According to an article from The Journal of Sex Research by Mary Crawford and Danielle Popp, “Women were faced with a Madonna- whore dichotomy: They were either pure and virginal or promiscuous and easy” (Crawford and Popp). This quote illustrates the two options for women in the town from Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Angela Vicario is the ideal girl of her culture. Yet, her counter culture behavior reveals the stigma around premarital sexual activity for women. The character of Angela Vicario is used by the author, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, to comment and critique the strict gender roles upheld in an honor culture.
Angela Vicario symbolizes an ideal girl of her culture gone astray, revealing the repercussions of sexual promiscuity for a woman's reputation. Angela Vicario was “reared …show more content…
Men in the town are defined by their machismo attitude and their honor. As part of their machismo culture, the men of the town often visit the brothel and engage in sexual activites with the women, starting when they are teenagers. In contrast, women are viewed as worthless and disgraces to their families if they lose their virginity before marriage. A study on a sexual double standard by Derek A. Kreager and Jeremy Staff reported that, “‘boys had to ‘sow their wild oats,’ yet girls were told that boys ‘won't buy the cow if he can get the milk for free’" (Crawford and Unger qtd. Crawford and Popp). This further reveals that it is common for women to face consequences for their sexual behavior that men don’t experience. This is illustrated in the book by the fact that Santiago was able to openly have a “mistress of tears at the age of fifteen”, whereas Angela is rejected and expelled from the society for having had relations with a man who she was not wed to (Marquez
Angela Vicario symbolizes an ideal girl of her culture gone astray, revealing the repercussions of sexual promiscuity for a woman's reputation. Angela Vicario was “reared …show more content…
Men in the town are defined by their machismo attitude and their honor. As part of their machismo culture, the men of the town often visit the brothel and engage in sexual activites with the women, starting when they are teenagers. In contrast, women are viewed as worthless and disgraces to their families if they lose their virginity before marriage. A study on a sexual double standard by Derek A. Kreager and Jeremy Staff reported that, “‘boys had to ‘sow their wild oats,’ yet girls were told that boys ‘won't buy the cow if he can get the milk for free’" (Crawford and Unger qtd. Crawford and Popp). This further reveals that it is common for women to face consequences for their sexual behavior that men don’t experience. This is illustrated in the book by the fact that Santiago was able to openly have a “mistress of tears at the age of fifteen”, whereas Angela is rejected and expelled from the society for having had relations with a man who she was not wed to (Marquez