Chronicle of a Death Foretold: Inverted Values and Honor

The action of Chronicle of a Death Foretold is developed in an atmosphere of coincidences, contradictions, and mistakes that enable tragedy. Only two points are clear and firm: the murder of Santiago Nasar and the belief of all the people in the validity of the code of honor. It is with these words that the villagers agree on a value, that of honor, which in view of his way alone could cause them to commit a tragedy. This is the central irony of the novel.

When on the same night of the wedding Bayardo San Roman returns the bride to her parents because she is not a virgin, in fact, this sentences someone to death, for it will implement the honor code in force in the village: honor is restored only with Nasar's death. Santiago had the misfortune of living in a town of inverted values, little or nothing reasonable. Garcia Marquez does not describe these values, but it is clearly stated in what the characters say.

Right at the start of the novel, the narrator says, "I was recovering from the wedding revels in the apostolic lap of Maria Alejandrina Cervantes..." Of this, it would be said later: "It was she who did away with my generation's virginity." It seems then that the concept of moral censure of the people in no way matches the practice and exercise of prostitution. The novelist, in addition, melts in praise of such Maria Alejandrina, which may well be that it is well regarded in this town of moral inversion.

Materialism in the Town

Another inversion seen in the characters of the people is their materialism; this is best exemplified by Bayardo San Roman. Apart from other good qualities, he is splurging on an almost improbable wedding, but it is also symptomatic that he does not understand that the widower refused for a long time to sell his home, even though Bayardo offered him an exorbitant amount.

The Vicario Brothers' Upbringing

More references to the sexual sense are honored in the existing rules concerning the upbringing of the Vicario children. Of the brothers, the narrator says, "They were raised to be men. The girls had been reared to get married..." The education received thus paves the way for the subsequent behavior before a crime of honor. In fact, the Vicario brothers killed Santiago Nasar to meet the education that they had received. If they kill him to fulfill a duty that does not seem to like much, hence they are considered innocent "before God and before men - Pablo Vicario said - it was a matter of honor."

The Town's Acceptance of the Honor Code

The popular code of honor is so completely accepted that no one in town wonders why it is irrelevant whether Maria Alejandrina's virginity had wiped out an entire generation of men. Clearly, within this code, the idea is also included that if a woman has lost her virginity outside of marriage, it is because she has been forced against her will. The lawyer defending the brothers also accepted the honor code. Most villagers accept, among other things, that this exonerates them for failing to prevent the crime.

In conclusion, one can say that Garcia Marquez has tried to express in this novel an ironic criticism of the honor code, which is the real trigger of the tragedy.