Machismo In Chronicle Of A Death Foretold

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Set in a small town, Chronicle of a Death Foretold accurately depicts the prominent cultural norms of Colombia during the mid-twentieth century. Among the pre-dominating societal constructs the novel explores is that of machismo. In many Spanish-speaking countries machismo is the definition for the foundational roles in both personal and social life of which both sexes are to comply. Tacked onto this definition is also the underlying and unspoken establishment of male dominance and female conformity. In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, predatory imagery works to explore the patriarchal nature of Colombian society and criticize machismo as a cultural norm. Throughout the novel, men and women are consistently classified…show more content…
In the passage explaining the interaction with Divina Flor, the victimization of her character by Santiago Nasar is incredibly pervasive. In addition to the establishment of Divina Flor as prey, the passage briefly described the cages of birds Nasar kept in his dining room. Those birds are the literal captures of Nasar, resulting from his bird-hunting experiences; however, figuratively the birds represent the women Nasar not only hunted, but captured in a different way- presumably through the taking of their virginities. Thus, similar to the birds he kept on display, Nasar held those women as trophies. Therefore, Divina Flor, who was the epitome of purity, did not want Nasar to catch her among those cages of sleeping birds- or among his trophied women. Despite her hopes, he still managed to corner her, which exemplified the ease to which unwanted advances could be made and the extent to which they were accepted in society. Overall, the description instills a sense of sympathy in the reader for Divina Flor, and hatred toward Santiago Nasar. Because the image of a woman being treated as prey invoked these emotions, this passage suggests that the effortless nature of male-dominance that machismo advocates for is pitiful, and therefore should not

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