The Black Pearl

The final section of the novel deals almost exclusively with manifestations of masculinity. When Ramón returns to La Paz and rings the bells of the church, he insists that “this new day was the beginning day of manhood” (96). Ramón has struggled with his masculinity and strength from the beginning of the novel; he worries that his thin and small frame shames his father, and that he fails to live up to the Salazar name. By contrast, Ruiz embodies conventional masculinity; he is the fleet’s strongest diver and finds the best pearls. Ruiz is thus everything that Ramón wants to be—a stereotypical manifestation of strength and manhood.

However, Ruiz is also an example of toxic masculinity— a term used to describe attitudes that perpetuate stereotypes of manliness through aggression and domination. For example, though Ruiz is terrified of the Manta Diablo and eager to sell the great pearl, he forces himself to try to kill the animal. His actions are an act, much like masculinity itself. When the Sevillano prepares himself to kill the Manta Diablo, Ramón notes, “[A]ll this was done with a false smile and a flourish, like a magician getting ready for an act” (91). Unable to admit to his humanity and fear, or to show himself as anything less than a brave man, Ruiz ensures his own death.

Although Ramón recognizes Ruiz’s performance for what it is, he falls into a similar trap. He offers to kill the Manta Diablo with Ruiz, wanting to rise to the challenge of manhood that Ruiz lays down. It is Ruiz’s refusal that stops him, not his own rejection of toxic masculinity. However, it’s significant that Ramón describes himself as becoming a man after giving the pearl back to the Madonna—an act of selfless faith and generosity. This suggests that by the time he returns to La Paz, Ramón has embraced a different kind of masculinity than the one he has chased through most of the novel.