El Huesped

The story El Huesped can be read first off and understood superficially and maybe even categorized as fantasy or magical realism but when analyzed deeper it is evident it does not belong to either one of these genres. Magical realism uses supernatural elements and defies the rules of logic simulating some sort of miracle that shake nature and the way of life as we know it. It is set in a real world but adds certain elements to make it seem fantastic. An example of fantasy can be Harry Potter, because different to magical realism, it creates an unreal world where fantastic phenomenons are no longer seen as a miracle but just as fantasy.
This story, even with a fictional character, in this case “Él”, mentions briefly this thing lacks life so it can be confusing at first because the reader does not know if it is really happening or not. It is not Fantasy as it is set in a real world but cannot be considered magical realism either because the characters mentions the thing has no life at all and is not really there: “Guadalupe and I never called him by name; it seemed to us that by doing so the shadowy creature would acquire a certain reality”

The beings presence alters the characters routine. The narrator, Guadalupe and the kids are scared of it, but most of all, the narrator is the one most afraid of it. She is somehow responsible because the kids and Guadalupe don’t have a say in it because of the hierarchy, so it is up to her to ask her husband, who is portrayed as more powerful and higher in authority. The moment Guadaulpe and the narrator decide to kill it, tension rises because this does not only mean killing the thing but challenging the husband’s power and authority. When they kill it positions are inverted and the narrator is somehow free and finally had the last word on it.