honest about who he is, what he isnot, and what he feels he needs in life to be truly happy.

Leo believed he needed a perfect woman to be his wife. All of the women Salzman suggests have some imperfection: a limp, being widowed, age, etc. Leo is looking for perfection because he has convinced himself that his own life is aligned perfectly: he is ready to finish his studies to become a rabbi, and he is going through the process of finding a wife—but not for love. It is because he feels it would help him "win a congregation." During a meeting with one of Salzman's prospective brides, Leo realizes the truth about himself: he isn't as together as he believed he was. His relationship with God is non-existent: he says...

...I came to God not because I loved Him, but because I did not.

This epiphany devastates Leo: his life had been based upon the premise that he would serve God. He does not know God; he does not know himself. In this state, Leo seems to lose direction and hope. He does not see Salzman for some time until the matchmaker shows up at Leo's apartment simply to drop off photos of women from his "magic barrel." Inside is a picture unlike the rest in its appearance...

...a snapshot of the type taken by a machine for a quarter.

This denotes a photo taken on the boardwalk at a beach or at a carnival: it is unsophisticated and simple. But something about the picture draws Leo. Something about her "moves" him, but not her beauty, for some of the other women in the pictures were more beautiful. However, a sense of her deep suffering speaks to his heart. When Salzman discovers who Leo wants to meet, he refuses to introduce them, noting...

She is not for you. She is a wild one—wild, without shame...For her to be poor was a sin. This is why to me she is dead...This is my baby, my Stella...

Leo, however, will not be put off. Finally, as the rabbinical student notes he might be of some help, Salzman relents and arranges a meeting. Stella appears under a streetlight on a corner to meet Leo. She is wearing a white dress with red shoes—though for a brief moment Leo images the dress is red and the shoes, white. These details (the street corner, the red dress) suggest that Stella may have been a prostitute. Leo does not judge her...perhaps because of Leo's knowledge of his own lack of perfection. And in her eyes he sees a "desperate innocence." It is also spring—a time for new beginnings, new birth, new life. Magic is truly in the air:

Violins and lit candles revolved in the sky.

This vision shows that romance is present. And perhaps not so oddly, Salzman is around the corner, "leaning against a wall," chanting "prayers for the dead." Salzman had told Leo earlier that to him, his daughter was dead. His prayers, we can infer, are directed toward the salvation that he hopes Leo will bring to Stella. And in a sense, Stella seems to be the thing that will save Leo: for it is in the world of imperfection that he will be able to truly discover what love is—which may well lead him back to his faith.

Malamud ends the story on a note of hope.

Perhaps the most outstanding aspect of Bernard Malamud's "The Magic Barrel" is his use of a motif...

... a recurring subject, theme, idea...in a literary...work.

The motif is one of magic.

Not long ago there lived...

This first line has the sound of a fairytale—similar to "once upon a time." The setting is indefinite. This sense of "otherworldliness" continues throughout the story: alluded to with the title's "magic," the story abounds with references to the mystical.

Pinye Salzman is a matchmaker. The first time Leo meets him, the old man...

...appeared one night out of the dark fourth-floor hallway...

He carries with him a black portfolio, similar to a black hat, from which he promises to produce (as if by magic) the perfect girl for Leo Finkle, a rabbinical student who believes a wife would help him "win...a congregation."

The use of this motif lends a sense of the possible to what Leo soon believes to be impossible. For in learning about women he has nothing in common with, and meeting a woman who sees him not as he is but as she wishes he were, he realizes that he is a stranger to himself.

"When," [Lily] asked in a trembly voice, "did you become enamored of God?"

...Then it came to him that she was talking not about Leo Finkle, but of a total stranger, some mystical figure, perhaps even passionate prophet that Salzman had dreamed up for her—no relation to the living or dead...

..."I think," he said..."that I came to God not because I loved him, but because I did not."

This knowledge devastates Leo—he does not love God! He suddenly has no love in his life, and just as suddenly he realizes that he needs love—something an arranged marriage would not have given him. When Salzman [perhaps] inadvertently shows Leo the picture of Stella, the young man is drawn by her looks, but not of beauty. As he studies her image in the photograph...

...she leaped forth to his heart—had lived, or wanted to—more than just wanted, perhaps regretted how she had lived—had somehow deeply suffered...

Seemingly, he falls in love with a picture. She is nothing like the women Salzman had tried to convince Leo to marry—even the physical photo is different than the others. And while all of the other women had some single thing that convinced him to reject them, Stella has many things he should find undesirable—according to Salzman:

She is not for you. She is a wild one—wild, without shame. This is not a bride for a rabbi...For her to be poor was a sin. This is why to me she is dead...This is my baby, my Stella...

It may seem an impossible feat for Leo to finally meet Stella, but no more so than a prince fighting through a wall of fire or killing a dragon for a princess. The motif of magic continues. As Leo runs to find Salzman at his apartment, the man's wife notes that his office is "in the air...in his socks." Then she utters words that sound like an incantation:

Go home, he will find you.

Before Leo reaches his home, Salzman is there, as if by magic. Leo tells the matchmaker, "Perhaps I can be of service." These words may even seem magical to Salzman who seems to believe that nothing can save Stella. Love is a magic all its own—believed by countless people to have the power to change the world.

When they meet, Stella's eyes are filled with "desperate innocence," though...

[Leo] was afflicted by a tormenting suspicion that Salzman had planned it all to happen this way.

Malamud uses magic to bring about unexpected results. 

When Malamud introduces the plot to the reader in "The Magic Barrel," the first thing he does is set the mood. Then he describes how Salzman and Leo Finkle come to know each other. Leo shares his purpose with Salzman, which advances the rising action, while the conflicts are also presented.

The mood has elements of mysticism. It begins with a line very similar to a fairytale's "once upon a time:"

Not long ago there lived...

Salzman, the owner of the "magic barrel" (which the Leo never does see) "appeared one night out of the dark fourth-floor hallway..." Like a magician, Salzman might be thought to be carrying his "tricks" in his black bag (similar to a magical black hat), which he grasps to himself tightly. While Leo is nervous about engaging a matchmaker, Salzman inspires some confidence in him; the mood has a hint of magic and possibilities when Salzman first shows up.

The narrative describes Leo and his educational endeavors; his desire to find a wife so that he can more easily "win himself a congregation;" and, his uneasiness in taking this step: nerve-wracking on its own, this is an old-fashioned, time-honored tradition used to find a wife—something Leo's parents and/or grandparents would have done. Leo seems a traditional young man.

Salzman is rather a shabby figure that appears to have been doing this work for a long time, but not necessarily with great success. His clothes are tight and worn—as is his bag—and he wears an old hat, but he has a "dignified build." His eyes are kind and his manner is relaxed and easy-going. The cards he holds are almost as worn as the man who holds them.

As Leo explains why he has engaged the matchmaker, the reader also learns of his intent. Leo presents his wishes in a business-like manner, and Salzman...

...eagerly unstrapped his portfolio and removed a loose rubber band from a thin packet of much-handled cards.

As this segment begins, the worn cards (studied and rejected countless times) also creates a sense of about. But while Leo is hesitant about this professional arrangement, Salzman is deeply enthusiastic. (Their relationship will continue in this manner until Leo sees Stella's picture: then Leo will be enthusiastic and Salzman filled with trepidation.) 

In this way, the author presents the mood, describes the characters—defining their early relationship—and presents the details that have brought these characters together.