In the short story “Death Constant Beyond Love” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez there is a constant and strong conflict between nature versus artificial life in general. As the story develops this concept translates into truth versus falseness which can be better interpreted as corruption, “spiritual or moral impurity or deviation from the ideal.” This story revolves around the senator but allows us to also encounter different aspects of his society. The senator represents the government, and then we meet the people of the place and learn about the economic system. All these things appear as corrupted in addition to love, family, and work. Gabriel Garcia Marquez criticizes that society overall is corrupted.
At the beginning of the story we learn that the village is “an illusory village which by night was the furtive wharf for smugglers’ ships, and on the other hand, in broad daylight looked like the most useless inlet on the desert.” The setting of the story is set up as a place of deception. By night there is smuggling and day it looks “useless,” in other words the corruption happens in the night while daylight becomes the cover up to the corruption. The fact that the village defined as deceiving it foreshadows everything and everyone in this village will have two sides one of which is corruption.
Marquez continues to state “Then came the trucks with the rented Indians who were carried into the towns in order to enlarge the crowds at public ceremonies.” This represents the government aspect of society whose corruption is emphasized by “rented Indians.” Like previously mentioned the senator is the representation of the government and the fact that Indians are used to enhance an illusion of a large “crowd” makes the senator as well as the government corrupted and deceiving.
Later in the story we meet Nelson Farina and we learn that “Ever since he had met Senator Onesimo Sanchez during his first electoral campaign, Nelson Farina had begged for his help in getting a false identity card which would place him beyond the reach of the law.” In this case, Nelson is the representation of the people and the fact that he wants a “false identity card” shows his desire to deceive the law. However, Nelson Farina represent more than just the people but also family. Nelson uses his daughter, Laura Farina, as means to an end. This becomes a corruption of the concept of family. Additionally this can also be seen as a deception of love due to the fact that it is not an act of love from the fathers side.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez portrays Rosal del Virrey and everything that composes the society in it with a deceiving side. This deception can be identified in the falseness of the people and the village itself. Going back to the title “Death Constant Beyond Love” I believe Marquez is trying to say that society can deceive one another except death. The death is the one thing that remains constant; the Senator was suppose die in six months and eleven days and at the end he does.
I completely agree with you in regards to your thoughts of corruption and deceit within the story. Corruption within the government is nothing new but Marquez portrays this corruption with an ironical twist. Senator Sanchez is constantly deceiving the people he will represent by offering false hopes to the people in the poorer districts. He provides them with small gifts which are actually really meaningful and a necessity to the people of the town in return for their votes. Meanwhile, Senator Sanchez has never listened to the favor of Nelson Farina until he realizes he has a beautiful young daughter. Senator Sanchez obliges to Farina’s requests of having a new identity in exchange for his daughter, but when he realizes his daughter holds the key to his happiness, Farina actually held that key. After obtaining his happiness through Farina’s daughter, Sanchez dies miserable, alone and in shame because of his affair with Farina’s daughter. By Senator Sanchez using his power to get Farina his new identity through corruption, to obtain his own happiness through Farina’s daughter, he actually died more miserable and alone had he not excercised his powers and spent his last dying days with his family.
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