This paper describes the society depicted in this novel. It discusses the values accepted in this town, and in particular how they relate to gender roles. Finally, it discusses prejudices within the novel, and described the role those prejudices play in the murder.

The novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold depicts a society in which honour and reputation are values of paramount importance, particularly where those values concern the sexuality of women. The novel is shaped by the prejudice within this society that a woman’s sexual behaviour reflects her status and the status of her family, as it is this prejudice that forms the primary motivation for the murder.

Feminist theory describes the way in which women are raised in patriarchal societies to have no authority or independence, but instead to be possessions utilised for the furtherance of male status. This particularly the case in the novel, where the women – including the central character, Angela – form identities based on the assumption of marriage. Márquez writes that in Angela’s family “The brothers were brought up to be men. The girls were brought up to be married” (Márquez, 1996, p. 30). This demonstrates the clear value placed in this society on gender separation, with the women identified only by their connection to a man, even as the men are able to form identities based more solidly on their behaviour.

Marriage is important in the novel because of the prejudice against women’s sexual freedom, which is seen as reflecting poorly on their families as well as themselves. The prejudice against Angela’s illicit pre-marital sexual encounter is the prime motivator for the murder, as her family attempts to regain status within the society by erasing the evidence of Angela’s lack of honour. Describing the moment when Angela reveals Santiago’s name as her lover, Márquez writes that “she nailed it to the wall with her well-aimed dart, like a butterfly with no will whose sentence has always been written” (Márquez, 1996, p. 47). This metaphor demonstrates Angela’s vulnerability to the control of her male brothers, and the lack of authority she has over her own sexuality and life.

Despite the legal consequences suffered by Angela’s brothers, it is clear throughout the novel that society tacitly condones violence as a consequence of Angela’s illicit sexuality: although many people are aware of the threats of the Vicario brothers, no real effort is made to prevent the murder, nor to protect Angela’s rights or desires. The real murder in this novel is not of Santiago, but of Angela’s reputation. The actions of Santiago, Bayardo, and her brothers combine to destroy Angela’s hopes for a happy and respectable life, as her society views her purely in terms of her sexual behaviour.

As we can see then, this novel shows a society prejudiced against female authority and sexuality, and which values control over women’s honour.