Pedro Páramo and Enrique Otway March 26, 2007
Posted by snowflake5304 in Class Blogs.trackback
While reading Pedro Páramo, it occurred to me that there was a striking similarity between Pedro Páramo and Enrique Otway in Sab. Both male characters while at the top of the social ladder in their society are portrayed as villains. Pedro marries Doloritas (Dolores) because her family is his biggest creditor and Enrique marries Carlota for her money and inheritance (land). From the beginning of Pedro Páramo, we understand that Pedro has cast aside his wife for unknown reasons. She tells her son on her death bed “Don’t ask him for anything. Just what’s ours” (Rulfo 3). It’s only later that we discover how Pedro got rid of his debts, by marrying Doloritas because he owed her family more money than anyone else. He will stop at nothing to aggrandize his holdings, including killing people who get in his way. So once Pedro gets the land that belonged to Doloritas, he tires of her and sends her away to live with her sister.
Although the style of Sab leaves no room for doubt about the motives of Enrique, he is just as villainous in Sab as Pedro is in Pedro Páramo. While the style is more descriptive in Sab, leaving no doubt about Enrique’s intentions in marrying Carlota, he is just as scheming as Pedro in marrying the “right woman” to ensure he benefits from the marriage. He even schemes to cut out Carlota’s younger sisters from the inheritance of their father’s land, to his own benefit, and to Carlota’s dismay and disgust.
The writing in the two novels could not be more different. In Sab, the florid style details the inner thoughts of Enrique at every stage of the story, leaving no question in the reader’s mind, while in Pedro Páramo the sparse style with little detail other than conversations and thoughts of the characters makes the reader come to his/her own conclusions about the motives of Pedro, with only hints about what really happened, as in the death of Susana’s father. The contrast in style could not be more dramatic, but the villains both share the same bad characteristic of marrying for the financial benefit that will come to them, rather than for love.
THis is an original approach to both texts. I would not have thought to do this. Very nice.
Overall, I find your blog to be really fun and interesting, as well as visually stimulating. Keep up the excellent work here.
Sally,
I like the comparison that you made between the two male characters in Sab and Pedro Paramo. It is interesting that the two villains marry to better their financial position while their wives to be are totally unsuspecting and actually believe that their husbands to be are in love with them. After the illusions have faded, both Dolores and Carlota realize their husbands true intentions, but a little too late since they have already forefited their fortunes. It makes me wonder how often inheritances were taken in to account in 19th and 20th century Latin America with respect to marriage. It seems to be a theme.
While the styles of these two novels differ drasticlaly, with Juan Rulfo being elusive and Gomez de Avellaneda being descriptive about inner emotions, something draws me these two stories. I think because I enjoy imagining how life might have been in Cuba and Mexico in more recent history. I think their stories are told in a way that makes you believe that thes might have been the stories of many.