Examples Of Honor In Chronicle Of A Death Foretold

What could have been more valued than honor during 1900’s culture in colombia? During this time period honor, especially in the form of a woman's value based on sexuality, was a prevailing influence of one's importance in society. Although, today one may say this perception of status has vanished and been interchanged by wealth, it is still an essential concept that differentiates one's superior qualities and character in society. This notion of honor is greatly portrayed in the novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, when Angelica’s brothers kill Santiago Nasar for taking her value as a woman. However, the nature of mystery in novel also leaves many questions about Santiago's actual guilt in taking Angelica's virginity.

For this reason, the reader may infer that Angelica took her own virginity as a way of getting out of this marriage because of the evidence proposed by the narrator that she could not have lost her virginity to a man and her not wanting to marry Bayardo. This possibility is precisely displayed by Angelica’s friends persuasion to trick Bayardo by a, ”Drastic douche of alum water to fake virginity, and to stain the sheet with Mercurochrome so she could display it the following day in her bridal courtyard,” (Marquez 90). This quote portrays the opportunity of Angelica to fake her virginity and carry on her marriage. However, Angelica refusal to take this opportunity leads the reader to believe she refused because of her disinterest of marrying Bayardo, further proving the possibility of Angelica not being a virgin on her wedding night was on purpose. Additionally, after Angelica fulfills her desire to not marry Bayardo she mysteriously begins to fall in love with him after he has been gone from her life. For this, Marquez explains that she has become a, “Mistress of her own free will, and she became a virgin again just for him,” (Marquez 93). This obscure quote from the text hints the idea that it was only Angelica’s herself responsible for the dreadful events leading to her wedding night, because of her own will in

For instance, the reason Angelica chose to sentence Santiago could have been influenced by his reputation in town to be the kind of guy capable of taking a woman's value because of how he is following his father's footsteps. This is because what he does to Divina Flor, as it is comparable to what his father did to her mother, take her virginity. More importantly, she could have chosen him because of Santiago’s friendship with Angelica brothers. When interviewing Angelica the narrator goes into the interview with the idea that, “She had chosen Santiago Nasar’s name because she thought her brothers would never dare go up against him,” (Marquez 90). This quote emphasises the fact that Santiago is not guilty of taking Angelica’s virginity, as she did not want anyone to die because she did not want to marry someone. As a result, she chose the most logical person among the brothers friends, who they would not want to kill. Additionally, when Santiago was told the Vicario brothers were looking to kill him, “His manner reflected not so much fear as confusion,” (Marquez 114). This quote conveys Santiago’s confusion about his death sentence instead of fear, which prove his innocence. This is because as an innocent person Santiago does not have the guilt in his mind of taking Angelica's virginity, since living in this town he knows that taking a