In the novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, contradiction is used to emphasize concepts like gender and religion in the Vicario family.
Angela and her mother, Pura, have an interesting relationship. Besides forcing her daughter to love a man she does not love, insisting that, “Love can be learned [...]” (Marquez 26), she also shames Angela for losing her virginity in the first place as if Santiago wasn’t the one who took it away from her. Because of this, Angela’s mother jumps at the chance for Angela to marry Bayardo in order to cover up the dishonor of Angela’s pre-marital affair. During the wedding, Angela is forced to wear virginal bridal wear even though she is no longer a virgin, therefore dishonoring the tradition. Pura knows, but still shames Angela for wearing them, as if she wasn’t the one who forced her to wear them. Much to the displeasure of Pura, Bayardo “returns” Angela five hours after the wedding when he learns that she’s not a virgin. Pura then proceeds to silently beat her daughter for two hours, severely enough for Angela to tell the narrator, “[...] I thoughts she was going to kill me” (Marquez 46)
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Pura is constantly overlooked in the family, and yet she is the only thing keeping them together. But the only person she ever seems to discipline is Angela, and while child abuse disguised as discipline was and is a very common pratice, it is interesting to note that Pura’s advice/decisions for Angela are very obvious contradictions like telling Angela that mean don’t care about women not being virgins as long as they know, and then scolding her for wearing virginal wear when know one but her knows that she’s virgin. She also forces Angela to get married, knowing that she’s not a virgin and therefore making it possible for Bayardo to find out, which is what led him to give her back to the family in the first