World Literature Final Draft

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Deng  

In both Machado de Assis’s novel Dom Casmurro and García Márquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the main characters, Bentinho or “Bento” Santiago and Santiago Nasar, are presented to us without a proper paternal figure in their lives. This, in consequence, emphasizes the importance of motherhood in the society of these two novels and through various literary techniques and imagery, the authors are able to evoke awareness of this theme to the reader. In this essay, I will examine mother-son relationships and show how mothers shape their sons’ character through their actions.

 Through character details, mother-son relationships are evident in Dom Casmurro and Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Dona Glória is presented through the eyes of her son, Bento, as a “lovely woman” (16). Although there is no clear description of the father, there are brief glimpses into his character through details such as: “... the portrait shows a round pair of eyes, which follow [Bento] everywhere, an effect of the painting that frightened [him] as a child” (16). From Bento’s brief portrayal of his parents, it is shown that the mother played a grander role in taking care of him when he was still a child.  Machado de Assis makes use of pathetic fallacy by describing Bento’s father as an inanimate object with human characteristics and this accentuates the disjunct relationship between the narrator and his father. In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Plácida Linero is known as an “accurate interpreter of other people’s dreams” (4). When Santiago Nasar tells her that he dreamt of “...going through a grove of timber trees where a gentle drizzle was falling”, she did not sense any “ominous auguries” (4) and consequently, let him go outside the house knowing that the Vicario brothers would murder him. From this incident, it would seem as though she trusted the accuracy of her interpretation rather than the safety of her son. Plácida Linero and Santiago Nasar’s oblivious nature to the situation show that both mother and son share similar characteristics in which lead both of them to an impending catastrophe.

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In both novels, the mothers’ actions play a direct role in constructing their sons’ development as a character. Most notably, Dona Glória reveals her authoritative personality by forcing her son to enter the seminary and to learn from the priests. When Bento becomes acquainted with Capitu, he loses interest in becoming part of the clergy because of their growing relationship; however when he tries to explain this to his mother, she “reproved [him], not harshly but somewhat firmly, and [he] went back to being the submissive son [he] was” (81). Dona Glória also acknowledges that in the past, her son ...

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