This book carries a very strong religious overtone to it. Even the character names are reminiscent of many popular names from the New and Old Testaments of the Bible and several names have religious translations. The primary religion of many South and Central American countries is Catholicism as indicated by the book Distant Neighbors by Alan Riding. Catholicism can also be inferred through the actions of the bishop in that he gave the sign of the cross and the presence of confessionals in the local church. Most of the characters in the book carry an impression of being “two faced-Christians” in that they will follow the scripture and attempt (and for the most part, believe) to be good people of their faith but commit some of the more atrocious sins. It should be noted that during the course of this story all of what are commonly referred to as the Seven Deadly Sins could have been arguably compromised.
Angela Vicario, her name literally meaning Angel, fell short of her purity. Not only did she loose her virginity outside the vows of matrimony she felt ashamed by doing so and attempted to keep it a secret, disguise it. She had lost her virginity because she had been told “…that God understood such things…” which she knew was untrue but wanted to believe anyway. Religion was seemingly reinterpreted so that people could do things they knew they should not.
Christianity, for the most part teaches forgiveness and repentance. Among the most slanderous actions against the faith, is murder. But within the Spanish culture expressed by Marquez murder is “okay” granted there’re certain conditions met. The day of the murder marks a very important day for the town in that was the day of the arrival of the Bishop. The Bishop being an important figure in the religion and in the eyes of the town people acting incredibly distant from the people by only contacting the town through a series of mechanically driven crosses “without malice of inspiration” to them.
To them the Bishop represents a closer interaction with God much closer than the local priest. Catholicism has a tremendously hierarchical following of power. It is retains a feudal system premise that roughly directs power from God, to Pope, to Archbishop, to Bishop, to priestly followers, to the people. His insensitive and apathetic attitude disheartened many people, including Santiago. It broke the fragile linear path of the faith.
The first place the Pedro and Pablo went after killing Santiago was to the parish house. It was not for religious redemption, but to flee a group of Arabs. Marquez writes that they “Both were exhausted from their barbarous work of death…” and that their clothes and faces “…were smeared with sweat and still living blood….” Later on the murder is described as being so brutal that several of the stab wounds went directly through him chipping a wooden door on the other side. The scene between the murderers and Father Amador in which Pedro and Pablo explain their innocence, indicates the presence of two levels. Contesting that they were innocent “before God and before men.” It was as though guilt exists separately from all knowing eyes of god and the in the eyes fellow townspeople and themselves.
The idea that honor can cross the boundaries of religion is a very powerful mechanism. It is an action in which one take the life of someone else, actually ceasing another human beings life. When interpreted like this, the act of killing someone becomes a powerful and almost godlike statement in itself. Honor extends beyond the reaches of religion. Angela Vicario was almost beaten to death because she infringed on the honor of both Vicario and San Roman families. Pedro and Pablo killed a human being out of honor.
What is honor but a way to justify “unjust” or “rash” actions. Peoples and Bailey states “that culture is humanity’s means of adaptation.”(Bailey, 37) There exists a need for adaptation to warrant actions that normally would be scorned by religion or civility. In the culture of the Vicario brothers there exists a plane of civilized behavior that allows acts of the utmost barbarity to be looked upon as just and right.. This reason manifests itself in the ideas and suppositions of honor.
The duality of the gender roles very apparent in the culture exhibited by Marquez. Angela was nearly killed for having encroached upon the honor of her family and her husbands family by losing her virginity before marriage. Santiago Nasar would suffer far more for it. Upon closer examination of Bayardo San Roman: What did his journey entail before he befell upon Angela Vicario? He was traveling across the country searching for a wife. Needless to say, he may have been living a far more promiscuous lifestyle than anyone else in the story, but in the end he would be viewed as “the victim”.
Other points indicate the domestication of women once they are wed to a man. Pura Vicario was at one time a school teacher but stopped teaching once she got married. Pura explains that she taught her daughters what can be characterized as female trades like “…sew embroidery, weave bone lace, wash and iron, make artificial flowers and fancy candy, and write engagement announcements.” Another example is that as wedding gifts Bayardo received a new car and Angela received a gold plated 24 person dinner set. The indication of gender roles is abundantly clear that upon marriage men take on responsibilities for taking care of family by means of employment and the women practically regress into becoming pure domicile dwelling individuals.
Ones culture within a society provides many individuals with many different interpretations of commonly accepted ideas and themes. “A Chronicle of a Death Foretold” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez outlines much of the culture of a small Latin American town and demonstrates the intricacies of culture. Various concepts have direct involvement with the carrying out of other concepts. Defending ones honor in an act that would bring about death coincides with justice, which often times materializes in the act that defies religion
