Chronicle Of A Death Foretold By Gabriel Garcia Marquez

In many Latin American families, men are led to protect their families and preserve the family honor. If a woman loses her virginity before marriage, this can be seen as a great dishonor to her family, therefore forcing her to marry in order to restore the family honor. A good example of this would be that of Angela Vicario, a character in Marquez’s novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Angela Vicario lost her virginity before she married to whom she said was Santiago Nasar. This accusation eventually leads to his death and Angela Vicario’s shame upon her family. Angela Vicario’s mother, Purisima del Carmen, had raised all of her daughters to be good wives to whomever they married. The Vicario daughters do not leave their home often, which in
“Any man will be happy with them because they have been raised to suffer” (Márquez 31). Most Latin American families want their daughters to marry wealthy men, which is part of the reason why Angela Vicario’s family nearly forced her to marry Bayardo San Román. Although in today’s society, women are seen to many much more freedoms and opinions than in the past, women are still somewhat seen as subordinates to men. In most cultures, men lead their families and society, despite this never being set as a standard or law. In past societies, only men were allowed to be educated. Women were expected to stay at home and care for the family while men worked to provide for the family. Men have always had control over women, even though it is not seen as often in today’s society. Today, women have the right to their own life and entitlement. Women are allowed the same educational rights as men and are allowed to have jobs previously restricted to men only. Women can be authority figures and fight in wars. Women can vote and play sports. The roles of women have not changed necessarily, but rather, women have taken on new roles in addition to their previous