Death Constant Beyond Love

  Gabriel Garcia Marquez vividly portrays the loneliness and carelessness that some people experience due to unfortunate circumstances, in his story, Death Constant Beyond Love. I found the title of this story most interesting because the meaning is so direct; I interpret it as regardless of love, or for that matter emotions or feelings, we all expire, we all die. This is the very image that Marquez elucidates through his character, the Senator.

          The Senator has approximately six months to live; he keeps this a secret and goes on with his duty as Senator. His duty, at least as I interpret it, is to continue to deceive the people of Rosal del Virrey to believe that things will be getting better, while all along the whole intent is to keep things the way they are in order for the town to make money by allowing illegal imports at night in the port.

          Before the Senator knew of his impending death, he used to feel bad for people less fortunate. However, after learning of his unfortunate fate his emotions reverse, he no longer feels bad for the barefooted Indians, who are rented as crowd fillers during the Senator’s speeches, and it annoys him that people want to shake his hand. He seems a miserable person, but who’s to say how we would feel in the same situation. He was completely alone, no friends, no family, and no one knew of his situation.

           The Senator’s fake persona is exactly what causes this lonely, careless feeling. The more he tries not to think of his death, it’s constantly hitting him in the head. He’s married, has six children, and has money; however, none of it matters, he is still alone. He falls in love with a young girl named Laura Farina, who’s father killed his first wife and lost his second wife, her mother, to natural causes. Laura’s father begged the Senator for years to get him a fake ID in order for him to be free, but he refused.

          Later, her father notices the Senator’s interest in her and uses her to get what he always begged for—it works, he gets his papers. However, the Senator never gets Laura in the way he wishes, he doesn’t get to be with her intimately, he just sleeps on her shoulder and that’s it. This later turns into a scandal, and once again the Senator is alone.

          Marquez is careful to show that the Senator ill-fated outcome is just as lonely as he felt through his last six months living. I’m not sure if he meant to show this as a lesson, or if he’s trying to imply that this is reality, and what is perceived by others may just be imagination, like the Senator’s pictorial account of the paper birds that turn into real birds. We know this is impossible, but this is how people see others, this is how the world is shown to us, and we believe what we want to believe. It doesn’t mean that we are wrong for imagining, it just means that we are wrong for trusting and believing in everything that shown to us. We need to be skeptics in order to get the truth, and the truth is what sets us free.