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Sophia Fimbres

IB English 1

Mr. Smith

9 Dec 2020

The Relationship Between Woman and Men

In the riveting novel, ​A Chronicle of a Death Foretold​, Gabriel García Márquez portrays

women as being obstinate to men through the relationship of Angela Vicario and Bayardo San

Roman. Angela’s refusal to adhere to gender norms is seen when she decides that she is not

going to try to conceal the fact that she is not a virgin anymore. This is revealed when she recalls

to the narrator that “she let herself get undressed openly in the lighted bedroom, safe now from

all the acquired fears that had ruined her life”(91). Angela was given tools so that she could

deceive her husband into thinking that she was a virgin, but she chose not to do them. She

decided that she did not want to be frightened into doing something that she did not want to do

just because of the cultural obligations expected of her. When Angela makes this decision she

says that she was free of the fears that had ruined her life. This reveals her obstinance toward

men because although her friends tried to convince her to fulfill her obligations to her husband,

she decides that she does not care about what happens to her and that she just wants to be free.

Male VS. Female Roles

​ abriel García Márquez

In the fascinating novel, ​A Chronicle of a Death Foretold, G

defines female roles through the cultural view of Machismo and marianismo. This is displayed

through the men and women in the Vicario family. When the narrator begins to delve into the

Vicario family, he finds that they are extremely fixed in their gender roles. For example, the men

were brought up to “maintain the honor of the house” while the women were “raised to suffer”
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(31). This shows how the men of the house are brought up to do everything to take care of the

house and make sure that the family name preserves its honor. The whole purpose of the male

role is to defend the honor of the household and make sure to get it back if it is lost.

Contrastingly, the women of the household are defined as having the skills to take care of the

male. The women are taught to sew and write engagement letters while the men in the family

slaughter pigs and provide for the family. Overall, the men and women in the novel are defined

by the cultural roles of machismo and marianismo.

What are masculinity and femininity?

In the riveting novel, ​A Chronicle of A Death Foretold, ​Gabriel García Márquez

establishes that masculinity and femininity are constituted by the cultural roles of Machismo and

marianismo. This is seen when the Vicario twins feel as if they are obligated to kill Santiago in

order to gain back the honor of the family. For example, when the twins are questioned by the

lawyer about if they regretted Santiago, they respond by saying that “they would have done it a

thousand times over” for the reason of gaining back the honor of the family (48). Obviously, the

Vicario twins feel forced to oblige to these social expectations of men. This is displayed because

although they feel extremely guilty and can not even eat, they still say that if they had the chance

they would murder Santiago again for the reason of keeping honor. Contrastingly, the women

have to fit into the role of marianismo to be qualified as a marriageable woman in society. This is

displayed through the returning of Angela to her family. Since Angela was not a virgin, she was

seen as unfit to be a wife. As a woman having to follow marianismo gender roles, she should

have stayed pure for her husband. For this reason, she was an outcast and seen as unfit to be a

woman in that society. She now no longer had to act feminine and was free to do whatever she
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wanted. Overall, in the Colombian culture masculinity and femininity are constituted through the

roles of machismo and marianismo.