Comment on the idea of poverty here and discuss in what ways, if any, it informs the decisions the characters make or how the story is told. If you think it doesn’t, explain why too.

Poverty motivates the decisions of several of the characters. For example, Elisenda and Pelayo charge their fellow townspeople money to see the very old man. Elisenda makes this decision because her spine has been disfigured from sweeping her courtyard. Her body has become twisted from hard work, and this motivates her to make money from charging people to see the old man. Using this money, Elisenda and Pelayo build a mansion, and Pelayo is able to give up his job as a bailiff.
The realization of the way poverty affects people also informs the way the story is told. The story has the feeling of myth, and the tale of Elisenda and Pelayo's rise is one that appeals to the reader's sense of hope. Elisenda and Pelayo are poverty-stricken and have a sick child at the outset of the story. Their sense of need drives the story, which is a kind of rags-to-riches tale.