Is It Possible to Say Who Is to Blame for the Tragedy in Chronicle of a Death Foretold?
Garcia Marquezs Chronicle of a Death foretold (CDF) pieces together the torn-part body of a story: that of the murder of Santiago Nasar by the Vicario twins in revenge for his dishonouring of their sister. The death of Santiago is unfolded in the opening line of the novel and the reasons and details are confided throughout the plot. The novel is based on true event happened in Sucre Colombia in 1951 and Garcia Marquez, as the investigator in the novel, knew members of the families who were invovled. Whether in the real life or in novels, it sounds absurd that a murder informed previously to the whole town finally succeeds. Although there were so many signs and warnings that this murder was going to happen, no one paid attention and no one did anything to prevent it. These interlocking coincidences imply Santiago Nasar will be, was, and indeed is being stabbled to death. Exactly speaking, Santiago was not killed by the actual murderers, but by his own town, which in advance is the male domination mechanism drives Santiago to death. Therefore, it is hard to say which character should be responsible for the tragedy and this will be proved through analyzing the main characters and the main themes in the novel.
Concendedly, machismo is a significant theme in CDF, as most critics and even Garcia Marquez himself approved. The author comment of the CDF as ‘without doubt an X-ray and also a condemnation of the sexist nature of our society. The word “machismo” has existed for a short time and Carlos Monsivais deemed it arose during the golden age of Mexican cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. Stevens defines machismo as the cult of virility, of which the chief characteristics are exaggerated aggressiveness and intransigence in male-to-male interpersonal relationships and arrogance and sexual aggression in male-to-female relationships while Marquez considers that machismo undoubtedly will usurp another persons rights whether in men or women. The society represented in CDF obviouslly is one of male domination and the novel shows how this domination is naturalized. The author narrates some male characters take pride in visiting the local brothel, where they use women as sex. It seems incompatible this behaviour is censured by the community while women are required to be virgins before marriage. Unluckily, it is the reality in the male dominated society, so Bayardo San Roman returned Angela Vicario when he found her was not innocente, which set the vengeance in motion. Male privilege and domination are more prominent in the relationship between father and son, such as the one between Santiago and his father, Ibrahim Nasar. Santiago learned many skills, as well as valour and prudence from his father and inherited the cattle ranch after his fathers death while he learned very little from his mother. The inheritance also happens in the Vicarios family. The twin brothers are educated to be men and take responsibility