The Third Bank of the River

“The Third Bank of the River” is a deep, short story written by João Guimarães Rosa. The characters are without names, so there is a lot of controversy as to the meaning of the story. It takes place by the Amazon River in Brazil, described as “so wide you couldn’t see across it”. From a few clues in the story, the use of flashlights and the motor on a boat, one can infer that these events most likely would have happened in the late 1800’s. The special circumstance is that the father stays on a boat by himself on a river and never comes back. There are a few key roles in the story. The first character introduced is the father. He is described as a dutiful, orderly, quiet, and straightforward man. Some believe that he goes insane because he goes out on a river in a boat and paddles around without touching land for years. The father might have gone out on the river to get away from his domineering wife. The mother, not the father, was the parent who ruled the family’s house. She was always overbearing. The mother, throughout the story, was good at hiding emotion; she believed that she would be perfectly fine without the father in her life. This story is told from the perspective of the son who was most impacted by the father’s departure. The son is the one who brings the father food and never really gets his own life, because of his obligations to his father. In all, the family includes the mother, the father, two sons and a daughter. The story can be summarized by a few sentences. The father orders a one person boat that will last for 20-30 years. When the boat arrives, the father takes it to the river, the Amazon, gets in it with no provisions, and spends the rest of his life paddling around in the middle of the river, becoming a third bank. The mother tries to bring him back using soldiers, priests, and policemen. They finally realize that he would never come back, when the sister wanted to show the father her baby, and he never showed. Everyone in the family eventually moved away, unable to cope with the concept of him being gone. The main son was the only one who stayed, believing that his father might come back. He once promised to take the father’s place, but then changed his mind. The father was never seen again, and the son went insane from all the guilt he held. “The Third Bank of the River” offers up many pieces of foreshadowing. When the father bought the boat, he made sure it was of the finest wood and would last for at least 20-30 years. This makes it quite obvious that the journey he is taking will most likely be a permanent one. It also might hint that the father knew he would die soon, so he decided to find peace while he could. At the end of the story, the son talked about wanting to be put in a boat on the river when he died, just like his father. This might foreshadow the son’s thought of committing suicide. There are many ironic things about the story. When the daughter got married and had a child, she wanted to show her father. They went to the riverbank and called for him to come and see, but he never came. It is hard to imagine and someone not wanting to see their grandchild for the first time. Something very unusual about the family setting is that the mother ruled the house and not the father. Another ironic piece is that most people would think that the father would eventually come back, due to loneliness or hunger, but he never does.
There are many symbols in “The Third Bank of the River”. The boat could easily be the father’s coffin. It is described as something for one person, to last many years. The father could be buying a coffin because he knew he was going to soon die. The boat was taking him away from life, just like a coffin. Life in the story is represented by the river. It was the father’s way of separating himself from everything and everyone else in his life. He found it peaceful and relaxing. One idea is that the father, when he is “on the boat”, he could be in a coma, and that is why he never answers their calls. From the title of the story, one can tell that there are two “third banks”. One of them is the father. It is a place to where he crosses over. He stays there endlessly, doing nothing. The father is not on either end bank, but forming his own. The son also is a third bank at the end of the book. He talks of staying in the deserts and unmarked plains of his life.
“The Third Bank of the River” contains a few main themes. One of those is family. Often when roles in a family, like the father or mother, are lost or confused (the father leaves), the result is traumatic. The family pretty much fell apart after the father left. Another theme is death. Almost always, when a loved one dies, it has a major effect on the lives of the family. One can see this from the prospect that most of them moved away, wanting to be as far as they could from that situation. Another main idea found throughout the story is peace. Often, when everything becomes too much for a person, they need time free of domineering and overbearing people.
I enjoyed this story, and trying to find out what the meaning could be. One of my ideas was that the father could’ve been in a coma, as the third bank, but eventually he died, leaving everyone else behind. I felt bad for the family that the father left them, but I also felt resentment towards the mother for being overbearing, and the son for getting scared and running away from the father when he finally had someone to replace him. The father must have somewhat wanted to see his son. I think the Christian perspective of the theme of peace is that we should look to God in the times when we aren’t strong enough to continue. One of my favorite verses, Isaiah 40: 30-31, says “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint.”