For the male characters, the battle is between the Vicario twins. Pablo, the younger brother, took the initiative to seek and restore the family name by actively working towards killing Santiago. On the other hand, Perdo, the war-experienced twin, did not want to kill Santiago and was reported to be crying. To be crying and to not want to restore the family honor is not “masculine” in that society. For the female characters, there is Angela Vicario and Maria Alejandrina Cervantes. Angela was raised to uphold herself to the highest honor and continued to do so until the discovery of her lost virginity. Even after the discovery, she saved herself and remained single until Bayardo's return. Maria, on the other hand, was a prostitute. This meant that she did not have to follow the rules that women were supposed to follow. She does not need to crumple underneath the hands of men, but rather, she has more power than men. She is the most well known and respected woman in the views of men, “Maria Alejandrina Cervantes [...] was the most elegant and the most tender woman I have ever known, and the most serviceable in bed, but she was also the strictest” (Marquez 64). Maria ahs respect from men and that is not very common societies like these.
There are rules that comes into play in terms of sex. These terms do not affect and are not restricted to prostitutes. However, for females