Chronicle of a Death Foretold: Chapter 3

Defending Honor

Chapter three begins with the quote, "The lawyer stood by the thesis of homicide in legitimate defense of honor, which was upheld by the court in good faith, and the twins declared at the end of the trial that they would have done it again a thousand times over for the same reason." (48) I noticed that in this chapter there was a great amount of repetition of events and themes from the previous two chapters but only projected in different perspectives and additional clarity on the occurrence of events leading up to Santiago Nasar's death. Many of the evidence offered in this chapter seemed redundant and made me come to a conclusion that this novel isn't as mysterious as what I've preconceived in the beginning. It was perhaps only a mystery in the first chapter, but soon enough the narrator throws pieces of the mystery here and there.  The focus of this chapter shifts from Bayardo San Roman to the Vicario twins after their sister found the strength to name Santiago Nasar as the man who stole her honor.

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In Colombian culture, but certainly not limited to that region, honor is a monumental symbol of a one's dignity and status, especially female virginity and innocence. The Vicario twins have justified their committed murder as defending the honor of their family and the dignity of their sister's loss virginity. I included a gif of flowers dying to represent the frequently referenced metaphor of flowers representing a female's innocence and purity, when Bayardo San Roman found out she was no longer a virgin, her honor died just as how flowers lose their bloom and start to wilt into dead flowers.

The narrator also gives further insight into the Vicario twins' personalities, perhaps for us to understand them a little more and their intentions? Pedro was the twin who declared the decision to kill but did not want to continue once the mayor had taken away their knives but Pablo insisted to continue with the murder.

"Pedro Vicario, according to his own declaration, was the one who made the decision to kill Santiago Nasar, and at first his brother only followed along. But he was also the one who considered his duty fulfilled when the mayor disarmed them, and then it was Pablo Vicario who assumed command." (60)

I also noticed how their sister's lost honor and innocence has been personified and Santiago Nasar became the symbol of the disgrace and dishonor. Since honor has taken a literal form, it explains why Pablo is determined to continue with the murder. The last part of the quote, "it's as if it had already happen" definitely  draws allusions to the title of the novel and how in their minds, Santiago Nasar's death was certainly foretold.

"So he put the knife in his hand and dragged him off almost by force in search of their sister's lost honor. "There's no way out of this", he told him. "It's as if it had already happened." (61)

Another interesting passage in chapter three was the introduction of Maria Alejandrina Cervantes. I found that there was an obvious double standard in the matters of honor because a man's virginity was not as prized or as protected as a female's virginity and honor. Both the narrator and Santiago Nasar seem infatuated by her charm and attraction which sort of reminds me of Bayardo San Roman. There was certainly no one planning to murder her!

Maria Alejandrina Cervantes
"It was she who did away with my generation's virginity. She taught us much more than we should have learned, but she taught us about all that there's no place in life sadder than an empty bed." (65)