Gender Roles in "Chronicle of a Death Foretold",

by lyguer (student)

International Baccalaureate World Literature

Gender role has a significant effect on the novel by showing the line between the obligations of men and women.

In The Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the distinct spheres that separate men from women play a key role in developing the story. In one part of the story, when Pura Vicario was pressuring Angela to marry Bayardo San Roman, Pablo Vicario mentions that, “It looked to us like woman problems.” (20) This shows that there indeed is a line between the social responsibilities between men and women. Pablo, representing the mindset of men, distances himself from the discussion Angela was having with Pura Vicario, thinking that a woman’s decision to marry someone was their issue. H believes that women have certain obligations that they must fulfill in their life, and consequently the decision of marriage was one of those obligations. However, all this changes when Angela Vicario confesses that Santiago Nasar had taken her virginity. Women’s issues suddenly become men’s matter when Angela Vicario confesses that Santiago Nasar had taken her virginity. Marquez mentions, “After their sister revealed the name to them, the Vicario twins went to the bin in the pigsty where they kept their sacrificial tools and picked out the two best knives…” (30) Women were thought to organize the family and do inner works and men were expected to do the aggressive and external obligations. With Angela’s confession, the twin brothers were suddenly compelled to murder Santiago Nasar to win back their honor. The Vicario brothers did not believe that women were capable of holding up their honor by murdering others. Therefore, the Vicario brothers had to step in to the ‘woman’s issue’ to rectify the chaotic situation. With the imposing of division between the obligation of men and women, the whole chronicle springs to life as people are expected to live up to their gender roles. The whole novel circulates around the issue of Santiago Nasar’s death. Santiago died because of the Vicario brothers’ strong upholding of their obligation. Hence, the chronicle sparked around the separation of duties between men and women. Action society expects to be taken by individuals creates irrational behavior like the murdering of Santiago Nasar.

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Sex effectively portrays the traditional Latin American belief on the allocation of duties based on gender. The novel takes a step further to allow the readers to think twice about whether we should adhere to the traditional gender roles in society. Marquez mentions that, “The girls had been reared to get married. They 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.” (18) We are able to see that the Vicario sisters, exemplifying women in general, were given traditional roles that they had to be restricted to. The girls were brought up with the goal of being wonderful brides for marriage. They were taught the ordeals of various household responsibilities that were thought as classic jobs to be done by women. As these girls were so competent in their responsibilities such as sewing by machine, weaving, or washing, Pura Vicario, Angela’s mother, thought, “they’re perfect.” On the other hand, expectations on men are shown as Marquez states, “The Vicario brothers were brought up to be men.” (18) They serve in the war, take over their father’s business when he goes blind, drink and party until all hours of the night, and spend time in the local brothel. Certain duties or actions were limited for only men as men and women were given different values. It was not a women’s duty to take up their father’s occupation. It was the role of the sons, the men, to hold up the family business. Men could be tolerated having fun in brothels, but women who were not virgins were not like to have a happy marriage. Through these two examples, we’re able to see the Latin American tradition in roles of different genders. The Latin American people sought different values in different genders. Marquez allows us to judge the leniency on men and the stringency on women in the tradition and whether we should be comply with traditions.

The novel also tells the reader that gender roles are generally very hard to disregard. Attempts to overrule the societal norms for a certain gender constantly fail. Pablo Vicario mentions that, “So he put the knife in his hand and dragged him off almost by force in search of their sister's lost honor.” (36) Pedro Vicario tried to go against the duty of a man to uphold the family’s honor by trying to squirm out of the plot to murder Santiago Nasar. Pedro tries to comfort himself by trying to believe that the disarming by the Colonel already fulfilled their lost honor. However, Pablo, symbolizing society’s expectations on men, convinces Pedro that the lost honor has not yet been rectified. Only the murdering of Santiago Nasar would remedy the lost virginity. In another instance, Marquez mentions that, “Angela Vicario only dared hint at the inconvenience of a lack of love, but her mother demolished it with a single phrase: "Love can be learned too." (20) Angela attempts to oppose the obligation of woman to marry a man who satisfies the standards of her parents by hinting at the inconveniences of marriage without love. Only a few months had passed and love naturally is hard to spark in such a short time. Yet, Pura Vicario, symbolizing society’s expectations on woman, dismisses Angela’s objections by stating that love is something that can be acquired. Through these two prime examples, the readers are able to grasp Marquez’s notion that gender roles are embedded deeply into the minds of individuals in a society. Although people are often able to grasp the notion that the separation in roles based on gender is causing prejudiced actions, people are not able to amend such flaws as they lack the assertiveness that is required. Furthermore, people have been adapted to the strict regulations that they have lost the fervor for change.

IB Literature Y1