Chronicle of a Death Foretold (p. 3 - 60)

Summary: Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a story about a man named Santiago Nasar, the story is told in third person and it keeps looking back at the life that Santiago had. So far the third person is narrating the life of Santiago and documenting and quoting things that people said about him, like how his mother used to listen to his dreams and was careless about the time that he wanted to see the pope because the pope did not like the town. Although he is really focused on meeting the pope, everyone else seems a little bit tense, because of the fact that they know or knew that he was going to be killed. One of the maid's , Victoria Guzman, especially seems a bit angry at Nasar because he was trying to seduce her daughter and "Tame" her just like his father did when she was younger. This really upset Victoria as well as her daughter, Divina Flor, because she did not like Nasar and the way he would approach her and at times just sneak up and touch her. Looking back at this situation, it seemed as if the maids kept the hidden information about Nasar being killed as a reason to get back at being so disrespectful. Especially, when the narrator talked about some note that they dropped off after he left, instead of telling him, Divina, decided to go amongst her mothers wishes and keep quite and left the door open hoping that his "death" was only drunken rumors from the wedding/day before. Afterwards, going back to the pope, it is revealed that the narrator and his sister, Margot, had known as well and even met up with him after seeing the pope. Margot invited him back home for some breakfast because she knew about the killers and wanted to protect Nasar because she was interested in him. The key point to this was the constant description of the wedding decorations, while he was on his way to see the pope and coming back. The narrator then told us that the wedding that had taken place the day before Nasar's death had been big and expensive, but the day after the bride had been returned to her family because her husband found out that she was not a virgin, and some how Santiago had something to do with that. The novel then goes on into explaining the origin of the marriage of Angela Vicario and Bayardo San Roman. The marriage from my view was rushed and it was even said that Angela did not want to get married to Bayardo in the first place. There was also a house mentioned that Angela wanted, but the owner, a widow, was not going to sell; Bayardo's efforts and his constant gift showerings were a sign to Angela's parents that she would be taken care of, which is exactly the kind of man they wanted for their daughter. During this big wedding celebration, no one has quite discovered Angela's big secret and the narrator, who was good friends with Nasar did not uncover his involvement either. The whole time Santiago had been over the Vicario's house, celebrating and driking with whom would soon be his murderers.