Comparison Between Pelayo And The Tantula Woman

As a result of the contrasting public receptions and treatments of the very old man with enormous wings and the tarantula woman, we are meant to understand that we as a society tend to expect everything to relate to our own lives rather than wonder about and appreciate that which is special. Throughout the course of the story, the very old man is received with skepticism turned awe due to mismatching the public’s hopes while the tarantula woman is treated with reverence due to her strikingly relevant history and pleasant reception to the public. As word first spread that there was a winged man in the community, many townspeople visited Pelayo and the winged man. Along with the great range of people interested in the winged man came a large assortment of hopes for the ‘angel’.

When these people first view the man, though, they are disappointed as the man spent his time “trying to get comfortable in his borrowed nest” instead of acting in a manner that they expect. The townspeople, realizing that the man has no interest in them, begin to rethink their initial opinions. The irrelevant wonder of the man is built upon as he performs many “consolation miracles” to the public. Even though the man is clearly not human, the magic that arrived with him does not interest the public because it is not the magic that they wanted. The desired magic, however, is found in the tarantula woman, who interacts with her audience and provides insight into the human