Fathers, Sons, and Masculinity Theme Analysis

The Shadow of the Wind portrays many pairs of fathers and sons, almost all of whom have troubled relationships. For the most part, sons struggle against domineering fathers who have a rigid idea of what a man should be, and who want to exercise undue influence over the direction of their sons’ lives. Misunderstanding and strife between fathers and sons precipitates many of the novel’s crises.

Most of the sons in the novel suffer due to traumatic relationships with fathers who can’t connect with them emotionally and who try to mold them without understanding their character. For example, Tomas Aguilar, a gifted inventor, remains cowed into silence by the unappreciative Mr. Aguilar, who would rather see his son develop into a soldier or a statesman. Jorge Aldaya is another minor character whose father explicitly disapproves of him; disgusted by his son’s decadence and lack of business acumen, Ricardo Aldaya publicly belittles him.

Carax has a horrible relationship with the man he believes to be his father, Antony Fortuny. Fortuny is dismayed to find that Carax is nothing like him, as it reminds him that his wife, Sophie, conceived Carax by another man. Out of spite, Fortuny tries to suppress Carax’s creativity and gift for storytelling. To free himself from his oppressive father, Carax plunges into the elite world of his private school and forms the relationships that eventually ruin his life and force him to flee the city. After discovering that Carax is actually his own illegitimate son, Mr. Aldaya finances his education and acts as his mentor. However, he does so not out of genuine love for Carax, but rather because he’s fed up with his other son, Jorge, and believes Carax may be more intelligent. Effectively pitting the two boys against each other, he does nothing to create closeness with his son. The inauthentic affection he shows toward Julian crumbles into shame and rage when he finds out that Carax has no interest in his business and is involved with Penelope, his own half-sister. Aldaya drives Carax out of the city violently.

Rather than loving their children unconditionally, both of Julian’s father figures reject him when he fails to become the kind of man they want him to be. Meanwhile, Daniel enjoys a comparatively tranquil and loving relationship with his own father, a humble widower and bookseller. In their case, it’s Daniel who sometimes finds Mr. Sempere inadequate and seeks other father figures. Daniel says his childhood home is defined by his father’s overwhelming grief for his dead wife. Daniel’s father is a gentle man, content to earn a living wage, raise his son, and nurse his broken heart.

Although Daniel loves his father, he often seeks out bonds with men who can introduce him to a world of adventure and power. He becomes very close to the well-connected and blustering Gustavo Barceló, and his greatest friend and mentor is Fermín, who becomes his partner in uncovering Carax’s history, as well as coaching him through the emotional crises of adolescence and introducing him to womanizing. While he shares everything with Fermín and seeks help from Barceló when he’s in too deep with Fumero, Daniel does everything possible to keep his father ignorant of his exploits, only explaining them at the very last minute when he has no choice. Daniel says he does this to protect his father, whom he describes as easily flustered and having no head for politics. However, given that Mr. Sempere is actually very intelligent and calm in times of crisis, it’s likely that Daniel desires to distance himself from his father and the dreary life he leads. Mr. Sempere is by far the novel’s least traditionally masculine man, and it’s also possible that Daniel wants to become a different sort of man, one whose identity is predicated on action and power rather than art and emotion.

However, Daniel eventually reconciles with his father and willingly steps into his shoes. In doing so, he adopts a less conventional image of masculinity. Daniel confides in his father, explaining his dangerous investigations into Carax’s past and his resulting enmity with Fumero. He finds his father much more capable and understanding than he expected, and realizes that men who don’t perform their masculinity through swaggering aggression can be competent and powerful allies in unexpected ways. In the epilogue, Daniel has taken over the bookshop and takes care of his ailing father. In other words, he’s chosen to pursue a life very similar to his father’s. The one difference is Daniel’s happy marriage to Bea, which shows that he can preserve his father’s values without needing to take on his sadness.

In the novel’s final scene, Daniel takes his young son, Julian, to pick out his own tome at the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. In doing so, he reproduces his own father’s action at the beginning of the novel, down to the very conversation he has with his son. While the novel’s other fathers and sons repeat the same patterns of negative filial behavior, Daniel manages to differentiate himself and to create a more positive pattern—one that is worth repeating.