Márquez’ “The Trail of Your Blood in the Snow”: The Existential Crisis in Escaping Reality

Abstract

Existential crisis befalls an individual whenever he/she becomes conscious over his/her own freedom in front of an apparently absurd universe or whenever he/she begins to think about his/her position and situation as a conscious being within the society. In order not to submit to the apparent absurdity of the world and not to remain in doubt over one’s position and situation in the society, Existentialism offers humankind a set of principles to bear the universe and one’s life and to live the moments of life in the best possible way. Gabriel García Márquez’ “The Trail of Your Blood in the Snow” is a short story in which Márquez has presented us with an individual’s struggles with his existence as such, a man who is trying to make sense of his life before the existential crisis befalling him through the sudden death of his wife. The present study tries to investigate into the existential crisis that happens to Márquez’ protagonist as such and highlight Márquez’ solutions for such circumstances regarding his existential concerns.