Magical Realism and Quantum Physics

Magical Realism and Quantum Physics

The term Magical Realism is said to have started with the German art critic Franz Roh, who used the trem to describe the return of art to Realism from Expressionism. The term Magical Realism has also been used to categorize some the novels and short stories of authors such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Gunter Grass, and John Fowls. These writers use techniques that combine the real and unreal in ways that make them believable and acceptable by both the reader and characters in the stories. These techniques also can be said to correspond with fields of study such as quantum physics.

One of these techniques that can be connected to the field of quantum physics is the "closeness or near-merging of two realms, two worlds" (Faris). This technique was used in Gabriel Marquez's short story "Light is Like Water" when the two brothers Toto and Joel used a metaphor to make the two realms of imagination and reality become close to one another. According to some quantum physicists, this merging could theoretically happen.

If quantum physicists were to read "Light is Like Water," I believe that they would come to the conclusion that a 'wormhole' had opened between two existing parallel universes and allowed such an event to take place. In his book HYPERSPACE: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the Tenth Dimension Michio Kaku states that:

Normally, life proceeds on each of these parallel planes independent of the

others. On rare occasions, however, the planes may intersect and, for a

brief moment, tear the fabric of space itself, which opens up a hole- or

gateway- between these two universes. (23)

This intersecting of planes of existence seems to have happened in "Light is Like Water."

I believe the reason that Magical Realism has become such a popular genre is because the events that happen are believable and can be done without the aid of machines. Magical Realism also gives people a break from reality without really leaving the reality that they have come to know and trust. It also gives a look at things that we have overlooked in our busy lives.