[…] since the doors had neither keys nor locks, all that was needed was to push them, and Escobar pushed and entered. I found him inside, and here he stayed, (107)
The image of a door with no locks or keys represents the unconditional nature of the characters’ relationships and is used solely for Capitu and Escobar. Although Machado de Assis uses a physical door in Capitu’s case and a metaphorical door in Escobar’s case the common image reaffirms the importance of these two characters in Bento’s life.
While doors can represent the strength and trust of a relationship they can also represent the failings of a relationship. The eventual dissolution of Capitu and Bento’s bond can be seen in their lack of trust and secrecy shown in an instance when Escobar comes to visit and Capitu hides in the shadows. Bento’s interpretation of Capitu’s behavior in this instance is suggests that Capitu hiding from him and spying on him. “It was Capitu, who had been watching us for some time from behind the shutters, and now had opened the window and appeared” (134). We can also see additional instances of Bento’s contribution to the eventual disintegration of their relationship as he was “standing beneath Capitu’s window and seeing a man on horseback pass, a dandy as we said at the time […] Others had passed by, and others would come later” (135). Bento is standing beneath Capitu’s window and although his presence is still there, he is beyond her range of sight, spying on her just as she on him previously with Escobar. In this case, the window represents the relationship’s communication or the lack there of, between the two characters. As Bento is concealing himself while observing Capitu, the communication is not reciprocated and thus the relationship is not fully functional.
In addition to the way that Machado de Assis uses doors and windows to communicate, Gabriel García Márquez uses these elements to convey the relationship between an individual and a group of people. He also uses the objects as symbolic barriers or entrances, primarily as a means of escaping or an obstacle preventing escape.
I would see her again year after year during my Christmas vacations, and every time she seemed more destitute in the window of her house, (32)
Angela Vicario is trapped inside her home, staring out the window – a symbol of her captivity – the irony is that she can see the outside world as the window is transparent, but she can not join that world. The window is not only a physical barrier to the world outside Angela’s room, it is also a symbolic barrier for Angela’s constricted and controlled life. As well, the relationship between Angela and the town can be represented by how her room is not on the ground floor, creating a situation where she is constantly looking down upon the outside world, removed and alone. The fact that she is constantly at this window, signifies her desire to be free of this barrier. However, instead she is treated as if she were a delicate creature in a cage, being handed from one person to another. After the discovery that she is not a virgin on their wedding night, Bayardo takes Angela home to her family however,
Bayardo San Román didn’t enter, but softly pushed his wife into the house with speaking a word. Then he kissed Pura Vicario on the cheek and spoke to her in a very deep, dejected voice, but with great tenderness. (46)
It is evident in this excerpt that Bayardo does not make Angela a priority, instead, he holds her family in higher regard, objectifying Angela.
As well, in Chronicle of a Death Foretold the doors and windows are used to represent the intentions and thoughts of a group of individuals.
Someone who was never identified had shoved an envelope under the door with a piece of paper warning Santiago Nasar that they were waiting for him to kill him. (14)
This segment shows how the town has knowledge of the upcoming murder but never puts a substantial effort into preventing it. With this small mentioning of an envelope of warning, the reader is aware of the town’s thoughts and intentions in general without actual testimony from any townspeople. This passive act of sliding the note under the door symbolizes the town’s reluctance to take any significant action to prevent the murder, although an intention to aide Santiago existed. Without going delving into each individual townsperson’s mind, the author has managed to give the reader a strong impression of the town’s intentions using simple passages incorporating doors and windows.
In addition, in no other event does a door play such a pivotal roll in the resulting action in a novel than the most important event of Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the stabbing of Santiago Nasar. “Then she ran to the door and slammed it shut. […] she thought he was upstairs […] in his room. She went to help him” (117). Throughout the novel, the townspeople have been turning their backs to the situation of Santiago Nasar and now finally the inadvertent actions of his own mother who in an effort to save him, literally closes the door on him, which results ultimately in his death. This is the ultimate betrayal, however unintentional. Even after Santiago is stabbed, he manages to stumble to the kitchen door, the one he regularly uses, to finally die there. The actions of Plácida Linero reflect her relationship with Santiago - as an inauthoritative mother figure who has good intentions and means well but her actions do not end as well.
The inclusion of one character’s or a group of characters’ interactions utilizing doors and windows are a powerful addition to understanding character relationships and a character’s inner thoughts and intentions. There are numerous ways in which this pattern of symbolism through architectural elements can be used to effectively convey character relationships and thoughts. After examining the various instances where doors and windows are featured in Dom Casmurro and Chronicle of a Death Foretold it can be stated that content in Dom Casmurro emphasizes the individual relationships whereas in Chronicle of a Death Foretold there is a tendency towards symbolizing groups of people. Although there are also other methods in which a reader may chose to acquire their impressions on character relationships, the importance of doors and windows may often be overlooked and underestimated for their significance as symbols in literature.
Word Count: 1548
Works Cited
García Márquez, Gabriel. Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Trans. Gregory Rabassa. New York: Random House Inc., 2003.
Machado de Assis, Joaquim M. Dom Casmurro. Trans. John Gledson. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
