Studies in 20th Century Literature Volume 19 Issue 2 Article 7 6-1-1995 A Contemporary Fairy Tale: García Márquez' "El rastro de tu sangre en la nieve" Arnold M. Penuel Centenary College of Louisiana Follow this and additional works at: https://newprairiepress.org/sttcl Part of the Latin American Literature Commons, and the Modern Literature Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Penuel, Arnold M. (1995) "A Contemporary Fairy Tale: García Márquez' "El rastro de tu sangre en la nieve"," Studies in 20th Century Literature: Vol. 19: Iss. 2, Article 7. https://doi.org/10.4148/2334-4415.1373 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in Studies in 20th Century Literature by an authorized administrator of New Prairie Press. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Contemporary Fairy Tale: García Márquez' "El rastro de tu sangre en la nieve" Abstract The pattern usually found in fairy tales is for the hero or heroine to struggle against, and finally overcome, what seem to be overwhelming odds, after which he or she lives happily ever after. This pattern, according to Bruno Bettelheim, is emblematic of the struggle required of every individual in real life in order to develop the maturity to cope with, and thrive in, the world. García Márquez' story, "El rastro de tu sangre en la nieve," whose dominant intertext is the fairy tale, turns this pattern on its head. Handicapped by privileged upbringing, cultural narcissism, and the necessity of adapting to the demands of a different culture, Billy Sánchez, the hero, or perhaps better, the antihero of "El rastro," utterly fails to master the challenges he meets; rather than rising to a higher level of maturity, in the end he reverts to an infantile way of coping with the world. A Colombian from Cartagena de Indias, Billy's inability to adapt to the French mode of being illuminates certain differences between Hispanic and French cultures. Implicit in the story of Billy's failure is the suggestion that to get along in today's interdependent world one needs a cosmopolitan education; knowledge of the ways of a single culture is simply not adequate preparation for life in the "global village." Keywords Gabriel García Márquez, el rastro de tu sangre en la nieve, fairy tales, Bruno Bettelheim, cope, coping, being, Hispanic culture, French culture, global This article is available in Studies in 20th Century Literature: https://newprairiepress.org/sttcl/vol19/iss2/7 Penuel: A Contemporary Fairy Tale: García Márquez' "El rastro de tu sangr A Contemporary Fairy Tale: Garcia Marquez' "El rastro de tu sangre en la nieve" Arnold M. Penuel Centenary College of Louisiana Like most of Garcia Marquez' stories and novels, the short story "El rastro de tu sangre en la nieve" integrates elements from a variety of sources, but the story's principal intertextual element is the fairy tale. Although the titular image of blood on the snow comes from "Little Snow-White," the story is a subtle recreation of "Little Briar- Rose," better known as "Sleeping Beauty." Well aware ofthe symbolic import of fairy tales, Garcia Marquez exploits that tradition to create a contemporary fairy tale replete with symbolic meaning. His fairy tale explores the cultural origins of individual psychology and culturally conditioned modes of being. Images that confirm the story's fairy-tale matrix are in evidence throughout the text, starting, of course, with the title itself. In "Little Snow-White," a queen pricks her finger while sewing, and three drops of blood fall upon the snow (126). In "El rastro" Nena Daconte pricks her finger on a thorn in a bouquet of roses she receives from the Colombian ambassador in Madrid: "[Y] luego recibi6 las rosas. Al cogerlas se pinch6 el dedo con una espina del tallo ..." ' [And] then she accepted the roses. When she took them she pricked her finger on a thorn on the stem' (225). Later, when she tries in vain to stop the flow of blood by putting her hand outside the car window in the freezing air, she makes this comment: " `Si alguien nos quiere encontrar sera muy facil,' dijo con su encanto natural. 'Solo tendra que seguir el rastro de mi sangre en la nieve' " `If anyone wants to find us, it will be easy,' she said with her natural charm, 'they will only have to follow the trail of my blood in the snow.' (229-30). In "Little Briar-Rose," a fifteen-year- old princess pricks her finger on a spindle and falls asleep for one hundred years. The consequence of Nena's pricking of her finger is a Published by New Prairie Press 1 Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature, Vol. 19, Iss. 2 [1995], Art. 7 240 STCL, Volume 19, No. 2 (Summer, 1995) death from which there is no awakening. Death or a deathlike sleep is also prominent in "Little Snow-White." She is revived when the dwarfs remove the strangling lace (130) and the poisonous comb from her hair (131), and the prince accidentally dislodges the poisonous piece of apple from the throat (134). Nena's failure to be saved signifies a degradation of the "myth," of which more later. The repeated emphasis given to Nena Daconte and Billy Sanchez de Avila's distinguished ancestry, to their families' affluence-and influence-is designed to place the story in the tradition of the fairy tale, in which the protagonists are often royal, wealthy, and powerful. Despite Billy Sanchez' delinquent conduct, the narrator makes it clear that both his and Nena's families belonged to a small clique that had ruled the roost in Cartagena de Indias since colonial times: ". [P]ues ambos pertenecian a la estirpe provinciana que manejaba a su arbitrio el destino de la ciudad desde los tiempos de la colonia ..." 'Both belong to families that had dominated the city's affairs since colonial times' (221). Nena's surname, Daconte, is composed of da, meaning "of' in Portuguese and conte, meaning "count" in Italian, further associating her with nobility. But conte also means "story" in French so that her full name could also be translated as "Little Girl of the Story." Another detail pointing to the story's imitation of fairy tales is found in the impression Nena receives as she and Billy drive through the moonlit darkness of the French countryside. "El fulgor de la luna se filtraba a traves de la neblina, y las siluetas de los castillos entre los pinos parecian de cuentos de hadas" 'The moonlight filtered through the fog, and the outlines ofthe castles in the pine trees had the aura of fairy tales' (227). Both characters possess the perfect youthful beauty of the fairy- tale prince and princess. When Billy breaks into Nena's cabana, she "vio parado frente a ella al bandolero mas hermoso que se podia concebir" 'saw standing in front of her the most handsome gang member imaginable' (221). As they cross the French border on a stormy night a guard who initially had rudely answered their query as to where to find a pharmacy abruptly changes his tune when he chances to glance at the beautiful young woman: "Pero luego se fly) con atencion en la muchacha que se chupaba el dedo herido envuelta en el destello de los visones naturales, y debi6 confundirla con una aparici6n magica en aquella noche de espantos, porque al instante cambi6 de humor" 'But then he noticed the girl in the beautiful mink stole who was sucking the injured finger, and he must have mistaken her for a magical https://newprairiepress.org/sttcl/vol19/iss2/7 DOI: 10.4148/2334-4415.1373 2 Penuel: A Contemporary Fairy Tale: García Márquez' "El rastro de tu sangr Penuel 241 apparition that frightful night, because suddenly his mood changed' (219). Note the phrase "aparicion magica," which further contributes to the atmosphere of a fairy tale. Later, Billy asks himself if "la criatura radiante" 'the radiant creature' sleeping at his side is as happy as he is (220). Nena's beauty, even after her death, parallels that of Sleeping Beauty and that of Little Snow-White in death. Those who managed to see Nena's embalmed body "siguieron repitiendo durante muchos aftos que no habian visto nunca una mujer mas hermosa, ni viva ni muerta" `kept on repeating for many years that they had never seen a more beautiful woman, dead or alive' (244). The image of the car, the latest model Bentley, which Billy receives as a wedding gift from his father, contributes further to the atmosphere of magic characteristic of fairy tales. The narrator says that its "interior exhalaba un aliento de bestia viva" 'interior breathed like a live animal' (218). The Bentley seems to hypnotize Billy. When the ambassador attempts to show him the sights of Madrid, Billy "solo parecia atento a la magia del coche" 'only seemed interested in the magic of the car' (226). The image of the car as a "bestia viva" 'live animal' is appropriate. Centaurlike, Billy is inseparable from the beast, driving more than eleven hours without stopping to rest. It should come as no surprise that the master of "magical realism" should have recourse to fairy tales, in which the supernatural is paramount. After all, intertexts in the form of re-created myths are found throughout his writing. Moreover, critics and psychologists such as Bruno Bettelheim have shown that, notwithstanding the entertain- ment value of fairy tales, they are charged with symbolic meaning and they function to educate their readers' perceptions and feelings.