Death Foretold Religion

In his novella, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Márquez establishes his setting in Sucre, a small town of Bolivia. In this Bolivian society, all of the townspeople’s actions focus upon a theocentric outlook and derive conclusions based on guidance from hierarchal figures. Through his use of ironical and biblical references, Márquez implements satire to portray the societal members’ lack of adherence to the Catholic morals, and eventually leads up to Santiago Nasar’s murder. In doing so, Márquez forces the reader to question the morality behind the viewpoints of the religious figures of the novella including the priest’s indifference to Catholic ethics, revealing the hypocrisy of the church.
Primarily, Márquez satirizes the theocentric
Márquez presents Santiago Nasar’s mother, Plácida Linero, as one of the few characters in the novella that contradicts societies norms of a strict adherence to the Catholic values. She reveals a sense of impassivity towards the Bishop’s arrival, unlike the compassion the crowds of people withhold while waiting for the relinquishment of their sins. Before Santiago Nasar leaves to the church pomp, his mother acknowledges, “He’ll give an obligatory blessing, as always, and go back the way he came”(Márquez 8). Márquez presents this satire to indicate the absence of grace and value from the arrival of the Bishop on a routinely and predetermined basis. In fact, it now portrays such an ordinary act, that people are beginning to realize the vacancy of the full-hearted devotion a priest should promote to the followers with his deliverance of blessings and spiritual advice. The priest makes a hasty, incumbent visit only to make an appearance to the masses adoring him. Most of the townspeople are unaware of the Bishop’s foolish actions, and wholeheartedly devote their time and resources to the Bishop in hopes of salvation, but are clearly taken advantage of. Overall, Márquez exhibits the satire through the spiritual authorities in the Bolivian society and discusses how many hierarchal figures are strictly concerned with completing their duty to society rather
Márquez distinguishes the satire through the representation of the Vicario family and the return of Angela Vicario to her home. The Catholic beliefs reflect a pivotal aspect of the Vicario’s lifestyle. When Angela returns from Bayardo San Román’s place, Roman thanks Pura Vicario and says, “You’re a saint” (Márquez 46). Márquez suggests the Vicario’s represent the values of Christianity within the society because of the metaphor comparing Pura Vicario to a holy angel. Virginity denoting a pure woman is one of the beliefs they upheld and this is revealed through Pura Vicario’s beating of her daughter. Catholicism advocates love and devotion to believing in the generosity of oneself towards others. However, it does not advocate abuse for sins previously committed. In this instance, Angela Vicario is not forgiven of her sins and therefore, she is beaten violently. Likewise, the twin brothers silenced their opposition, Santiago Nasar, because they thought killing him was the only honorable option that would keep the Vicario families reputation at a high level. Márquez incorporates the scene of silencing opposition to parallel the action of the church. For example, Galileo was found guilty of heresy, so the Roman Inquisition put him under house arrest. This is significant to the representation Márquez presents because the Vicario