Culture

Ulyana Sanchenko
 Part 1
To what extent does CoDF offer insights into another culture?
Catholic Faith
In CoDF
• “He’ll give an obligatory blessing … he hates this town.” (6)
• There’s a disconnect between the townspeople and the elder Catholics
• “Church pomp had an irresistible fascination” (6)
• It doesn’t matter how much the bishop hates them, they still want to see this man
• The Church is an important part of his life
• “He had contributed several loads of wood to the public solicitudes” (16)
• He loves the church enough to contribute his labour and earnings to it
Not in CoDF
• Why does the bishop dislike the village so much?
• Have they harmed him? Or does he just dislike it due to class?
• How closely do they follow the Catholic doctrine?
The War(s)
In CoDF
• “Hero of the civil wars of the past century” (33)
• Multiple wars
• “My mother… wouldn’t go to greet him” (33)
• These wars are still a heated topic for the people
Not in CoDF
• “Hero of the civil wars of the past century” (33)
• What wars? There’s mention of conservatives, but no real elaboration on the events
• La Violencia isn’t talked about – it’s assumed knowledge
• “My mother… wouldn’t go to greet him” (33)
• Her hatred for him based on the plot to murder of Gerineldo Marquez
• “German knives were no longer available because of the war” (59)
• There’s no context provided as to why the war caused it
• WWII or civil wars?
• Set in 1950s, quite soon after world war
• However, civil wars are mentioned – but no mention of any information which eliminates any German involvement
Honour Killings
In CoDF
• Killing of Santiago acceptable in their culture
• The people of the town, while not actively encouraging it, make no effort to warn
Santiago, and not much is done to stop the brothers
• Pedro Vicario to Clotilde Armenta “Don’t bother, no matter what, he’s as good as dead
already” (103)
Not in CoDF
• Is there a legal precedent for this in Colombia?
• Are they allowed to do it legally?
• Is it just an unspoken rule that everyone follows?
• How does this fit in with their catholic beliefs?
• Are killings the only way of settling such disputes?
Gender roles
In CoDF
• No regard given to chastity of men
• “It was she who did away with my generation’s virginity” (65)
• The virginity of the women before marriage is most important
Not in CoDF
• Is it religious or just plain cultural?
• With all the expectations on women, how can the brothel be culturally
accepted?
• “the most elegant and the most tender woman I have ever known” (65)
• María Alejandrina Cervantes should be frowned upon, but isn’t
 Part 2
How we approach the text, from our perspective, and how the time
period influences its meaning
Catholic faith
How we view it
• Live in supposed secular society
• Christianity doesn’t play such a large role in our lives
How this impacts our understanding
• The importance of the visit of the bishop
War
How we view it
• In modern Australia we haven’t had real conflict on our home front
• The only war we’ve had has been foreign
• Not a concept many of us are personally entwined with
How this impacts our understanding
• Inhibits our empathy towards the mother and other characters who mention
the civil wars
• We can’t connect with them on the same level, as we’ve never had such
drastic situations in our own lives
Honour killings
How we view it
• A very foreign concept in modern Australia
• Highly immoral
• Definitely illegal
How this impacts our understanding
• Makes the brothers seem more evil in our eyes
• Why aren’t they being taken to jail?
Gender expectations
How we view it
• Modern day Australia has moved forwards quite a bit on the gender
expectations front
• Less importance placed on female chastity
How this impacts our understanding
• Why’re they all so angry about her having lost her virginity?
Part 3
(the end)
To what extent does knowledge of
Colombian culture enhance our
understanding of CoDF?