Chronicle Of A Death Foretold - Essay Example

CHRONICLE OF A DEATH FORETOLD Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel, "Chronicle of a Death Foretold" reads more like a Greek tragedy, where from the very beginning; the reader can foresee the unforgiving inevitability of the future happenings. The story revolves around the marriage of a Bayardo San Roman to Angela Vicario in a small Latin American town. Within hours after the marriage, the poor unfortunate bride, Angela was returned in disgrace to her parents, when her husband discovered his bride's lost virtue on their wedding night. The society examined by Marquez in this novel presents the strict codes of behavior and the rigid hierarchy of a society that valued virginity as a woman's virtue. It also reflects the culture where honor was deeply tied to the economic position of women and based on this division they were categorized into saints and whores. Marquez examines the traditional power which gave man the authority to chose whom he married and if deemed fit, could disgrace his wife rightfully or otherwise, and Bayardo San Roman is nothing but a true depiction of the stereotype. Not only is Bayardo a typical male of the time, but also the twin brothers of Angela; who just to live up to the standard social order, were ready to kill Santiago for having disgraced their sister. The women were bounded on all sides by traditions and were expected only to get married and have families. They were not allowed to follow their dreams but were expected to be proficient only in household chores, while boys were raised to be men. The novel is full of mythical-religious, symbolic, social and historical illusions which have been camouflaged in apparently a direct language and structure. Bayardo as a Stereotype The Latin American society placed a very high value on the virginity of women when they got married; and Bayardo was no exception to the stereotypes of that time. The story also examined the feminist approach, the socio-economic and gender based conflicts. The most pressing social issues discussed by Marquez are those related to class norm and gender norms and how the people living in those communities worked to promote these differences, despite the problems within. On deeper analysis one discovers, that the social doctrine was not to marry out of love. Similarly, Bayardo on coming to the town decides to marry Angela, whom he had never met. His courtship and obtaining expensive gifts for his future bride was just a way of showing his power and wealth rather than love. Furthermore, his worthiness as a good husband was not determined by his personality and character but by his family, class and wealth. The novel shows how severely the women were treated in the reserved Colombian culture. The social set up of the Chronicle clearly explained that the "The girls were brought up to be married," and were only trained to be good and obedient wives. Angela's mother was frequently heard saying, "They're perfect, and any man will be happy with them because they've been raised to suffer.'' And this is what Bayardo does, makes her suffer when he returns her in disgrace to her family. It is not only she who endures pain at his hands but also her family. However, when we delve deeper into the story, it almost seems that the author views this social doctrine of women's virginity as quite rigid. Though Angela never revealed whether Nasar was guilty or not, she remained enigmatic till the end of the story. When the narrator asked her if Nasar took her virginity, she replied, "Don't beat it to death, cousin. He was the one," and the reader never discovers the truth whether it was Bayardo or someone else who was guilty. The plot is based on the understanding that in order to maintain a woman's virginity, it is important enough to kill for, and conversely that anyone who violates this social custom was basically risking his own death. Virginity was considered synonymous with honor and throughout the novel; this important issue is highlighted and reinforced by several devices showing how male chauvinism was the mark of the day. Angela had no previous fianc and had grown up under the rigor of her mother who, "wouldn't let her go out alone with Bayardo San Roman to see the house where they were going to live, but she and her blind father accompanied her to watch over her honor." The idea of Angela being protected by her blind father as a chaperone is a reflection of the life, stressing the preconception of pre-marital virginity. Not only before marriage but even after the wedding; Bayardo completely fits the stereotype. He was no exception to the way he treated his wife as was the custom of the time and place. He too, like typical men measured the worthiness of Angela by her virtue and returned her to her parent's house because she was not a virgin. He believed in the concept that no woman should enter marriage expecting happiness, unless she is fortunate enough to love whichever man decided to court her. This again was a standard set by the Spanish culture and Bayardo firmly believed in the societal value placed on a woman's virginity because had he thought differently, he would not have treated his wife the way he did. Even after he had left his wife, Bayardo as a macho kept receiving Angela's letters for seventeen long years without opening them. This could also have been his way of punishing Angela for not being a virgin. But the fact of his ultimately returning to her is no stranger an act; than Angela's act of writing him a weekly letter, which he never responded to. He came carrying a suitcase filled with the letters she had written him, all unopened and arranged by date and tied with colored ribbons, and could only come up with the words, "Well, here I am." As he was a typical male, he could not even say a few words of comfort to relieve Angela of the agony he had forced upon her from the time he left her to the time he returned. The True Victim of Tragedy The true victim of the whole tragedy was Santiago or Bayardo can only be based on the perception of the town individuals or readers. Some people viewed Bayardo San Roman as the ultimate victim of the tragedy after he lost his wife while every other person in the town attempted to explain the death of Nasar with all sorts of logic and evidence, resulting in a different view of the same event. The brothers stated that it was, "homicide in legitimate defense of honor," and even declared at the end of the trial that they would have done it a thousand times over for the same reason and "we killed him openly but we're innocent." Pedro and Pablo Vicario were acquitted for acting in "defense of their honor." But even the twin brothers while in jail; made declarations of the town people pointing to the only victim; Bayardo San Roman saying all that remained of him was "a memory of a victim." Santiago probably became the sacrificial victim for the whole town of their various sins, and not preventing his murder was one of them. The novel presents rigid codes of honor which could even result in the death of an innocent person. Nasar was chosen from the swarm of confusing names, whether guilty or not and even when some town people thought that he was the snake in the desert, but also thought that the "garden was already corrupted." There were some town people who tried to stop the murder while others were so awed by their foreknowledge that they saw Santiago as dead, even as he stood before them. So the answer to who the real victim of the tragedy was; is best left to individual perception. Conclusion The most important aspect of the Chronicle of a Death Foretold is the cultural and religious beliefs in the Latin American society of the time. The story presents the religious and cultural concepts of the time that a girl must remain a virgin until marriage, which is not commonly accepted in most of today's highly industrialized countries. The entire story consists of evidence and recollections given by witnesses of the crime and the people who were directly or indirectly involve in the murder of Santiago. Though the novel is surely stereotype in the revenge act for the loss of Angel's virginity by her brothers, but the story remains inconclusive. The events described are so ambiguous that they indicate neither innocence nor guilt, even after a person has been brutally murdered. And whether Nasar was an innocent victim or a scapegoat and whether Bayardo is the true victim of the tragedy, remains a mystery. __________________________________________________ BIBLIOGRAPHY Marquez, G. Gabriel. Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Cox and Wyman Ltd. 1983. Read More