The Old Man Who Read Love Stories

The dentist is another complex character who represents the dividing forces of colonialism. Though he works in dentistry, he seems to eschew any financial gain, preferring instead to provide poor people with dental care and dentures. In this sense, and keeping in line with the idea that each character personifies a political construct, his work is advantageous for the settlers but was also necessitated by them, because they settled in a place where they aren’t meant to be. It is interesting that the Indians never partake of his help, as demonstrated by the Jibaro who laugh at him, but he still restores peoples’ ability to eat and speak, two acts symbolic of power in the novel. His personality is characterized by irascibility, impatience, and disgust, mostly reserved for politicians and government. He keeps a prostitute whom he objectifies from the perspective of a colonizer, a trait that conflicts with Antonio’s morality. Nevertheless, the dentist is drawn to Antonio for his similar, though unspoken, values. The character of the dentist is interesting for what readers don’t learn. Besides his drinking and his sexual appetite, little is known about him personally. Normally this would make him a secondary character, but in this instance, where most of the characters embody some aspect of the novel’s central theme, the dentist is an important part of the imperialist ecosystem—he is educated and privileged, and yet profoundly ill at ease with the conquering ruling classes.

The mayor personifies the evils of colonialism. He is corpulent, sweaty, abusive, and forceful, and his personality fully embodies the corruption of power. With nicknames like “Slimy Toad” and “The Fat Man,” it is clear he is despised and should be viewed as a hostile character. He both abuses and rewards the settlers and the Indians, but only when one or the other gets him what he wants. He is the ultimate plunderer, with no regard for nature or humanity. He completely lacks compassion. When things don’t go his way, he whines and pouts. When he can manipulate others to make a situation work, he takes the credit. The mayor only cares about himself, and as such makes decisions based on his own best interest, whether or not it will harm or put others at risk. This, again, demonstrates the greed and avarice of the rich and powerful politicians at the helm of the jungle’s destruction. He is everything that typifies the destructive power of domination, exploitation, and colonization.

Dolores is Antonio’s first love and his wife. She and Antonio are childhood friends who become inseparable as a couple. She represents Antonio’s innocent love. The author reveals few details about her, other than the way she looks and how she reacts when the townspeople shame her for being infertile. In many respects, Dolores exists to highlight attributes of the main character, Antonio, while also giving Antonio motivation for his actions. She represents innocence and devotion. She is the substance of Antonio’s life, and it is not her death but her infertility (or the potential of Antonio’s infertility) that sets the course for both their lives. She also stands in contrast to Antonio’s Shuar lover: Dolores is a quiet, obedient, Christian woman compared to the Shuar woman, who loves freely and without abandon, yet who is never named.

As a type of “collective” character, a thematic strategy often found in parables, fables, and similar genres, the Shuar Indians embody nature in human form. Their purpose in this parable is to show that a community with honor, dignity, integrity, and boundaries is capable of respecting and sustaining a balanced, harmonious natural world. In Shuar culture, even disagreement is dealt with respect and trust. Their balanced existence starkly contrasts with that of the white colonizer, who lives in a world where the acquisition of money, land, humans, and animals all come before virtue, fairness, trust, and respect. The author depicts the Shuar collectively, with the exception of Nushiño, to emphasizes the differences between these two cultures. The Shuar also add depth and meaning to Antonio’s conflict.

As Antonio’s best friend, Nushiño is a character of bravery and decency. Though Nushiño was not born into this particular Shuar tribe, he is welcomed as one of them, much like Antonio. However, Nushiño’s status is higher than Antonio’s since he carries Shuar blood in his veins. Their friendship shows how far Antonio has developed his relations with the Shuar and demonstrates Antonio’s more playful side as the two men wander, hunt, and discover together. Nushiño is also the one who gives Antonio the chance to prove himself a loyal and reliable honorary member of the tribe. Though Antonio fails, the Nushiño character shows that Antonio is capable of intimate relationships outside of romantic love.

The Amazon Rainforest is a character that personifies the old ways of a people and a place. It is characterized as a pristine wonderland that exists in absolute harmony exists when it is respected and honored. Its purpose as a character is to show what the Amazon and its inhabitants were like before Western imperialism and after. The rainforest’s chief characteristics are balance and harmony, but the jungle can also be vengeful and dangerous, and when disrespected by humans, the Amazon will exact revenge.