Women In Gabriel Garcia Márquez's Chronicle Of A Death Foretold

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Recommended: Cultural norms of gender roles

For many, literature can be a method to critique the society that is reflected in the author’s work. This can be seen in the work of Gabriel García Márquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold. The cultural beliefs, customs, and rituals all shape the everyday life in this Catholic and Colombian society, all which have been in place for centuries. Through the depiction of women and men in Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Marquez is able to represent women as more humanized by their ability to grow as characters, something that the men of this society are unable to do. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, women are portrayed as characters that are required to abide by cultural and social norms that are found in Catholic and Colombian societies. An example of this would be in the form of the character Angela Vicario. From a very conservative family, the daughters of Purísima del Carmen …show more content…

Whereas virginity in women is considered to be pure and something that should be protected in the premarital stage, men are almost encouraged to do the opposite. Throughout the novella, the men will visit Maria Alejandrina Cervantes's brothel, and their actions are not condemned. Male characters, such as Santiago Nassar, are seen engaging in sexual assaults, such as when Divina Flor says he “grabbed my whole pussy” (8). Another prominent example of this is depicted through the Vicario twins. When the Vicario family were discussing the terms of the marriage of their daughter to Bayardo San Roman, the twins didn’t get involved, brushing it aside as “woman problems” (20). Nonetheless, when found that Angela was returned back to the household the night of the wedding, it became the burden of the twins to return honour back to the family by murdering Santiago Nassar. As seen here clearly, women are found to be restrained by society, whereas men act carefreely until called upon to their

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