Coming from a different culture, many traditions in Chronicle of a Death
Foretold were novel and confusing to me. One of the most perplexing was the marriage
of Bayardo San Roman and Angela Vicario and his “return” of Angela when he
discovered that Angela was not a virgin on their wedding night. I also did not understand
why Angela’s mother, Pura Vicario, was so involved in the marriage, pushing her
daughter to marry Bayardo then beating Angela after he “returned” her. The oral reports
about gender expectations and class differences in 1950’s Columbia helped explain what
influenced these characters to act in these ways.
Clara’s presentation on gender roles and “machismo” helped clarified my
understanding of Bayardo and Angela’s relationship.
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On the other hand, lower-class women were viewed as “toys” for
male pleasure, while upper-class wives were seen as accessories. Women were expected
to remain virgins until marriage, while men often lost their virginity to prostitutes.
Learning about gender expectations clarified many aspects of Bayardo and Angela’s
relationship. Because of cultural norms such as machismo, Bayardo viewed Angela’s
previous sexual encounters as a violation of the unspoken social contract of machismo.
Bayardo saw Angela’s partner(s) as a threat to his masculinity, thinking that his social
status would be destroyed if anyone were to find out. Learning about machismo helped
clarify why Bayardo’s “return” of Angela was an accepted and normal practice.
Maimouna and Tyania’s presentations also helped further my understanding of
the marriage by illuminating the importance of social class in 1950’s Columbia. Tyania
explained how people were aware of each other’s social classes and the differences
between them. Tyania explained how difficult it was to climb the social ladder in rural
areas. Maimouna discussed how marriage was one of the few options for those living in
the country. These two presentations helped my understanding of the marriage and