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Eduviges Dyada
Miguel is Pedro Páramo’s malicious, criminal son, and he is the only of Pedro’s countless illegitimate children whom he actually treats as his own. This was never Pedro’s intent; Miguel’s mother dies in childbirth, and Father Rentería refuses to raise Miguel in the Church, so Pedro makes Damiana Cisneros, who works for him, take care of the boy. Once Miguel comes of age, he is just as manipulative, evil, and misogynistic as his father. He rapes numerous women, including Father Rentería’s niece Ana, and murders others, including Ana’s father. He’s remorseless, and his Pedro denies Miguel’s crimes. Fulgor Sedano even complains that Miguel arrogantly leaves his horse saddled up and waiting outside the Media Luna Ranch. Ultimately, Miguel dies when riding this same horse to his girlfriend’s home in the neighboring town of Contla, but he just sees that everything has turned to smoke and doesn’t even realize that he’s died until he gets back to Comala and talks with Eduviges Dyada. His death creates a moral crisis for Father Rentería, who knows that it is immoral to pray for Miguel to go to heaven but gets a healthy bribe from Pedro to do so. For Pedro, Miguel’s death creates no such crisis: he suspects that he is being punished for his sins but does not feel remorse. Whether it’s the product of genetics or the result of his turbulent childhood, Miguel’s wickedness and total lack of moral sense shows that Pedro Páramo’s evil is contagious.
Miguel Páramo Quotes in Pedro Páramo
The Pedro Páramo quotes below are all either spoken by Miguel Páramo or refer to Miguel Páramo. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Fragments 13-23, Pages 25-41 Quotes
Shooting stars. One by one, the lights in Comala went out.
Then the sky took over the night.
Father Renteria tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep.
It’s all my fault, he told himself. Everything that’s happening. Because I’m afraid to offend the people who provide for me. It’s true; I owe them my livelihood. I get nothing from the poor and God knows prayers don’t fill a stomach. That’s how it’s been up to now. And we’re seeing the consequences. All my fault. I have betrayed those who love me and who have put their faith in me and come to me to intercede on their behalf with God. What has their faith won them? Heaven? Or the purification of their souls?
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Miguel Páramo Character Timeline in Pedro Páramo
The timeline below shows where the character Miguel Páramo appears in Pedro Páramo. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Fragments 1-12, Pages 3-24
...11. Back in the present, Juan hears something, and Eduviges explains that the sound is Miguel Páramo’s horse, which constantly wanders the area, tormented by remorse, looking for its owner. She...
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Eduviges recalls that Pedro, Miguel’s father, sent a messenger for her the next morning. The messenger explained that Miguel’s horse...
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Fragments 13-23, Pages 25-41
Fragment 13. On the sunny day of Miguel Páramo’s funeral, Father Rentería refuses to bless Miguel because he lived an evil life. Carefully...
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Fragment 14. That same evening, Father Rentería tells Ana that Miguel is dead and buried. She admits that she is not sure that he was the...
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Fragment 15. A woman reports that Miguel’s horse has been galloping down the path to Contla, twisted around in an agonizing position,...
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...easy for him to pardon and pray for her, as he did for the wicked Miguel Páramo. Father Rentería recites the names of saints to fall asleep, but realizes that this...
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...enough about the ranch to keep adding to it and ultimately stay around and ask Miguel for help, rather than simply leaving and moving on.
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Fragments 37-46, Pages 61-85
Miguel Páramo passes by Fulgor and reports that he’s been “milking” some woman, then heads inside...
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...Fulgor Sedano notes that the ranch is short on grain and starts to worry about Miguel’s irresponsible behavior. In fact, someone’s just accused him of murder, and he’s left his stallion...
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...Pedro’s father had been killed. So many other deaths followed. Right now, Fulgor’s group has Miguel’s body outside, but Fulgor reports that he died alone, because of his horse. As he...
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Fragment 40. Father Rentería never forgets the night of Miguel Páramo’s death, which he spent wandering around Comala, unable to sleep. He thinks back to...
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On the night of Miguel’s death, townspeople call out to Father Rentería as he wanders Comala, asking him if someone...
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...evil. He goes to the Media Luna ranch and gives Pedro Páramo his condolences for Miguel’s death. Then, he spends the evening listening to the confessions of Comala’s women. Dorotea is...
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Fragments 47-59, Pages 86-108
...Pedro offers him 1,000. Gerardo recalls that Lucas Páramo never fully paid his bills, and Miguel Páramo was constantly ending up in jail, like after he murdered Father Rentería’s brother. Gerardo...
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