English 202 Study Guide: Marquez and “Death Constant Beyond Love”

Norton Vol F, 909-916

1. “The best-known novelist of the Latin American “Boom” of the 1960s and 1970s, Gabriel
Garcia Marquez embodied, in his work, the mixture of fantasy and actuality known as
‘magic realism’ . . . . Marquez returned to certain themes: the contrast between
dreamlike experiences and everyday reality; the enchanted or inexplicable aspect of
fictional creation; and the solitude of the individuals in societies that can never quite
incorporate them. His fiction, which contains mythic dimensions that are often rooted in
local folklore, reimagines regional tales to explore broader social and psychological
conflicts. Even those works based in historical fact transform the characters and events
into a fictional universe with its own set of laws” (909).

2. “Marquez found in [the surrealistic fiction of Franz] Kafka the mobile balance of
nonrealistic events and realistic detail that--combined with his grandmother’s quixotic
stories and his grandfather’s political concerns--would become the genre known as
magic realism. In this mode the narrator treats the subjective beliefs and experiences of
the characters, often derived from folklore and supernatural beliefs, as if they were real,
even when (to a scientifically minded observer) they seem impossible” (909).

3. In “Death Constant Beyond Love” Senator Sanchez, at the news of his impending death,
is “made suddenly to feel . . . helpless, vulnerable, and alone. Theoretically he knows
that death is inevitable and that the course of nature cannot be defeated. He has read
Marcus Aurelius (121 – 180 c.e.) . . . and refers to the Stoic philosopher’s Meditations,
which criticizes the delusions of those ‘who have tenaciously stuck to life’ and
recommends the cheerful acceptance of natural order, including death . . . . In this crisis
the senator is reduced to basic, instinctual existence, drawing him deeper into Garcia
Marquez’s recurrent themes of solitude, love, and death . . . . [The story] reverses the
ambitious claim of a famous sonnet by the Spanish Golden Age writer Quevado . . .,
according to which there is ‘Love Constant Beyond Death.’ Such love is an illusion, for it
is death, beyond everything else, that awaits us” (910).

1. What does Senator Sanchez find approximately 6 months before his death? The
woman of his life.

2. What is the meaning of Rosal del Virrey? The Rosebush of the Viceroy (governor).

3. What is the reputation of Rosal del Virrey by night? It was the “furtive wharf for
smugglers’ ships”.

4. Why is the name of the town a joke? It was a joke because there weren’t even any
roses in the village.

5. What does the Senator go to Rosal del Virrey for? He went every four years for his
electoral campaign.

6. What is the purpose of the rented Indians? They were supposed to draw a big crowd
through entertainment.
7. What is Sanchez’s academic training? He graduated Gottingen with a degree in
metallurgical engineering.

8. What news had the Senator learned approximately 3 months before this story takes
place? That he would be dead by Christmas.

9. What had been his condition (attitude toward life) up until the time he learned the
above news? He was constantly happy.

10. Why does Sanchez choose to “endure his secret all alone” (1653)? Because he was
shameful.

11. What does Sanchez feel for those fighting to shake his hand? He felt a strange
disdain.

12. According to Sanchez’s speech, what “purpose” are he and the people gathered
for? To defeat nature and to become happy.

13. What sort of special effects do Sanchez’s crew while he is speaking to the crowd?
They threw paper birds into the air that turned into real birds. They “planted” fake trees
and “built” fake houses.

14. What three campaign promises does Sanchez make to the people in his speech?
Rainmaking machines, portable breeders for table animals, and oils of happiness that
would make plants grow.

15. What does Sanchez notice about the cardboard town that the crowd doesn’t seem
to notice? The fake city had also been basically destroyed due to the bad climate.

16. What happened to Nelson Farina's first wife? She died from natural causes and was
buried in a Dutch cemetery.

17. What does Farina want from the senator (he begged for it beginning with the
senator’s first campaign)? He wanted a fake ID so that he wouldn’t be able to get in
trouble from the law.

18. How has the senator always treated Farina’s request (what was his standard
answer)? He was friendly yet refused.

19. What favor does Sanchez do for the woman with six children? A donkey that had his
slogan painted on it.

20. According to the footnote at the bottom of page 1655, what three things is the figure
of Laura Farina connected with? The rustic poor, earthly reality, and erotic inspiration.
21. When speaking to the “important people of Rosal del Virrey”, what does the senator
predict will happen the day “there are trees and flowers in this heap of goat dung [Rosal
del Virrey] (1656)? That they will have nothing to do there.

22. What happens to the paper butterfly once it flys out of the Senator’s room? It
painted itself onto the wall and Laura Farina could not get it off.

23. Upon seeing Laura Farina, Sanchez “resolved then that death had made his
decision for him” (1656). What decision do you think he is referring to? An affair with
Laura Farina.

24. When they get into the Senator’s room, what are the bank notes doing? They were
all flying through the air.

25. Describe the senator’s tattoo: A heart pierced by an arrow.

26. According to the senator, what is the significance of the astrological sign that he
shares with Laura? It is a sign of solitude.

27. The senator “knew that the [sudden love affair] at hand had its origins in indignity”
(1657). What do you think he means by that? What is undignified about this particular
affair (there could be several answers)? One thing that could be described as
undignified is the fact that Laura Farina is very young (19).

28. What is Laure wearing under her clothes? Nothing.

29.  What does Farina want in return for sending the key to the padlock? The fake ID.

30. What has Laura heard about the senator? That he is worse than the others because
he is different.

31. In what condition does the senator die? What has happened to his political
reputation? He dies in political shame while with Laura.

32. What is Sanchez angry about as he is dying? Because he is dying without her.