Prudencia+Cotes


 * Character’s name ||  Prudencia Cotes  ||
 * Role in novel ||  Prudencia Cotes is originally betrothed to Pablo Vicario, the younger of the twins. Three years after the murder, Pablo is acquitted and released from prison, and Prudencia moves to Riohacha to marry Pablo.

In the glimpses the narrator provides us of Prudencia, we learn that Prudencia had known about the Vicario brothers’ intentions to kill Santiago Nasar, and that not had she approved of their intentions, but that she “never would have married [Pablo] if he hadn’t done what a man should do.”

Prudencia’s belief that one's honor must always be preserved is stereotypical of those held by society of her time; hence, she represents the majority of the townspeople and echoes the shared principle that the dishonor bestowed upon Angela Vicario must be restored, and thus the death of Santiago Nasar was a necessary means to an end. ||
 * Significance of name ||  The name Prudencia is the Spanish feminine form of the Latin masculine name Prudentius. It is derived from the Latin word “prudens”, meaning “prudence” and “good judgment”.

//Garcia Marquez uses the name Prudencia to suggest that both her belief, upheld by many in her town, and her decision to wait three years without a moment of discouragement until Pablo Vicario was released from jail, were marked by wisdom and shrewd judgment. In doing so, Garcia Marquez emphasizes the value that the townspeople put on preserving a woman’s honor, and thus underscores the townspeople’s concurrence with the Vicario brothers’ intentions.//

Prudencia’s surname “Cotes” is derived from the Old English word “Cote”, meaning cottage or shelter. It was widely used as a topographic name for those who lived in a relatively humble dwelling, a hut, or a cottage.

//Garcia Marquez perhaps uses the surname Cotes to imply the type of dwelling that Prudencia’s family had—a hut or cottage that was commonplace in Prudencia’s time. Information about Prudencia’s humble dwelling also supports Garcia Marquez’ characterization of Prudencia as a rather traditional housewife, as we are given information about Prudencia “carrying a roll of old newspapers to revive the fire in the stove”(62) and waiting for Pablo until he “became her husband for life”(63).

Additionally, though we are given little evidence, it could be argued that Garcia Marquez uses the surname “Cote” (because it has implications of the standard type of housing in Prudencia’s society) to further support the idea that Prudencia’s belief that Angela Vicario's honor must be preserved was a common belief in her society. Thus, Marquez suggests that Prudencia's approval of Pablo Vicario’s intention to kill Santiago Nasar in order to uphold his sister’s honor represented the townspeople’s approval of the Vicario brothers’ intentions.// ||