CoaDF​ Chapter 2 Questions

1. Characterize Bayardo San Román:

a. physical description
- “Waist of a novice bullfighter, golden eyes, and a skin slowly roasted by
saltpeter” (25).
- Short jacket, tight pants, gloves
- “He looked like a fairy”
b. why does he want to marry Angela?
- He thought she was pretty
c. actions that reveal his character?
- He’s very sure of himself, impulsive, says “remind me that I’m going to
marry her” as opposed to saying he wants to marry her or he wants to ask
her to marry him (29).
- Knows what he wants, a pure woman, says Angela is well named, her
name means angel, references purity (29).
- Bayardo is very persistent in his interactions with the widower
- Returns Angela with her dress in shreds. Angela looks like she has been
abused by Bayardo, but this is not outright stated. This shows machismo
because this abuse is normalized
2. Characterize Angela Vicario:
a. how does she feel about Bayardo (before the wedding)?
- She doesn’t want to marry him “he is too much of a man for me” (34).
- “He’d managed to impress her, but for reasons opposite those of love”
(29) because he’s the most stuck up person she’s ever seen
b. the town's and her family's expectations of her
- They expect her to marry him, her parents say love “Love can be learned”
(35).
c. what two roles does she play as a woman?
- Angela is expected to be pure before marriage and then be a good and
faithful wife when she is married
- “The girls had been reared to get married” (31). Their purpose is to
one day become some guy’s wife
- Angela is returned to her family when Bayardo finds out that she
isn’t a virgin (46).
3. Describe the "sexual" culture of the town.
a. What attitudes prevail about the proper role of men, the proper role of women?
- Machismo: men expected to take charge, superior to women
- “The brothers were brought up to be men” (31).
- Marianismo: women expected to get married, submit to men, take care of
families, sacrifice personal aspirations for family
- “The girls had been reared to get married” (31).
- Pura Vicario so dedicated to her husband and children “at times
one forgot she still existed” (31).
- Pura says any man will be happy to have her daughters because
 they have been raised to suffer (31).
b. What is the motive given for killing Santiago Nasar?)
- Protect Angela and her family’s honor because he is the reason Angela
was not a virgin
- Brothers demand to know who took her virginity (47) then set off
to kill him
4. What is the significance of the farmhouse of Xius? What does it represent? Explain the
anecdote of the widower Xius in this chapter. Contrast Bayardo San Roman and the
widower Xius.
- Xius’s house is what is left of his wife, Xius keeps it for sentiment. This is a
representation of love, which contrasts Bayardo, who is more consumed with the
image of love and not truly loving somebody. He is shallow and comes to town
looking for someone to marry (pg 26) and picks Angela without really knowing
her.