Characters
The Captain
The police inform the Captain that the narrator is suspected of being a poisoner. In response, the Captain summons three agents to apprehend the narrator.
The Children
On the train, the narrator has covertly hidden the wave in the water fountain tank. When some children try to drink from the fountain, the narrator intervenes and offers to buy them lemonade instead. Eventually, he is accused of attempting to poison the children by tainting the water.
The Conductor
After learning that the narrator has contaminated the water in the fountain, the train's Conductor contacts the Inspector.
The Fish
When the wave expresses feelings of loneliness, the narrator introduces a colony of fish into the house. The fish quickly capture the wave’s attention, and the narrator watches them with the jealousy of a spurned lover: ‘‘It was not without jealousy that I watched them swimming in my friend, caressing her breasts, sleeping between her legs, adorning her hair with little flashes of color.’’ The narrator begins to view the fish as a threat, describing them as menacing and potentially violent: ‘‘Among those fish there were a few particularly repulsive and ferocious ones, little tigers from the aquarium with large fixed eyes and jagged bloodthirsty mouths.’’ He notes that the wave ‘‘delighted in playing with them, shamelessly showing them a preference whose significance I prefer to ignore.’’ Overcome by jealousy, he dives into the water in a fit of rage to attack the fish, but they are ‘‘agile and ghostly’’ and easily evade him.
The Husband
After his wife tastes the fountain water on the train and finds it salty, her husband alerts the conductor.
The Inspector
The Conductor calls upon the Inspector to investigate the narrator.
The Jailer
The Jailer, like all other authorities, dismisses the narrator’s story about placing the wave in the water cooler and accuses him of attempting to poison the children.
The Lady on the Train
After the narrator secretly places the wave inside the water fountain tank on the train, a lady approaches with her husband. Despite the narrator’s objections, she pours herself a glass of water. Upon tasting the salty water, her husband contacts the conductor.
The Magistrate
While in jail, the narrator is brought before the Magistrate, who assigns his case to a Penal Judge.
The Narrator
The narrator of "My Life with the Wave" remains unnamed. He recounts the story using a first-person narrative, sharing events from his own perspective, referred to as "I." While at the beach, he is captivated by an ocean wave that insists on accompanying him home. They embark on a passionate love affair that transforms his life, bringing him immense joy and happiness. When the wave expresses loneliness, he introduces a school of fish for her to interact with. However, he soon grows jealous of her attention to the fish and attempts to drive them away, but they slip through his fingers, and the wave nearly drowns him. After this ordeal, he starts to "fear and hate" her. To escape her company, he spends more time away from home. Ultimately, unable to endure her dark, violent moods any longer, he retreats to the wilderness in the mountains. Upon returning home after a month, he discovers the wave has frozen into a "statue of ice" due to the colder weather. Without emotion, he places the frozen wave into a sack and sells it to a waiter friend at a restaurant on the city's outskirts. The waiter promptly chops it into small pieces and uses it to chill drinks.
An Old Girlfriend
After the narrator begins to "fear and...
(This entire section contains 975 words.)
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hate" the wave, he confides in "an old girlfriend" about his secret "life with the wave." He remarks, "Nothing moves a woman so much as the possibility of saving a man." He refers to her as "my redeemer," but acknowledges that she was powerless to rescue him from his tumultuous relationship with the wave.
Penal Judge
A Penal Judge is assigned to oversee the narrator’s case.
The Police
An Inspector on the train contacts the police, accusing the narrator of poisoning the water in the fountain. The police then inform the Captain.
Three Agents
The police Captain dispatches three agents who arrest the narrator on charges of contaminating the train's drinking fountain and haul him off to jail.
A Waiter Friend
At the story’s conclusion, the narrator takes the wave, now frozen into "a statue of ice," to a restaurant outside the city. There, he sells it to a waiter friend who chops it into small pieces to use for chilling bottles.
The Warden
After serving a year in jail, the narrator receives a "light" sentence during his trial. Before his release, the Warden cautions him against repeating the crime, warning, "next time you’ll really pay for it."
The Wave
In this tale, the wave symbolizes a woman in love. The narrator first meets the wave at a beach, and she insists on accompanying him back to Mexico City. Their relationship is passionate but tumultuous. When the wave expresses feelings of loneliness, the narrator brings her a school of fish to keep her company. However, her affectionate behavior towards the fish incites his jealousy. In a fit of rage, he attempts to harm the fish, prompting the wave to nearly drown him, which leads him to "fear and hate" her. As the narrator spends increasing amounts of time away from home, the wave grows more angry and despondent. During a month-long trip to the mountains, the weather turns frigid, causing the wave to freeze into a "statue of ice." Upon his return, he finds her frozen solid but is "unmoved by her wearisome beauty." Callously, he places her in a sack and sells her to a restaurant, where she is chopped up and used as ice to chill drinks.
