Protista

The main character of the story is a man who I believe has been exiled to the middle of nowhere. His wife, Maria has left him there alone because she is tired of sharing his burden of exile. The man feels depressed and lonely without her there. I think the man links his youth and happiness directly to Maria. The circle on the wall serves as a constant reminder of Maria and causes the man much grief because he feels like the rest of his life has been wasted. Since there is longer no Maria there is no happiness and meaning to life for him. When the man says that he has become a manfish at the end, I think he is referring to himself as deceased. Maria's skeleton that he describes when he is in the form of a tree seems to represent that Maria is sad and lonely, and she holds onto the silver button as a last hope or connection to her husband. I think that when he is in the form of the tree and he says that he has become rooted to the land, he is saying that he has become tied down to the land, there is nowhere for him to go and there is nothing happy left in his life.