The Shadow Of The Wind Analysis

Originating in the Bible, there is a belief that children are born bearing the weight of their parents sins. This idea is encompassed in the novel The Shadow of the Wind by Ruiz Zafon about a young boy named Daniel, who encounters a book that changes his life. Enlisting the help of multiple people, Daniel is able to uncover many of mysteries surrounding the book, The Shadow of the Wind, and its arcane author, Julian Carax. On Daniel’s quest to uncover more about Julian Carax, he finds that both Julian Carax and the antagonist, Javier Fumero had a painful past with sinful parents that mold the two boys into becoming self destructive men. Through the adulterous and abusive sins of Julian’s real father, Don Ricardo Aldaya and through Fumero’s mother Yvonne’s mental instability, the boys, Julian and Fumero, grow up to be men with serious mental issues eventually leading to their demise. Thus, the consequences of their parents sins lead them to become people that do not want to be. Throughout The Shadow of the Wind, Julian Carax develops into a character with complex issues stemming from the moment he was conceived. It begins when Julian’s mother, Sophie Carax, meets the married, Don Ricardo Aldaya. His predatory looks “terrified her so much that animality under her skin.” (Zafon 380). He pursues her until he is able to have his way with
When Fumero’s father married his mother, she had “delusions of grandeur and looks of scullion.” (Zafon 212). This illusion of a privileged life causes Fumero’s mother to believe she can do whatever she wants to her son. This leads Fumero’s mother to have very inappropriate relationship with her son. Fumero admits that she sometimes “ gets into his bed at night and fondles him.” (Zafon 212). In order for a mother to do this to a son, she has to be mentally unstable; however, her sinful behavior still leaves a long term effect on