A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Suffering Quotes

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Quote #7

Although many thought that his reaction had been one not of rage but of pain, from then on they were careful not to annoy him, because the majority understood that his passivity was not that of a hero taking his ease but that of a cataclysm in repose. (8)

After the angel freaks out in reaction to the branding iron, the crowds develop a little healthy fear. They start to see a connection between his suffering and his power—that is, his power comes from his suffering.

Quote #8

The chicken coop was the only thing that didn't receive any attention. If they washed it down with creolin and burned tears of myrrh inside it every so often, it was not in homage to the angel but to drive away the dungheap stench that still hung everywhere like a ghost and was turning the new house into an old one. (11)

Eventually, the angel's own suffering starts to cause Pelayo and Elisenda to suffer. They don't keep him or his coop clean, so they have to deal with the smell. It's called karma, man.

Quote #9

The angel went dragging himself about here and there like a stray dying man. They would drive him out of the bedroom with a broom and a moment later find him in the kitchen.

At this point, the angel and his suffering have become such an ordinary part of life that Elisenda and Pelayo just find it mildly annoying instead tragic. We bet the old man doesn't feel the same way.