Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Death Constant Beyond Love, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Politics, Deception, and Absurdity
Isolation and Powerlessness
Death, Nature, and Inevitability
Summary
Analysis
Senator Onésimo Sánchez has just over six months to live when he meets “the woman of his life” in Rosal del Virrey. Rosal del Virrey is a port town that seems uneventful during the day but that turns into a busy dock for criminals at night. Despite the city’s name, the only rose in the city is the one that the senator wears on the afternoon he meets Laura Farina.
Senator Onésimo Sánchez’s fatal diagnosis is the first sentence of the story, and this colors everything to come with a feeling of inevitability: no matter what happens during the narrative—even an affair where the senator will feel great passion—the reader already understands that the senator will die at the end. García Márquez describes the city of Rosal del Virrey in a contradictory way (quiet by day but a busy haven for criminals by night), which is the first hint that things will not always be what they appear. Additionally, there’s an irony to the name of the city (one would expect a city with “Rosal” in its name to be fertile, but the reality is just the opposite) that accentuates the story’s dry sense of humor. The rose introduced in this early passage mirrors the senator’s inevitable death, as the rose has been cut, so it’s in the process of dying, too.
Themes
The senator is in Rosal del Virrey to make the same obligatory campaign stop that he makes every four years. He arrives in town with all the trappings of political spectacle: music, rockets, a caravan of campaign aides. His aides have even brought in “rented Indians” to make the crowd at the senator’s speech look bigger.
The emphasis on spectacle here demonstrates that politicians often feel if they make you look at something exciting, then they can distract you from what is really happening. Also, the fact that the senator’s aides are bringing in “rented Indians” from other villages to pad the crowd at his speech is an early sign of the senator and his aides swapping reality for fiction.
Themes
The senator sits comfortably inside the air-conditioned car that carries him into the village, but a gust of hot air hits him as soon as he opens the door, and he begins to sweat through his silk shirt. He suddenly feels very old and alone. The senator, who’s only 42, has an engineering degree and is an avid reader of poorly translated Latin classics. His wife (a German woman) and five children are not with him on the trip. Just prior to his arrival, the senator received the diagnosis that he only has a short time left to live, shattering the happiness that he had felt with his family.
The senator begins feeling lonely and isolated after he’s hit with a gust of hot air while leaving the air-conditioned car, which shows the link between the unforgiving climate of Rosal del Virrey and the senator’s mortality. Just as he likes avoiding the heat in the air conditioned car, he likes living in denial about his disease—but he cannot avoid the arid climate forever, just as he will not be able to avoid thinking about his impending death. The senator had been happy with his life and his family until receiving his diagnosis, which emphasizes how the illness has given him a completely different outlook on life and suggests that he had previously been living as though his mortality were not inevitable.
Themes
The senator is very attentive to the rose, which he puts in a glass of water to extend its life. However, any rose being carried around and placed in a vase is already dying, and so this act of putting the rose in water echoes the senator’s desire to ignore the reality of his own impending death. The same is true when he takes the pain medication earlier than prescribed: he doesn’t even want to feel the pain of his illness, effectively pretending it doesn’t exist. The shame that he feels because he cannot control this facet of his life (his health) prevents him from telling anyone about the illness, which is the root of his isolation.
Themes
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When it is time for the senator to meet the public, he appears in clean, light clothes, feeling rested and stable. However, despite his appearance, and despite feeling stabilized from the pain medication, he realizes that he still feels the “erosion of death” gnawing at him. His emotions are harsher than usual: he feels disdainful of the townspeople who are enthusiastically shaking his hand, and he is practically rageful as he begins his speech to the crowd of Rosal del Virrey’s citizens.
Again, the senator believed he might be able to control his fate by remaining clean and rested, but he realizes that his diagnosis affects him mentally as well as physically, which is much harder for him to ignore. The anger he feels towards the townspeople demonstrates his continued isolation, as he did not always feel so irritated by them. By writing that death is “eroding” the senator, García Márquez uses language tied to nature and inevitability, underscoring the connection between the senator’s fatal illness, death, and environmental inevitabilities.
Themes
The senator starts his speech with an idea that came to him not because of any desire to tell the truth to the village people, but as rejection of Book IV of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations. The senator insists they are all here to “defeat nature,” that they who live in this arid and unforgiving location will no longer be “orphans of God in a realm of thirst and bad climate.”
In the fourth book of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations, Aurelius argues against fighting nature. He emphasizes the need to respect nature and to accept death, since every person eventually experiences it (a useful quote is: “Pass then through this little space of time conformably to nature, and end thy journey in content, just as an olive falls off when it is ripe, blessing nature who produced it, and thanking the tree on which it grew”). By referencing this chapter of Mediations and writing that Senator Onésimo Sánchez is intentionally rejecting Aurelius’s theories, García Márquez underscores the senator’s obsession with working against what is natural—be it the climate of Rosal del Virrey or death itself. By beginning his speech like this, the senator is also making a completely false promise to his constituents by suggesting they could possibly change the environment of the city, which demonstrates his willingness to lie for political gain.
Themes
As he is speaking, some of the senator’s aides throw paper birds in the air, which appear lifelike as though they are flying out to sea. At the same time, other aides—behind the backs of the citizens turned to face the senator—bring out “prop trees” with felt leaves and cardboard houses made to look like brick homes. They place these in front of the run-down shacks that the citizens actually live in. Noticing that his aides are taking longer than usual to set up the “farce,” the senator throws in two extra quotes in Latin.
This scene encapsulates the senator’s deceitful behavior as a politician because he and his aides are truly swapping reality for fiction. That the paper birds appear lifelike emphasizes how difficult it can sometimes be to determine fact from fiction in a political setting when politicians are actively trying to deceive. Even the senator extending his speech by adding two quotes in Latin adds to his dishonesty, because, if he added them at the end only to buy his aides more time for the setup, it’s clear that he didn’t actually believe they were relevant to the townspeople.
Themes
At the end of his speech, Senator Onésimo Sánchez promises the citizens of Rosal del Virrey all sorts of wonderous things: new technologies that will make rain, breed farm animals, and create fertile soil that will grow abundant vegetables and flowers. “Look! That’s the way it will be for us,” he shouts, and gestures toward the constructed city set up behind the citizens. Though presumably impressing the citizens, the senator notices how dingy the artificial houses have become as a result of the heat and climate. He thinks the artificial city is nearly as decrepit as the town of Rosal del Virrey.
Again, the false—even absurd—promises in his speech show the senator’s willingness to lie to and deceive his public. There is an irony to this scene, though, because even though the fake houses are meant to represent a better reality for the citizens of Rosal del Virrey, the senator notices how run-down even the fictious homes have become because of the city’s climate. This furthers the idea that that trying to fight against nature or natural conditions is ultimately futile, underscoring that the senator also cannot defy death.
Themes
While this speech is happening, Nelson Farina watches from afar. He is a criminal who escaped from Devil’s Island to Rosal del Virrey on a boat filled with “innocent macaws” after murdering and dismembering his first wife then using her body as fertilizer. He lives in the city with his daughter Laura Farina—her mother, a Black woman from Paramaribo, is dead, though she died of natural causes. Laura Farina inherited her mother’s “color and her figure” and her father’s “yellow and astonished eyes” and Nelson Farina feels that his daughter might be the most beautiful woman in the world.
The disturbing fate of Nelson Farina’s first wife is an eerie reminder that all bodies are a part of nature, and that they will return to the earth eventually. Additionally, by stashing a criminal away on a boat with “innocent macaws,” García Márquez furthers the idea that appearance is not always reality. It is a bit creepy the way Nelson Farina thinks of his daughter here, which foreshadows his willingness to use her beauty to get what he wants.
Themes
Though he typically goes to the senator’s speeches, this is the first time in years that Nelson Farina has remained at home. For years, he’s been asking the senator for a false identity card to hide his criminal record, and the senator always refuses. This year, Nelson Farina finally appears to have given up, “condemning” himself to “rot alive in that burning den of buccaneers.” Nelson sees the fake city from the back and mutters to himself about how dishonest the performance is. He calls the senator the “Blacamán” of politics.
As someone who’s exercised much control over other people (by killing his first wife) and over his own life (by successfully escaping to Rosal del Virrey), Nelson Farina’s frustration at his lack of power in this situation is evident. If he cannot get a fake ID card—which he finally sees as impossible—he feels like he’s officially cut off from the rest of the world forever. By comparing the senator to Blacamán, a performing actor from Italy who was known as an animal hypnotist, Nelson Farina is making a comment about the senator’s distrustfulness.
Themes
When the speech is over, the senator walks through the streets of the town while music plays. The townspeople all swarm him, confiding their problems in him and asking him for things. He makes a few small promises, like getting a donkey for a woman whose husband had just left her for a new life in Aruba. The senator has done this many times before and knows how to make the people of the city feel better without actually doing any “difficult favors.” A little while later, when an aide brings this donkey to the woman’s home, the animal has the senator’s campaign slogan written on its backside.
This moment is a comedic one, but still highlights the dishonest way that Senator Onésimo Sánchez operates politically. He can’t be bothered to put in any more effort than is necessary, and even when he does someone a favor it’s clearly a political stunt.
Themes
As the senator is walking, he comes across Nelson Farina, looking unhappy, swinging in his hammock. The senator greets him and asks how he is. While they are speaking, Farina’s daughter, Laura Farina, comes out of their home. She is wearing an old, faded Guajiro Indian robe and some sort of heavy makeup or sunscreen. But even in this state, she leaves the senator stunned. He thinks she is beautiful, and mutters under his breath in shock and awe, saying “the Lord does the craziest things!”
The senator’s reaction to Laura Farina is intensified by his distaste for Nelson Farina—his shock is in part a reaction to her beauty but in part surprise that the sullen criminal who has been pestering him all these years could have such a lovely child. Once again, García Márquez shows that in a world where politics are deceitful, anything could be misleading or deceptive.
Themes
Later that night, Nelson Farina outfits Laura Farina in the best clothes they have and sends her to the senator. Two armed guards who are lazily watching the senator’s office door tell her to wait outside. The senator is in a meeting with everyone who might be politically important in Rosal del Virrey.
By suggesting the importance of the people in the room with the senator, it’s clear that Senator Onésimo Sánchez previously didn’t take any of the townspeople—his constituents—seriously, underscoring the senator’s political disingenuousness. Meanwhile, Nelson Farina sending his daughter to the senator shows his willingness to sacrifice her well-being for his own gain, which emphasizes that she is an isolated and powerless character.
Themes
While in his meeting, Senator Onésimo Sánchez tells the other attendees everything that he omitted from his public speech. His manner of speech is gruff and direct. He accuses the other people in the room of having no desire to change the area’s dismal conditions, because these conditions are politically useful for them. As he talks, the senator takes a piece of paper and creates a paper butterfly, tossing it aimlessly into the air. It soars lightly out of the door. The senator continues berating the Rosal del Virrey officials.
The senator is at last being honest, but this only emphasizes that he willingly lied to the citizens of Rosal del Virrey. The image of the paper butterfly is reminiscent of the paper birds from earlier and symbolizes the mixing of fiction and reality that the senator does as a politician. The butterfly flies fairly far for a piece of paper, suggesting that it appears lifelike, just like the birds. The senator’s lack of attention to the paper butterfly that he makes underscores how he takes part in propping up these blends of reality and fiction but doesn’t even care about the outcome.
Themes
The guards outside the room are asleep, rifles in hand. As Laura Farina waits in the hallway, she sees the paper butterfly come out, fly a bit further, and then flatten against a wall. She tries to peel it off, but one of the guards wakes up and tells her that now it is “painted” to the wall.
The image of the guards sleeping, still holding their rifles, demonstrates again the notion of something not being what it is supposed to be. Likewise, the butterfly is not actually painted to the wall, but the guard suggesting that it is demonstrates the changeability of everything in a political world that is disingenuous.
Themes
The senator comes out of the meeting, and only after everyone else leaves does he notice Laura Farina. He asks her what she is doing there, and she responds in French that she’s there on behalf of her father. The senator believes he understands what this means. He then observes the two sleeping guards and deliberates over what he should do. He decides that Laura Farina’s beauty is overwhelming, and that death has “made the decision for him.” He invites her into his office.
Death “making the decision for him” implies that the senator feels as though he is powerless to refuse Laura Farina. By looking at the guards, he shows that he understands he is taking a political risk by inviting her in. However, his agreeing to let her in underscores the senator feeling as though he has truly lost control of his life because of his diagnosis.
Themes
Laura Farina is stunned when she walks into the senator’s office and sees thousands of banknotes flying through the air, propelled by the electric fan. When the senator turns the fan off, the money settles on the objects in the room. He jokingly says to her, “even shit can fly.” He then finds the rose that he brought, which the weather and dry air have wilted, and presents it to her, telling her what it is. Laura replies that she learned about roses before.
The banknotes flying in the air reference the paper birds from earlier in the story. By saying that “even shit can fly” in reference to these fluttering notes, the senator is implicitly suggesting his whole political charade is a joke. The rose—which, by now, has succumbed to the climate and is wilted—signifies the impending and inevitable death of the senator. Laura Farina saying she knows about roses suggests she knows about death too.
Themes
Senator Onésimo Sánchez then sits down on a cot and begins to undress while he continues talking about roses. He takes off his sweat-soaked shirt, revealing a tattoo of an arrow piercing a heart on his chest. He has Laura Farina help him remove his boots. He watches her, struck by her beauty but also commenting that she is a child. She rejects this, saying she turned 19 last April. The senator asks what her birthday is and comments that the two are both Aries, which he says is “the sign of solitude.”
The senator’s continued chatter about roses demonstrates his obsession with the idea of death, even if he has still not accepted his own. He is once again sweaty, showing the pervasiveness of the city’s climate and the unavoidability of nature. In saying that both the senator and Laura Farina are Aries, the “sign of solitude,” García Márquez is fairly explicit about the loneliness that these two share, despite their very different social positions.
Themes
The senator then starts thinking about how he isn’t used to impulsive affairs, and that he’s not sure what to do now with Laura Farina. He gathers her between his knees and lays her down on the cot beside him as he considers what to do next. When he notices that she is naked underneath her dress, he sighs and comments that “no one loves us.”
The fact that Laura Farina is naked under her dress confirms for the senator that she has been sent to him by her father to have sex with him This makes the senator melancholy, as it proves that no one is looking out for the young woman. He then believes he feels a connection to her, thinking her to be terribly isolated on account of her powerlessness, and he recognizes this feeling in himself because of the fatal secret he is carrying around with him.
Themes
The air is too stagnant for Laura Farina to respond. When Senator Onésimo Sánchez turns the light off, the two are cast in shadow by the rose. The senator begins to stroke her. However, when the senator tries to touch her below the waist, his hand hits metal. He realizes that she is wearing an iron padlock and is angry and shocked. He asks Laura Farina where the key to the padlock is, and she tells him that her father has it. She says to the senator that she’s been instructed to tell him that one of his aides can go and collect it from him if the senator promises to “straighten out” Nelson Farina’s legal problem.
When the senator finds the padlock on Laura Farina’s body, he can’t believe that he’s being blackmailed by Nelson Farina, but, through this bizarre scene, García Márquez is only further commenting on the absurdity of a society where politicians can’t be trusted. Laura Farina is barely given any room to speak, confirming that she lacks any control over her life. Additionally, the shadow of the rose that falls over the two characters confirms that the senator’s death is near.
Themes
The senator is not happy, and he curses Nelson Farina. But, as he closes his eyes, he seems to surrender to some type of fate, telling himself to remember how it won’t be long before he is dead. He shudders. He then asks Laura Farina what she’s heard about him. She wonders if he wants to know the truth, and he says that he does. She tells him that people say he’s worse than everyone else because he’s different. The senator doesn’t get upset and decides he’ll fix Nelson Farina’s problem.
The senator appears to finally accept his death and the choices that death are guiding him towards. He knows the political consequences both of sleeping with Laura Farina and of giving Nelson Farina what he wants, but he no longer cares. He accepts the inevitability of his death, even as it scares him, and makes his choice specifically because of his illness.
Themes
Laura Farina then offers to go get the key from her father herself. But Senator Onésimo Sánchez just asks her to sleep next to him for a while, because it’s nice to have companionship when one is lonely. He sinks his face into the crook of her arm. Laura Farina lays next to him, staring at the rose. The senator dies six months and eleven days later, disgraced after word of the scandal got out. He dies in much the same position as he slept that night, lying next to Laura Farina and “weeping with rage” because he's "dying without her."
As promised by the first sentence of the story, Senator Onésimo Sánchez dies in the last sentence. His isolation is complete by the end, too, as he dies in the midst of a political scandal and is going into death alone, because Laura Farina isn't dying with him. However, he does seem to have changed his outlook on death, because it is not his death nor his political disgrace that makes him weep, only the lack of Laura Farina after death. This implies that he understands the importance of accepting death, and he only wished that he had more time to live with this knowledge.
Themes
