him sleep in the shed.” The winged man had been on their property for years and was only then given shelter for the first time. After the man takes flight and leaves the couple’s property, the story concludes with Elisenda watching him disappear “because then he was no longer an annoyance in her life but an imaginary dot on the horizon of the sea.”

In my opinion, “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings,” is a captivating and thought-provoking story, and Márquez’s writing is able to evoke a range of emotion from the audience. We are left reflecting on the themes of this story where many things are left unrevealed to the reader and contemplating the many points Márquez has made about human nature.

Márquez, Gabriel García. “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings.” The Big Book of Modern Fantasy, edited by Ann Vandermeer and Jeff Vandermeer, Vintage Books, 2020, pp. 66-70.

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Literature Review of “O Ugly Bird!” by Manly Wade Wellman

Manly Wade Wellman’s 1951 short story “O Ugly Bird!” is the first of a series of what are known as the John the Balladeer stories. Set in Appalachia, “O Ugly Bird!” tells the story of John, a wandering minstrel who stumbles upon a small mountain village and quickly makes the unfortunate acquaintance of what John describes as a “hoodoo man” called Mr. Onselm and his terrible bird companion, the titular Ugly Bird. John learns Mr. Onselm has been controlling the townspeople into indulging his every wish lest he use his mysterious powers against them, with town farmer Mr. Bristow recalling an incident in which Mr. Onselm permanently “dumbed” a woman for withholding a cake from him. John’s arrival in the backwater town brings about the end of Mr. Onselm’s control in the village. Threatened by John’s presence, Mr. Onselm gathers several men to get rid of John at the town’s store, with the Ugly Bird arriving mid-altercation. Armed with only his guitar strung with silver strings, John grapples with the men before smashing the guitar into the Ugly Bird’s head. At this, Mr. Onselm immediately drops dead, and the Ugly Bird subsequently melts into the ground before disappearing entirely.

"O Ugly Bird!" is an example of Appalachian fantasy, a sub-genre that explores fantastical elements against the backdrop of the Appalachian setting, often including religious and cultural characteristics intrinsic to the region. Manly Wade Wellman, a prolific author of weird and speculative fiction, masterfully weaves elements of horror, folklore, and the supernatural in this short story, drawing inspiration from his own experiences after relocating to North Carolina as an adult. Wellman's storytelling prowess and his ability to create a sense of unease and wonder make "O Ugly Bird!" a compelling and enduring work of fiction that continues to captivate and intrigue readers to this day.

Set in North Carolina, specifically in the Ozarks, the tale introduces us to John, an intelligent and observant young man who becomes fascinated by an enigmatic witch-man and, as the title suggests, the "ugly" bird that serves as his magical companion, playing a similar role as the common animal familiar. As the story unfolds, Wellman skillfully builds an atmosphere of foreboding, mystery, and tension between the characters.

One of the most striking aspects of "O Ugly Bird!" is the vivid and immersive sense of place. Wellman's depiction of the Southern Appalachian landscape, complete with a pervasive sense of isolation, creates a unique and palpable backdrop for the events of the story. The descriptive imagery as well as the first person point-of-view the story is told in serve to transport the readers themselves into the story and its setting. Wellman's evocative writing immerses the reader in the rich Southern landscape, where folklore and superstition are prominent.

Folklore and superstition play a significant role in "O Ugly Bird!" The story is steeped in Southern folklore and the belief in the supernatural. The townspeople are all aware of Mr. Onselm’s abilities and have a deep-seated suspicion of him and the Ugly Bird by the time John arrives in the town, and John is quick to come to his own conclusion that Onselm is a “hoodoo man,” alluding to how deep beliefs such as these run in the region. Wellman weaves his characters and their beliefs into the narrative, blurring the line between reality and the supernatural. The power of superstition, folklore, and the mystical is a central element in the story, and it adds depth to the narrative.

"O Ugly Bird!" is a tale of ambiguity and uncertainty. Wellman leaves the nature of the bird and the events that unfold open to interpretation. The story is filled with symbolism and metaphor, making it a thought-provoking piece of weird fiction. The Ugly Bird itself serves as a symbol of the unknown and the unexplained. It represents the aspects of the universe that continue to elude human understanding. The nature of the Ugly Bird is never truly revealed as the reader is seeing the events of the story as John himself, who doesn’t know the truth about the bird. We know only that the bird an intelligent extension of Mr. Onselm himself and when injured with silver, both man and bird die. Given this, we are left to make our own assumptions. Wellman's storytelling allows readers to draw our own conclusions about the true nature of the bird and the events that transpire, maintaining an air of ambiguity that encourages readers to ponder the nature of the supernatural.

Wellman, Manly Wade. “O Ugly Bird!” The Big Book of Modern Fantasy, edited by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer, Vintage Books, 2020, pp. 46-54.

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Literature Review of “Travels with the Snow Queen,” by Kelly Link

Kelly Link’s 1996 short story “Travels with the Snow Queen” tells the story of a woman embarking on an adventure to find her lover, Kay, who has seemingly left her. The narrator, Gerda, recalls being told by a man working at the corner store that he watched Kay get into a long sleigh with a beautiful woman, the sleigh pulled by thirty white geese. While on her journey to find Kay and this Snow Queen, Gerda meets several interesting characters along the way, most notable among them a princess called Briar Rose, a robber girl, a prince-turned-reindeer named Bae, and eventually, the Snow Queen herself. Although she set forth on this journey to find her lover and together live happily ever after, Gerda’s view of Kay has changed throughout the course of her travels, and in the end, she makes the choice to leave him.

Link’s writing style breaks the rules of conventional fiction writing in a captivating way, and for the purposes of this story, it works extremely well. Her writing is humorous and at times satirical, creating a retelling of a classic story that is a fun read with a modern spin. The story is, interestingly, written in a second-person point of view, directly inserting the reader into the role of the main character and narrator. Reading the story, the audience experiences the events of the journey and meets the various characters ourselves; we are Gerda. Gerda is a sarcastic and funny narrator, and we find ourselves embodying that characterization.

Along with being a more modern reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s 1844 fairytale, Link’s story is written for an adult audience, whereas Andersen’s story was intended for children. Link’s story contains sexual themes and explicit language, at one point the Princess Briar Rose tells Gerda, “He was a nice guy, okay in bed. She was a real bitch, though … The Snow Queen,” she says, “the slut in the sleigh” (The Big Book of Modern Fantasy 570). In addition to mature content, in writing this story, it is clear that Link wants the audience to think about themes like misogynistic depictions of female characters in media, that a child likely would not fully understand.

In the story, we meet several characters that are representative of ways in which women are often depicted in media like literature and film. Link uses specific words to describe these female characters, and these words are deliberately used to represent common female archetypes. The bimbo, the slut, the bitch, the plump older woman that is past her prime, and of course, Gerda, the jealous ex. Link’s subtle social commentary about these boxes society often puts female characters and, ultimately, all women, into while also giving us a quite complex female narrator with notable character growth is a wonderful demonstration of the multitudes a woman can be. There’s also the inclusion of Gerda noting that the princess doesn’t actually turn out to be a bimbo, and the Snow Queen isn’t actually a bitch, reminding us that women are not these labels.

“Travels with the Snow Queen” is rich with imagery, descriptions of glass-cut feet, bloody tracks in the snow, and freezing exhalations into in the cold air giving the audience a visceral description of the characteristic wintery atmosphere. Also heavily woven into the story are allusions and references to many popular fairytales, such as Hansel and Gretel, The Wizard of Oz, The Little Mermaid, and Cinderella, among others. At one point, the story implies that Gerda is the great-granddaughter of Little Red Riding Hood, describing her beautiful red cloak, now smelling like wet dog and ragged like it had been chewed on, a detail that I found particularly amusing.

The plot of the story easily kept my attention while reading, and combined with Link’s unique storytelling, I was never bored. There were lines where a witty remark shocked a laugh out of me, which I enjoyed. In addition to being wonderfully sarcastic, Link’s humor is also beautifully absurd in a way that is addicting to read and refreshing as it is rare to find in literature, especially in a way that pays off so successfully.

Overall, Kelly Link’s “Travels with the Snow Queen” is one of my favorite pieces I have read recently. Her writing style is so unique to her, and her fun in writing this story was evident to me while reading it. Link is an excellent and effective storyteller, suddenly dropping lines of beautifully written prose between sections of humor. In the story, the narrator repeatedly mentions the bloodied and torn soles of her feet, cut with the glass shards of her map to Kay. In the story’s resolution, Link writes, “The robber girl’s boots cover the scars on your feet. When you look at these scars, you can see the outline of the journey you made. Sometimes mirrors are maps, and sometimes maps are mirrors. Sometimes scars tell a story, and maybe someday you will tell this story to a lover. The soles of your feet are stories—hidden in the black boots, they shine like mirrors” (575). In the last paragraph of the story, she leaves us with a perfect conclusion, “You tell the geese that your feet are maps and your feet are mirrors. But you tell them that you have to keep in mind that they are also useful for walking around on. They are perfectly good feet” (576), indicative of Gerda’s own personal growth and realization of self-worth independent of her past lover and encompassing her character arc throughout the story.

Link, Kelly. “Travels with the Snow Queen.” The Big Book of Modern Fantasy, edited by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer, Vintage Books, 2020, pp. 566-576.

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