Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Chronicle of a Death Foretold explores life in a highly patriarchal society. In this society, different genders have different cultural expectations. These expectations are expressed through honor and violence, particularly when it comes to policing the boundaries of acceptable behavior. Throughout the novella, these notions of honor and violence are revealed to be intertwined, destroying lives indiscriminately.

In the town, women are measured against the Virgin Mary in terms of their “purity.” They are expected to be non-sexual beings, subservient to men, and traded in marriage as though they are property. In turn, men are expected to use violence to police this social arrangement. When Angela’s affair is exposed, her family honor is considered to be tainted. The twins are expected to enact violence against Santiago as a matter of course, something which every person in the town understands. Santiago is considered to have taken something of value, so he must be punished with violence. The brothers believe themselves to be innocent, which is a common belief in the community. Indeed, Pablo’s wife, Prudencia, later insists that she only married Pablo because he was willing to uphold his family’s honor through the use of violence. Eventually, the murder is categorized as a matter of honor, which allows the townspeople to put it in the past, at least in a legal sense.