Magical Realism and Man's Search for Meaning Literature Essays Literary Criticism

Magical Realism and Man's Search for Meaning

Magical Realism is the way in which a person views the world through a type of art. Magical realism deals with emotions, and it also discovers what is mysterious and meaningful in life. According to Franz Roh, in painting, is the way a person views the world through art (18, 20). Magical Realism has many characteristics that include many other ideas. Magical Realism can be observed in other subject areas, too, such as the logotherapy of Victor Frankl.

Simpkins mentioned that "real life" is the "Real magic" (152). He also said that realism is heightened by magic (148-152). However, Leal felt that Magical Realism focuses on the marvelous in the real (122). Amaryll Chanady feels that Magical Realism is focused more toward reality (131).

In Victor Frankl's novel Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl discusses finding this magic in life in what he calls will-to-meaning. Frankl, a twentieth century psychiatrist, states that "life ultimately means taking responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual" (122). This concept is what he called will-to-meaning. Some forms of will-to-meaning are hunger, humiliation, fear, and deep anger at injustice (8). Some importance of will-to-meaning is that he had to find a sense of responsibility in his existence (9).

One of the characteristics from will-to-meaning was finding responsibility. In the story Like Water for Chocolate, a magical realist story, a girl named Tita found her circumstances so awful that she found the meaning in her cooking and gave responsibility for life. She was always getting her heart broken because she loved a man named Pedro and could not be with him. Therefore, she learned to have a responsibility for cooking. She could have rebelled and left, but she knew that she had a responsibility to cook for her family and the man whom she loved. Tita found magic in her circumstances and viewed the mundane as beautiful helping her to live successfully in these terrible circumstances.

Magical Realism can be observed in other subject areas, too, such as the logotherapy of Victor Frankl. Finding examples in other "real-world" fields of study helps in understanding Magical Realism as a world view and its relevance in our every day living. Just as Tita found magic and responsibility in what may have seemed mundane and not worth living , so we can find them in our circumstances.

Works Cited

Esquivel, Laura. Like Water fir Chocolate. New York: Doubleday, 1989.

Frankl, Victor E. Man's Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy. Boston, Mass: Beacon Press, 1992.

Roh, Franz. "Magical Realism: Post Expressionism." Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris.

Durkham, N. C: Duke UP, 1995. 18, 20.