No One Writes To The Colonel, By Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Set in Colombia during La Violencia of the twentieth century, No One Writes to the Colonel by Gabriel García Márquez explores the challenges faced by a retired colonel and his wife in the midst of political unrest, martial law, and unequal societal standards. As with many Latin American nations, issues of government power and corruption and rigid gender roles plague the colonel’s village. Throughout the novella, Márquez underlies these themes in a realistic story of a traditional Latin American society. Conflicts between the Liberal and Conservative parties during the 1940s and 1950s initiated La Violencia, causing political unrest and oppression. As discussed in George Reid Andrews’ Our New Citizens, the Blacks, the liberalist movement of the previous century sought “civic equality, political
In Josefa Acevedo de Gómez’s guide for mothers and housewives, she advises women to be orderly and clean, fully knowledgeable on how to perform chores and care for their family’s belongings. She claims that women are responsible for maintaining the appearances of their husbands and any woman who is “ignorant of the duties [she] has to perform as a woman...should feel ashamed and bitter.” Fulfilling these stereotypes, the colonel’s wife is responsible for cooking and cleaning, rarely leaving the house and then only under the scrutiny of her husband. At the beginning of the story, for instance, when she was too ill to press the colonel’s suit, he took extra effort to find another suit, rather than perform a woman’s task. Later, his wife can be found tirelessly sewing, working with a stiff neck and neglecting to watch the sunset in order to maintain her husband’s attire. These strict gender roles, as embraced by the colonel’s wife, have been present since the conquest of the New World and hinder equality in many Latin American