An Alternative Ending of “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”

Alternative ending:

                Elisenda was later informed by relatives abroad what happened to the angel after he gained his freedom. Supposedly he settled down and had several children. The children matured and began fighting with each other, staining their feathers red, which previously were ornate florescent shades of green, blue, gold, and the black they inherited from their father. Over time the infighting between the angel’s children grew in scale and intensity as the angel became tired, no longer having energy to find compromise between their disputes. Suddenly their isolation and freedom was transgressed as a strange man with eagle like wings appeared in the angel’s asylum. The eagle interfered with the angel’s new domain, stealing nest materials and turning his children against each other. This infighting brought the angel to its death bed. Supposedly the last moments of the angel consisted of him watching his children fight as the foreigner watched atop a high branch. With the death of the angel and conflict between its children heightening in scale and intensity, Elisenda’s relatives returned home and she has not since heard about the state of the angel.

                “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” captured my imagination and interest in Latin American history. Perceiving the story as an allegory of the struggle of South American nations against their colonizers, I immediately sought to place characters in the story with historical institutions of Spanish colonialism. To re imagine the short story I would extend the narrative to add themes of American exploitation and meddling in Latin American politics. As the old man taking flight embodies the freedom from colonial rule, an addition to the story about a bird harassing the angel would complement my interpretation of Marquez’s short story.     

While the story ending with the old man anti-climatically flying into the horizon is thoroughly artsy, it neglects the adversity faced by Latin America post-independence. The Spanish colonialism would not disappear all at once and Latin America would be forever interfered with by foreign powers. Interference by the United States in Latin America started small as individuals built companies based around fruit production. Later on raw materials would be extracted from South America, heightening the importance of Latin America in the United States economy. In the late 1800’s the United States gained holdings in the Caribbean and would begin to interfere with the governments of Latin America, which would only grow in scale over time. The story is analogous to the beginning of Spanish colonization through the preliminary phase of independence. However, the story would be enhanced by alluding to the troubles ahead rather than ending with total uncertainty.

                My short alternative ending has several implications which depict specific attributes of post-colonial Latin American history. First, the colonial presence remained in several places, implied by the presence of Elisenda’s relatives. In my initial interpretation, I perceived Elisenda as an analogy of the Spanish nobility, and high ranking colonial officials. Second, the vast colonial empire forged by Spain would not remain contiguous after independence, which the presence of the angel’s children implies. Last of primary analogies, and perhaps the most obvious, is the presence of the Eagle and its actions which serves to mirror the United States meddling in South America.