Madness is pretty closely related to women in Pedro Páramo. There's a poor, mad beggar who believes she has a child even though she doesn't. Pedro's wife doesn't seem to notice that her first husband is dead. And even the most put-together ghostly women still seem to have at least a couple of screws loose at all times.
Insanity seems to be an escape for these women: an escape from how depressing their lives are and the fact that their souls can't find rest. Yeah, we might choose madness over reality in Comala too, come to think of it.
Questions About Madness
- Which characters do you consider "mad" and why?
- What freedom does the madness allow these characters? How does it limit them?
- Do you think that the narrator, Juan Preciado, could be called insane?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Whereas men in the novel who kill and rape are considered sane, the women who have a skewed view of reality are called crazy.
Madness in this novel is a result of loss.