w they will have something to gossip about. Bernarda is so concerned about the image of her family that other people see, she even tells her family what to wear. When Bernardas daughter Martirio is going to go out into the courtyard, Bernarda says, [v]ery well, but dont take the kerchief off your head. If Martirio took off her kerchief, it would seem as if she wasnt mourning her fathers death and Bernarda doesnt want the neighbors to see this. These actions by Bernarda represent how she is run by her need to have an immaculate reputation. The Vicario brothers are on a mission to get back the familys respect, honor, and they will stop at nothing. When Angela Vicario marries a rich man like Bayardo San Romn, it is a great honor to the Vicario family. But when Bayardo returns Angela to her mother for not being a virgin, all honor and respect is lost for the Vicario family. It is for this reason that the Vicario brothers are on a mission to kill Santiago Nasar, the man who took their sisters virginity. When they set out to kill Santiago they say, We kill him openly but we are innocent. They think that killing Santiago is acceptable because it is for a good cause (re-attaining the familys honor). They believe that they cannot be held responsible for his killing; Santiago deserves it for taking advantage of their little sister. They said that they wanted to get back the familys honor and they claim that they are innocent, but when they went to kill Santiago they brought their best knives. The knives were ten inches long by two and a half inches wide and the other for trimming, seven inches wide by one and half inches wide. Their actions reveal that they didnt just want to kill Santiago, they wanted to slaughter him. It may have been a matter of honor, but for slaughtering Santiago they are not innocent. After the murder they say, [b]efore God and before man. It was a matter of honor. They justified the killing as a matte...
