Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska

First published: 1964; illustrated

Type of work: Moral tale

Themes: Animals, coming-of-age, and family

Time of work: The 1960’s

Recommended Ages: 10-15

Locale: Arcangel, Andalusia, Spain

Principal Characters:

• Manolo Olivar, the ten-year-old son of a famous matador, who tries to live up to his father’s reputation for bravery
• Senora Olivar, Manolo’s mother, who hates bullfighting but accepts Manolo’s destiny as a bullfighter
• Six Men of Arcangel, admirers of Manolo’s father; they take the responsibility of training Manolo in bullfighting
• Count de la Casa, a patron and friend of Juan Olivar and of Manolo, a breeder of bulls for the bullring
• Jaime Garcia, Manolo’s best friend
• Juan Garcia, Jaime’s fourteen-year-old brother, who secretly practices with the bulls in the pasture; he desperately wants to be a bullfighter
• The Doctor, who has treated many gorings in bullfighters; he sparks admiration from Manolo because of his skill in saving lives
• Alfonso Castillo, now crippled, a wise and understanding bullfight critic who was a friend of Manolo’s father

The Story

Manolo has lived in the shadow of a bull all of his life because his father was a famous bullfighter, killed by a bull at the age of twenty-two. The people in the small town of Arcangel expect Manolo to become a famous matador like his father. When Manolo reaches the age of ten, six of the townsmen begin Manolo’s education in bullfighting. He is expected to fight his first bull at the age of twelve as his father did. Although Manolo’s mother does not want Manolo to become a bullfighter, she sees it as his destiny and will not interfere. Manolo, however, does not want to fight or to kill bulls; his empathy for them when they are dying is too strong. Manolo sees this as a lack of courage and is determined to fulfill the expectations of the townspeople so that his father’s memory will not be dishonored. He believes that he has lost control over his life.

Count de la Casa, a breeder of bulls, decides that Manolo will fight his first bull at the age of eleven instead of at twelve. Jaime’s brother Juan secretly takes Manolo to the bull pastures at night to train with the cape and muleta for the tienta, or testing of the bulls, so that Manolo will not disappoint his father’s friends. Lacking both influential friends and money, Juan is unlikely to get a chance to perform at the tienta. Juan, however, practices regularly, because his only goal in life is to become a matador. One night, Juan and Manolo break into a bullring to practice caping with one of the bulls. Juan is tossed by the bull but is saved from a goring by Manolo. Afterward, however, Manolo feels sick, a reaction to his fear; he perceives himself as cowardly. He admires Juan’s bravery and skill and determines that Juan will be given a chance at the tienta.

Two days after the incident, a young matador is gored by the same bull that the boys had been caping. The town doctor, on his way to attend the matador, insists that Manolo accompany him. Unlike the other townspeople, the doctor does not glorify bullfighting, seeing it as a tragedy. Manolo admires the doctor’s skill and perceives his work as a noble thing. He decides that if he did not have to be a bullfighter, he would like to become a doctor.

With the doctor’s help, Manolo obtains permission for Juan to attend the tienta. The night before the tienta, Manolo’s mother reveals that Juan Olivar was a great bullfighter because he loved what he was doing. He would never do anything he did not want to do. She states: “What he did was for himself, most of all for himself.”

At the tienta, Manolo meets Alfonso Castillo, a famous bullfight critic. Castillo is disgusted with the pressure put on Manolo to be like his father. He tells Manolo that real courage is doing things in spite of fear rather than having no fear. He encourages Manolo to be true to himself, to allow no one to make his decisions for him. As a result of Castillo’s encouragement, Manolo reaches a decision. After successfully caping his bull, he asks for permission for Juan Garcia to finish the bullfight for him. As Manolo enters the stands, the doctor offers to help Manolo become a physician.

Context

Shadow of a Bull is Wojciechowska’s second and best-known children’s book, winning the Newbery Medal in 1965. The realistic bullfighting background results from her learning bullfighting in Mexico and from her love of Andalusia, the setting of the book. The problem of overcoming fears is a problem familiar to Wojciechowska. Her father, a pilot, insisted that she parachute from an airplane several times when she was only ten years old. That event began a lifetime of confrontation with fear and of enjoying the battle. The Life and Death of a Brave Bull (1972) also has bravery, of both man and bull, as its theme. Another work, The Hollywood Kid: A Novel (1966), has a very different setting but repeats the theme of self-determination, when the central character must choose between leaving home on a journey of self-discovery and staying with his recently widowed mother. The problem is similar to Manolo’s choice between loyalty to his father’s memory and following his own dream of becoming a doctor.

Shadow of a Bull is a perceptive novel in a realistic setting revealing the conflict of an adolescent boy wanting to lead a very different life from the one that society expects from him. The author carefully explains the symbolism of the bullfight for the young reader so that Manolo’s decision to defeat death by becoming a physician makes for a sensible alternative to becoming a matador. This book reflects two basic human struggles—overcoming fear and gaining self-determination—in terms that an adolescent can understand.