The Magic Barrel

Most people spend much of their life looking for love. They look for love in many different people. Some people believe that love finds its way to where it needs to be, and some believe that love must be sought after. In Malamud’s story, “The Magic Barrel” one of his characters says “Love comes with the right person, not before” (Malamud 49). This implies that when two people find the right person, they will find love. Defining love has been one of the most difficult words to define in the English language. It has become to be used in everyday speech so freely that it has many layman definitions. For example, a child may claim to love ice cream, or a base ball player may play for the love of the game, but the dictionary defines love under a different context. Webster defines love as“ . . . a deep and tender feeling of affection, attachment, or devotion to a person. . . an expression of one's love or affection. . . A strong, passionate, affection of one person for another based in part on sexual attraction.” (Webster’s) This definition implies that love is between two people and that it is emotional and passionate. Arriving at this point is what Malamud’s story is about. In “The Magic Barrel”, a young man studying to become a Rabbi calls upon a matchmaker to help him find a wife. The student, Leo, felt that this would be the best thing for him, after all, this is how his parents met and they had a very loving marriage. He tried to find love through the matchmaker’s descriptio...