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Chronicle of A Death Foretold Literary Analysis

1) The document analyzes gender roles in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold, focusing on the character of Angela Vicario. 2) Angela was raised in traditional Colombian culture to be submissive and dependent as the "perfect woman," but throughout the story she evolves into a defiantly independent woman. 3) After her failed marriage, Angela moves out on her own, works, and makes her own decisions for the first time, fighting for 17 years to win back her ex-husband, in defiance of traditional gender expectations.

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1K views3 pages

Chronicle of A Death Foretold Literary Analysis

1) The document analyzes gender roles in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold, focusing on the character of Angela Vicario. 2) Angela was raised in traditional Colombian culture to be submissive and dependent as the "perfect woman," but throughout the story she evolves into a defiantly independent woman. 3) After her failed marriage, Angela moves out on her own, works, and makes her own decisions for the first time, fighting for 17 years to win back her ex-husband, in defiance of traditional gender expectations.

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Audrey Harris

English III
Ms. Houk
24 March 2017

Gender Roles in Chronicle of a Death Foretold, a Literary Analysis

Gender construction in Latin America is often characterized by cultural values like those

of machismo and marianismo. Machismo is a form of masculine pride that asserts men as the

dominant and superior members of society. Marianismo is similar to machismo in that it defines

a woman's place and value in society. Marianismo expresses the importance of feminine virtues

such as purity, virginity, and moral strength, and it is often shown through hyperfeminine

actions. Traditional rules, expectations, gender roles, and social norms of Colombian culture,

such as machismo and marianismo, greatly influence the upbringing of young women in an

effort to create the perfect marriage ready woman. Within the novella, Chronicle of a Death

Foretold, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the character of Angela Vicario demonstrates a defiance

of traditional expectations, and displays a transition to unconventional ways of life.

Angela Vicario has been raised by her family to be a traditional woman in Colombian

culture. She is seen by her family, and the rest of the town as an idyllic image of a proper

woman. Angela Vicario is seen by her family as a fragile and delicate being who is in constant

need of protection, much like The Virgin Mary who is viewed in many Latin American cultures

as the perfect embodiment of femininity. This comparison is seen throughout the novella as

Angela is accompanied by another person whenever she is in public. Angela’s worth to the world

is put solely into her ability to be a good wife as opposed to being the person she truly is. “The

girls had been reared to be married. They knew how to do screen embroidery, sew by machine,

weave bone lace, wash and iron, make artificial flowers and fancy candles, and write
engagement announcements” (37). The ability to complete domestic chores, such as those listed

above, is viewed as a major indicator of a marriage worthy woman, thus showing that Angela

Vicario was raised as a traditional woman in Colombian culture.

Colombian gender and social norms encourage women to become docile and submissive

beings, and these values are greatly influential in the upbringing of young women. Families

begin molding girls into the obedient women they are meant to become, starting at a very young

age. Much of the submissive behavior looked for in women stems from the strong and aggressive

masculinity, or machismo, that is cultured in men from a young age. Women are taught to

become submissive to men’s sexual advances even when they are unwanted or unwarranted. This

is shown numerous times throughout the novella through young female characters like Divina

Flor and Angela Vicario. “ ‘He grabbed my whole pussy,’ Divina Flor told me. ‘It was what he

always did when he caught me alone in some corner of the house’” (13). The submission of

women to the advances of men can also been seen through Angela’s forced marriage to Bayardo

San Ramon. Angela did not want to marry Bayardo, however she agreed to the marriage because

she had been taught her whole life that that was what she was supposed to do. “It was Angela

Vicario who didn’t want to marry him. ‘He seemed too much of a man for me,’ she told me.

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’” (34-35). The traditional values of Colombian

culture and society play a major role in the upbringing of young woman, such as Angela Vicario,

through the deliberate sculpting of young girls into the ideal female.

Throughout the entire novella, we as readers get to witness the evolution of Angela

Vicario's character as she becomes an independent and unconventional woman. Angela’s true

colors begin to show not long after she marries Bayardo San Ramon. Instead of deceiving
Bayardo on the night of their wedding, and leading him believe that she is still a virgin, Angela

allows the truth to surface, and choses to face the consequences, whatever they may be. After her

short and failed marriage, Angela moves out of her family home and begins a life on her own. At

this point, she is no longer dependent on parents, siblings, or a husband for anything. She works,

earns an income, and for the first time in her life she is able make all of her own decisions.

Finally, it is only after Bayardo returns Angela, that she realizes that she has just lost her chance

at love. Instead of stepping back, accepting her fate, and mourning her loss like she has been

taught, Angela fights to win Bayardo back for the next seventeen years. Marquez uses literary

tools such as flashbacks to show the progression of Angela’s character. At the start of the story,

Angela is a fragile young woman, raised for the sole purpose of being married off. By the end of

the story, she is no the epitome of femininity, but a strong and independent woman who has

made a transition to a more unconventional way of life in the eyes of Colombian tradition.

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