There is a primary focus on finding love and discovering one’s identity in “The Magic Barrel”. The conflicts are seen in Leo’s discovery of what he wants in a bride and an inability to love. The first fact is the dissatisfaction of love through beauty and intelligence. Men have mild interest in knowledge and give focus to looks, but Salzman strongly fixates on these while showing Leo possible brides. In one client, he explains: “I wish you could see this girl. She is a doll. Also very intelligent” (417). The description of the woman is accurate as he continues: “…she speaks French, you will think it is music” (417). However, Leo not feeling captivated by this portrays how some people are not satisfied out of generic beauty and intellect. People can find it admirable if someone is intellectual, speaks a language, or has beauty, but will not choose them for a soulmate by those generic reasons. Dissatisfaction limits Leo’s interest in a bride, another issue is his religious identity, which his relationship with God and people.
Leo’s identity of religion is a crucial fact that affects his ability to feel love. People who are going to become a rabbi, or priest need to have a lot of love for God, but Leo is stunned while with Lily. After a question about when he became smitten with God, Leo begins feeling something about his identity in regards to generic love and religious status. He becomes bitter and starts to realize: “perhaps…he did not love God so well as he might, because he had not loved man” (422). For an impending rabbi or priest to feel they do not love God enough can leave their identity shaken and the mention of people is another large conflict that shares a connection. “It seemed to Leo that…he saw himself for the first time as he truly was—unloved and loveless” (422). If someone does not love God, or some spiritual belief, it might be difficult to feel unconditional love. Leo did feel dissatisfaction towards choosing a bride out of generic beauty, however, lacking religious zeal can make it more difficult to love without special conditions. Leo’s questionable religious identity makes him feel he cannot naturally love out of generic beauty, there is someone he learns about that captivates him from an identity in hardship.
Leo seeks Stella after seeing a photo of her that symbolizes an identity of poverty. While giving up on several other photos left by Salzman, Stella’s peaks his interest. When Leo stares at the photo many traits about Stella come to his mind: “Feature for feature, even some of the ladies of the photographs could do better; but she leaped forth to his heart—had lived, or wanted to…” (424). While looking at Stella’s photo, she had looks, although lacked the beauty of high status women, yet the way Leo sees her life in the visual, told a story. As the narration continues: “…perhaps regretted how she had lived—had somehow deeply suffered: it could be seen in the depths of those reluctant eyes…” (424). In Leo’s perspective, Stella looked as though she had struggled in life and did not want to live the way it appears in the photo. Her identity was more realistic and needed someone to love and help her. Leo finding a woman that was suffering broke his inability to love driving him want to her as his bride. Leo ultimately decides to pursue Stella, but Salzman has objections when confronted.
Salzman not favoring Stella portrays a father-daughter conflict. Salzman presented photos of beautiful and intelligent woman, but his rejection of Stella’s is explained when Leo confronts him, the matchmaker admits: “This is my baby, my Stella, she should burn in hell” (426). When thinking about the identity of a man’s daughter, there are those that are sinful and despises them. Sometimes man who are matchmakers are quick to talk of someone they know of that are desirable, but refuse to allow someone to choose their child, if they are a junkie. Leo is persistent to pursue Stella as he confronts Salzman a second time: “Just her I want” (426). While Salzman tries to dissuade him, Leo presses on: “Put me in touch with her, Salzman” (427). Leo humbly wants to make a wife out of a woman, who is a junkie, even if she is not intelligent or greatly beautiful. Salzman puts aside his father-daughter dilemma seeing that Leo has found love in Stella, and possibly that his possible rabbi status can help deliver Stella from hardship. The conflict of Leo finding love through a woman’s identity symbolizes how men need a woman with realistic qualities to be able to see past generic beauty.
Works Cited
Malamud, Barnard. “The Magic Barrel” American Short Stories: Eighth Edition. Ed. Bert Hitchcock and Virginia M. Kouidis. New York: Pearson, 2008. 415-427. Print.
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