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I have to admit, I did not foresee the events in Chapter Five....it was all simply unexpected. I think the narrator purposefully starts at the surface of the murder and then gradually reveals the deeper and haunting details of Nasar's death. I used to think that the narrator was being redundant and simply restating whatever had happened, but really, he's always shedding the events of the murder in a different light. This reminds me of the kaleidoscope-like technique used in The House of Spirits because of the different perspectives that are revealed to us throughout the novel. I never expected that Santiago would be lost in confusion during the last moments of his death; the controversial honor killing just labeled him as the town's most wanted man. Keeping in mind of the huge plot twist during the last moments of Nasar's murder, I want to retrace and analyze the chapter through the quote in the epigraph.
The pursuit of falconry seems dangerous and it's generally the process of taming a wild creature. In order to fit the metaphor of falconry to the context of the novel, I feel like love is the creature that one attempts to tame. This brings me back to the idea of l'amor fou or mad love, personifying love as mad and untamed. Angela's short marriage to Bayardo San Roman demonstrates how although Bayardo San Roman went to great lengths to please Angela, her lost virginity stood in the way of his ideal perception of love. The remains of their short-lasting marriage led to Angela's punishment from her mother but an even bigger punishment for Santiago Nasar. Her brothers felt that it was their duty to kill Nasar in order to reclaim Angela's virginity. The root of this murder is really the wild creature of love. Furthermore, as revealed in this chapter, there were so many coincidences which determined Nasar's ultimate murder by the Vicario twins.
"The investigating magistrate looked for a single person who'd seen him...but it was impossible to find one. In folio 382 of the brief, he wrote another marginal pronouncement in red ink: Fatality makes us invisible." (113) This quote certainly applies to Nasar's case as Cristo Bedoya was searching endlessly for Nasar but failed to locate him. He was on the way to Flora Miguel's house, his fiance, but no one would have expected him to visit her at such early hours. People were confused as to why he was not at home or in the town square walking with Bedoya. Another reference to the danger of falconry as related to the pursuit of love is Flora Miguel's irrational jealousy towards Angela and Nasar. When Flora heard the news that Santiago was responsible for Angela's lost honor, she assumed that Angela would be forced to marry Santiago. No one had told her otherwise. She was so angry to the point that she told him, "And I hope they kill you" (113). When I was reading this, I was shocked at how cruel she treated him during the last moments of Nasar's life. It's terrible because soon enough, she gets her wish and he does get killed. It's tragic how misunderstandings and lack of communication can result in a bizarre ending. It reminds me of the verbatim, be careful what you wish for.
Although I agree that Angela Vicario's lost virginity brought forth many problems as it ruined Bayardo's ideal perception of love, I don't think that love itself was the root of the murder. In fact, Bayardo wouldn't have necessarily known that his actions would cause Nasar's death. It is even more unlikely that he planned for it to happen. However, love might have played a big part if the rumors were true, that Angela Vicario named Nasar as her perpetrator in order to protect someone she loved. Or if Nasar actually had deflowered Angela in his pursuit for love, and got himself killed as an outcome. We can't actually know.
ReplyDeleteOverall the book was a nice read even though I was really sad as to how Nasar's life ended. It was pretty cruel and stupid of Flora Miguel to say that. She was only thinking of herself and her woeful situation to comprehend the fact that Nasar's life was in danger. How sad...
I agree that Marquez was not simply restating facts with each passing chapter. Although he did reveal the deeper details of Santiago's death in each chapter, I found that a lot was still unmentioned. The narrator was simultaneously revealing the details of the murder and purposely leaving out his involvement in the murder. The narrator also neglected to tell the readers what exactly happened with Bayardo and Angela, which I find curious. However, I think that this was a technique Marquez used to cause the reader to think about the novel and its implications.
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