The Role Of Mothers In The Lives

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

The bond between mother and daughter can either make or break the latter’s future in the community that this text is set in, where there is an emphasis as to what a girl should be and how she should act if she is to be legible for marriage; due to the communities rooting in tradition. Mothers, by virtue of gender resemblance, are tasked with taking care of their daughters and making sure, as seems to be the goal of some of the mothers in this text, they grow into responsible married women.

One of the major roles that mothers play in their daughters’ lives is to bring them up with traditional morals and values, which included discipline and tolerance. This can be seen in how Pura Vicario, Angela Vicario’s mother, raised her girls since ‘girls had been reared to get married’, taught duties that were typically seen to be done by women like sewing, weaving and arranging flowers. They were also taught to keep most of the old traditions such as sitting up with the ill, comforting the dying, helping to prepare the dead, something that was neglected by other girls of their age (Marquez, 1981 pg 30). This pleases their mother since, even though the men in this community seem to be slowly leaving the traditional ways of life, see them as being tied to women's traditions, she praises her daughters and boasts about how ‘any man will be happy with them because they are raised to suffer’ (pg 31).

The presence of a mother figure, as a mentor, and its importance, is emphasized by the lifestyle of another woman in this community, Maria Alejandrina, whose actions contradicted that which was taught to Angela and her sisters. This is seen through the words of the narrator, who terms her as ‘the most tender woman’ and ‘the most serviceable in bed’ (pg 65). Without the presence of their mother, the girls would easily fall into the same lifestyle.

Although these girls seemed not to have all the thrills and enjoyment that the men in this town may have been looking for, as shown by Santiago Nasar’s attraction to her, saying ‘she was his mad passion’ (pg 65), all their traditional traits seemed to pay off, as in the case of Angela Vicario, who was spotted by a new comer Bayardo San Roman for a wife, possibly because of her seemingly upright and pure nature, and even stating that ‘she’s well named’ (pg 28). This incident shows what her mother had in mind for her daughters; for them to be wives, and even with her apparent dislike toward Bayardo, Angela’s mother still takes up the role of the decision maker in her daughter’s life, forcing her into this marriage, saying ‘Love can be learned too’ (pg 34).

Upon the decision by Bayardo on who to marry, Angela Vicario’s secret would soon be known by the whole community and most importantly, by her mother as it was custom for the newlyweds to put a linen sheet out in the courtyard of their house so as to show the ‘stain of honor’, the absence of which one would be considered defiled and to some extent unworthy of marriage. This, being what her mother was trying to avoid by bringing them all up the same way she was, would spark more anger from her than any other character in the book. This shows that apart from teaching her daughters on how to behave as an adult, the mother acted as a role model by how she preserved her purity till the point of marriage; something that, if overlooked would bring more tension between mother and daughter due to the possible viewing of it as being lack of respect. The gravity of this matter was highlighted by Angela Vicario’s two ‘confidantes’ who managed to convince her that ‘almost all women lost their virginity in childhood accidents’, (pg 37), and taught her ‘old wives’ tricks to feign her lost possession’ (pg 38) so that, through deception, she may be able to preserve her mother’s name as well as her own but with the unfortunate turn of events, where she could not fake the ‘stain’, Bayardo San Roman returns her to her mother showing how much of an unwanted commodity one would be upon marriage if their purity was in question.

With the realization that her daughter did not stay true to the tradition as brought up to do, she, as a mother, is now seen to step in as the one to discipline her child and by doing this she shows how much value these customs are to her. Even in this situation, despite the level of ferocity she had, as stated by Angela, saying ‘I thought she was going to kill me’ (pg 47), she managed to deal with it while still portraying what women should be in this community; seen, not heard, since she ‘did it with such stealth’ that no one in the household that night knew there was anything wrong till dawn.

This act, though performed in anger, can be justified since this seemed to be her most unique of all her four daughters. She was the prettiest of the four and was ‘born like the great queens of history’ (pg 31), showing great potential and to a greater extent the level of expectations towards her by her mother. To be able to keep such a girl in the traditional path till motherhood would have been a great accomplishment and since it was she who accompanied her mother almost everywhere, it seemed possible. However, with this discovery came a sense of betrayal and loss of trust from the mother and although Bayardo San Roman recognized her efforts and her nature as a true woman, by kissing her on the cheek and showing gratitude towards the work she had done, saying, ‘Thank you for everything mother, You’re a saint’ (pg 46), the rest of the community may not be so cognizant of her efforts. The family name would be tarnished, wiping off the title the girls had through their mother; as good wives, and this action, though done by one daughter, may lead many to question how well Pura, as a mother, was executing her role as a mentor towards her daughters, putting her authority and supervision over her daughters to question.

Other than acting as mentors, mothers, are also seen to be protectors, since in another relationship between Victoria Guzman, the cook in Santiago Nasar’s home and, her daughter, Divina Flor. She is seen stepping in to protect her daughter who was ‘Untamed’ and ‘seemed overwhelmed by the drive of her glands’ (pg 7-8). Due to the stage in life where she was at that time; ‘her daughter was just coming into bloom’ (pg 8), as the author clarifies. She steps in to stop Santiago Nasar, who tells Divina, ‘The time has come for you to be tamed’ (pg 8), from proceeding any further with her by showing aggression; pointing a bloody knife at him, and using a rather condescending tone saying ‘Let go of her whitey, you won’t have a drink of that water as long as I’m alive’ (pg 8). This act shows that she was willing to preserve her daughter’s purity and emphasizing on how such morals should be kept by mother’s in order to protect their daughters. This emphasis is brought out by her own life as a teenager, associating herself with Ibrahim Nasar, Santiago’s father. She, possibly due to the absence of her mother, was ‘seduced by Ibrahim in the fullness of her adolescence’ and ‘she made love to him’ (pg 8) secretly for several years and finally brought to be a servant in his household when all the ‘affection’ was over (pg 8).

Realizing that without her presence Divina Flor would follow the same path she did, sitting, that Santiago ‘Was just like his father’ (pg 8) and recognizing that her daughter, at this time in her life, was ‘destined for Santiago Nasar’s furtive bed’, had to be a stern figure in her daughter’s life so as to prevent her from turning out as she did; possibly a servant in the same household due to her impurity, which would cost her a marriage partner later on in life. This ‘idea brought out a premature anxiety in her’ (pg 8). This feeling seemed to be so strong that she ‘hadn’t said anything because in the depths of her heart she wanted them to kill him’ (pg 11).

In this text, mothers seem to be willing to do anything for the sake of their daughters’ well being, regardless of who recognizes their efforts or appreciates their work. Realizing the many dangers in the world, which their daughters may be oblivious of, they step in to direct and even protect them, even if it would mean the loss of someone’s life.