In "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World," how does the drowned man transform the people and their village ?

It is clear that the presence of Esteban, or the drowned
man, has a massive impact on the life of the village and its inhabitants. Let us
remember how the village is described at the beginning of the
story:

The
village was made up on only twenty-odd wooden houses that had stone courtyards with no
flowers and which were spread about on the end of a desertlike cape. There was so little
land that mothers always went about with the fear that the wind would carry off their
children...

The village is
clearly described in very bleak and drab terms, with the greyness and the lack of colour
emphasised. Yet, by the end of the story, as the villagers celebrate the funeral of
"Esteban", note how they plan to change their lives:

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But they also knew that everything would be
different from then on, that their houses would have wider doors, higher ceilings, and
stronger floors so that Esteban's memory could go everywhere without bumping into
beams... they were going to paint their house fronts gay colours to make Esteban's
memory eternal and they were going to break their backs digging for springs among the
stones and planting flowers
on the cliffs...

It is clear
that Esteban has helped the villagers realise that they can transcend their own
limitations and transform their own lives. His presence has given them the inspiration
and the self-belief necessary to see that they can enact massive changes in their lives,
in spite of the challenges, and transform their way of life.