The Magic Barrel (Bernard Malamud)

The story is certainly not simply a romantic tale about a young man who sees a photograph and finds true love forevermore. In fact, in all likelihood, the "love" which Leo believes he has discovered in the photograph and in the person of the daughter of the matchmaker is not one filled with glowing prospects for the future. He knows nothing about the young woman, except what his heart has gleaned from her photograph, and the decidedly negative

review he has received from her own father, and the first sighting of her as he approaches:

. . . And she was there one spring night, waiting under a street lamp. He appeared carrying a small bouquet of violets and rosebuds. Stella stood by the lamp post, smoking. She wore white with red shoes, which fitted his expectations, although in a troubled moment he had imagined the dress red, and only the shoes white. She waited uneasily and shyly. From afar he saw that her eyes . . . were filled with desperate innocence. He pictured, in her, his own redemption. Violins and lit candles revolved in the sky. Leo ran forward with flowers outthrust (13).

Leo's romantic expectations will almost certainly cr

. . .
married, I am so happy that I talk too much. . . . That is why Salzman is a poor man." Immediately, "Leo's anger left him" (9). Therefore, clearly, Leo has a soft heart. He is affected by the feelings of those around him. He shows with such softenings that he is capable of love. However, at the same time, he remains unloved and does not love. He needs help, in other words. Whether the matchmaker is a busybody, a fool, or the right hand of God at work in the world of flawed & weak human beings, Salzman is precisely the help Leo needs. In fact, Leo himself certainly accepts as a possibility. Knowing he will soon be meeting the object of his affections, a meeting arranged by Salzman, Leo "was . . . afflicted by a tormenting suspicion that Salzman had planned it all to happen this way" (12). Is the author's message that the work of God, or the work of love, sometimes, if not always, requires the intervention of some third party or force which pushes the hesitant heart over the edge? The reader is free to speculate, just as he or she is free to wonder about the future of this unlikely relationship between two young people who appear to share emotional immaturity, if not instability. Again, however, the success of the match is not t
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Salzman Leo, Magic Barrel, Stella Malamud, Immediately Leo's, Leo Leo, Bernard Malamud's, red shoes, dress red shoes, Leo Finkle, dress red, love god loved, red shoes white, photograph stella, human race, love experience, desperate innocence, love loved, god and/or, observations leo, leo's anger,
Approximate Word count = 1662
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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