“Wild Honey” is a short story by Horacio Quiroga that appeared in his 1917 collection Tales of Love, Madness and Death. It’s about a city man who feels drawn to the invigorating wildness of the jungle, without appreciating the potential risks. I highly recommend also reading the story itself, as this summary doesn’t capture the mood shift from humorous to deadly serious that occurs in the text, which adds to the effect. Here’s a summary of “Wild Honey”.
“Wild Honey” Summary
The narrator has two cousins who decided to live in the woods in Uruguay when they were twelve. They didn’t take fishing rods or guns. A search party found them two days later. They were shocked and weak, but otherwise alright. In wilder landscapes the results can be more extreme, as they were for Gabriel Benincasa in Misiones.
Benincasa is a chubby, passive young man who’s completed his schooling as an accountant. He wants to get away from the comforts of civilization for a while. He puts on his boots, takes a rifle, and heads down the Paraná river to his godfather’s timberyard. He avoids the caimans on the shore and is careful to keep his boots new.
Benincasa’s godfather strongly discourages the trip. He should leave the gun, stick to the path, or have a guide with him. He leaves the gun and goes to the jungle’s edge but can’t get through. It’s too thick.
The next day Benincasa walks about three miles into the main path. He’s awaked the second night in his bedroom by his godfather, who warns him about an invasion by the Correction, a species of shiny, black ant that devours everything in its path. Animals and people flee from them. They stay until they’ve consumed everything and then move on.
Benincasa and his godfather soak the timberyard with creosote and within an hour it’s clear. Benincasa is surprised how hard they bite; one got his foot.
The next day, Benincasa goes back to the jungle but takes a machete to cut his way in. His slashing is awkward but he makes some headway. It’s very quiet in the jungle. He’s drawn to a buzzing sound that leads to wax sacks of honey in a hollowed out tree trunk. The bees have no stingers, so Benincasa takes the sacks to a tree trunk to sit.
Five of the sacks contain honey and Benincasa squeezes them into his mouth. They have a bitter aftertaste. Relaxing afterward, he starts feeling dizzy. He can’t get up; his legs feel heavy and swollen. There’s a prickly sensation in his hands and feet.
Benincasa suddenly realizes he’s been poisoned by the honey. The heaviness has risen into his waist and he can’t move at all. He’s horrified that he’ll die alone like this. He’s completely paralyzed now. He thinks he sees the ground turn black and writhe. He screams as the Correction swarms up his legs.
Benincasa’s godfather finds his skeleton two days later. He sees the swarm of ants nearby and the empty wax sacks and knows what happened.
Wild honey doesn’t usually have these effects but it can. Honey made from flowers with narcotic or paralyzing properties can be identified by their bitter aftertaste.
I hope this summary of “Wild Honey” by Horacio Quiroga was helpful.
