“We killed him openly,” Pedro Vicario said, “but we’re innocent.”

At the trial, Pedro admits that he and his brother killed Santiago Nasar but maintains their innocence. In the Vicario family, and in their town in general, a man’s duty is to seek revenge if another man takes the honor of a woman in his family. Even though murder is illegal, Pedro believes that his duty as a man overrules all other laws and leaves him and his brother innocent of any wrongdoing.

Pedro Vicario always seemed more sentimental to me, and by the same token more authoritarian.

As the narrator describes the relationship between the Vicario brothers, he explains some of the differences between Pedro and Pablo. Even though Pedro is technically the younger twin by six minutes, he takes charge more often. However, the narrator also notes that Pedro seems to be the more sentimental brother, a truth revealed when Pedro decides he doesn’t want to go through with the murder.

Pedro Vicario, according to his own declaration, was the one who made the decision to kill Santiago Nasar, and at first his brother only followed along.

Here, the narrator reveals Pedro’s insistence that he chose to kill Santiago and Pablo simply followed along. While this statement could be true, Pedro’s declaration also might serve to protect Pablo. Pedro may have been willing to resort to violence so easily because he served in the army, while Pablo was not. No matter why he came to the decision, Pedro clearly represents the more authoritarian twin.

“He was in a cold sweat from the pain,” he said to me, “and he tried to tell me to go on by myself because he was in no condition to kill anybody.”

When Pablo goes to get the knives they will use to kill Santiago, he comes back to find Pedro in pain, struggling to urinate. Here he tells Pablo to go without him and finish the job. Even though Pedro concocted the plan to murder Santiago, he is willing to use any excuse to get out of participating in the plan, suggesting that he already feels guilty.

Before leaving she asked Father Amador to confess her sons in jail, but Pedro Vicario refused, and convinced his brother that they had nothing to repent.

The narrator explains why Pedro convinces Pablo to refuse to confess to any wrongdoing. Pedro believes they’ve committed no sin and therefore the priest’s services are not needed. Even though Pedro reveals hints of remorse and guilt for killing Santiago throughout the story, he still maintains that he did what was right to restore his sister’s honor.

Previous section Angela Vicario Next section Pablo Vicario

Popular pages: Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Take a Study Break