- (65) "a falcon who chases a warlike crane can only hope for a life of pain"
- An interesting fact is that the falcon goes after a heron in the original, and we can see that Gregory Rabassa conveniently chose cranes for rhyme's sake.
In the novel, Falconry is mentioned several times in the narrative. The word "falconry" refers to both the actual practice of hunting small game with falcons and the complex art of training falcons to hunt. (Here I have some pictures of falconry in action) The definitions of the word reflect the roles of Bayardo and Angela. In the beginning, Bayardo is hunting Angela as though she is the small game; by leaving her, he trains her to hunt, and she then hunts him.
The book tells us that Bayardo has been going from town to town in search of a wife, earlier I mentioned the word for falconry also meaning arrogance or haughtiness, and what can this tell us? The pursuit of love is like collecting, hunting; the falconer is an aristocrat, someone who hunts for pleasure, not food. the initial motive to raise a falcon is practical rather than emotional. The falconer tames the falcon for sport and the wish for entertainment overrides sustenance and the necessity for a relationship between the falcon and the falconer. Bayardo, who searches for a wife, clearly does not love Angela. Instead he tries to impress her with his wealth, by buying all the tickets in the raffle to win her the music box, and the prettiest house in town, even though the owners have wonderful memories of the place.
As we can see, Bayardo chooses his wife similar to the way a falconer selects a falcon. He never needed a wife, he just wanted a woman to be his wife, an object of show rather than necessity. He came to town to find the ideal wife, and he finds Angela Vicario, who possessed most of the qualities of a perfect bride. She had, along with her sisters, been reared to get married. She knew how to do screen embroidery, sew by machine, weave bone lace, wash and iron, make artificial flowers and fancy candy, and write engagement announcements" Her mother was even frequently heard saying "they're perfect" (31).
Although some say that falconry is strictly for sport, some argue that a bond between the falconer and the falcon does indeed develop. This bond carries dependency, trust, and love.
And we can see this type of dependency and obsessive love in Chronicle of a Death Foretold. When the falcon is tamed, the falcon could only see its master because of its hood, which is used in the manning process (acclimatising to humans and the human world) and to keep the raptor in a a calm state.
This is similar to Angela being only able to see Bayardo. She falls madly in love with him right after he abandons her.
"She only had to close her eyes to see him, she heard him breathing in the sea, the blaze of his body in bed would awaken her at midnight" (92). In the falcon's eyes, the falconer becomes special and different from all other humans. It is no matter a matter of status or wealth.
This loyalty is shown in her letters to him, as they are very much similar to the calls of a lost falcon, she felt it was more important that she was sending the letters and that "It was enough for me to know that he was getting them"(94)
When Bayardo finally comes back after 17 long years,
(Ring a bell? It's the same number of lines Gil Vicente's poem has, )
he appears with one suitcase of clothes and another suitcase of letters. He no longer has the wealth or the looks of before, yet Angela still loves him. And to the falconer, it is no longer important that the falcon isn't perfect. The most important thing is that she is his.
As we can see, the pursuit of love really is like falconry.
To conclude, I'd like to quote an unknown person,
"If you love something, set it free, if it comes back to you, it is yours, if it doesn't, it never was."
ADD MORE QUOTATIONS AAHHHHHH
Poema Halcon Que Se Atreve de Gil Vicente
Halcón que se atreve
con garza guerrera,
peligros espera.
Halcón que se vuela
con garza a porfía
cazarla quería
y no la recela.
Mas quien no se vela
de garza guerrera,
peligros espera.
La caza de amor
es de altanería:
trabajos de día,
de noche dolor.
Halcón cazador
con garza tan fiera,
peligros espera.
FALCON AND HERON.
The falcon that dares
With heron to fight
Has danger in sight.
The falcon that flies
And with heron would race,
So keen on the chase
That not hidden it lies,
But still with it vies,
And fears not its might,
Has danger in sight.
And the chase of love
Is high falconry,
That by day misery,
By night sorrows prove.
The falcon that strove
With heron in flight
Had danger in sight.
