El árbol de oro
Encyclopedia
El árbol de oro is a short story (roughly three pages) by Ana María Matute
, written in Spanish
. Ana Maria Matute was born in Barcelona in 1926. It is part of her collection of short stories, set in the Spanish countryside, called "Historias de Artamila" (1961).The story is set during or shortly after the Spanish Civil War
.
Ivo has been assigned the coveted task of going to get the students' textbooks from the small tower (torrecita) where they are kept. When Mateo Heredia, the class's best student, asks if he can be given the key, Ivo discourages Miss Leocadia from doing so. Ivo later tells the narrator that he desires total possession of the key because of a golden tree visible from inside the torrecita, that can be viewed through a particular crack in the wall. He believes that he alone has the right to see this mysterious tree, describing it to be made completely of blinding, illuminated gold. He dramatically describes how birds turn gold when they land on the tree and how some golden flowers have grown next to the tree. He wonders if everything that touches the tree turns into gold.
One day, Ivo has fallen ill and does not come to class, allowing Mateo to receive the key. When the narrator asks the unfriendly Mateo if he is able to see the golden tree, he scoffs at her. Later, the narrator pays Mateo to borrow the key during recess. In the torrecita, when she looks through the crack she sees only the normal, barren countryside.
Time goes on and the narrator moves back to the city, where she came from. Two summers later, she returns to the same small town and is walking past a cemetery in which she sees a large tree illuminated by a dying sunset, causing it to appear to be made of shimmering gold. She enters the cemetery and at the base of the tree finds the grave of Ivo, who had died at the age of ten, presumably from his aforementioned illness. Upon discovering Ivo's grave and the tree of gold, the narrator is not depressed but joyful. Indeed, the tree of gold is now Ivo's forever.
Ana María Matute
Ana María Matute is an internationally acclaimed Spanish author. She is one of the strongest voices from the posguerra, or period immediately following the Spanish Civil War...
, written in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Ana Maria Matute was born in Barcelona in 1926. It is part of her collection of short stories, set in the Spanish countryside, called "Historias de Artamila" (1961).The story is set during or shortly after the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
.
Plot summary
The main character is a young student, presumably a girl, who is trapped at her grandfather's house one autumn because her bad health prohibits her from returning home to the city. Eventually, her grandfather consents to let her attend a local school in his small town. There, the narrator befriends a bright-eyed boy named Ivo Márquez who is described as being able to cast a "net of silver" upon those with whom he encounters. At the school, many of the children envy Ivo as he is charismatic, charming, and able to influence Señora Leocadia.Ivo has been assigned the coveted task of going to get the students' textbooks from the small tower (torrecita) where they are kept. When Mateo Heredia, the class's best student, asks if he can be given the key, Ivo discourages Miss Leocadia from doing so. Ivo later tells the narrator that he desires total possession of the key because of a golden tree visible from inside the torrecita, that can be viewed through a particular crack in the wall. He believes that he alone has the right to see this mysterious tree, describing it to be made completely of blinding, illuminated gold. He dramatically describes how birds turn gold when they land on the tree and how some golden flowers have grown next to the tree. He wonders if everything that touches the tree turns into gold.
One day, Ivo has fallen ill and does not come to class, allowing Mateo to receive the key. When the narrator asks the unfriendly Mateo if he is able to see the golden tree, he scoffs at her. Later, the narrator pays Mateo to borrow the key during recess. In the torrecita, when she looks through the crack she sees only the normal, barren countryside.
Time goes on and the narrator moves back to the city, where she came from. Two summers later, she returns to the same small town and is walking past a cemetery in which she sees a large tree illuminated by a dying sunset, causing it to appear to be made of shimmering gold. She enters the cemetery and at the base of the tree finds the grave of Ivo, who had died at the age of ten, presumably from his aforementioned illness. Upon discovering Ivo's grave and the tree of gold, the narrator is not depressed but joyful. Indeed, the tree of gold is now Ivo's forever.