Pedro Páramo
At the first of the book when Juan told Abundio that he was looking for his father, Abundio said, “Pedro Parramo’s my father, too.” This was puzzling to me at first. Was Abundio really Juan’s brother, or was there more to it than that? After finishing the book, I think that Abundio was not being literal in saying that Pedro was his biological father. Although Pedro may well have had any number of illegitimate children based upon his habits of sneaking into the servants quarters, I think that Abundio’s statement was a figurative reference.
Pedro Parramo was in a sense a father figure to the whole village of Comala. Everyone’s livlihood depended upon him. Economically, legally, and spiritually, he controlled the town. He owned the majority of the land. Both the priest and the sherrif answered to him. Dr. Ruiz Perez mentioned that one aspect of the novel included the migration of people from the rural areas into the cities. Perhaps one reason for this movement away from the countryside in Mexico is that the situation in many rural villages was not unlike that of Comala. One or a few wealthy landowners controlled life in these towns, and there were few opportunities for the poor to prosper, depending upon the whims of the landowners. In this sense, all of the villagers look to Pedro as a “father.” The fate of Comala is tied to that of Pedro Parramo. When Susana San Juan dies, Pedro say, “I will cross my arms and Comala will die of hunger.” The narrator then states, ” And that was what happened.” The vitality of Comala turned upon what Pedro did. When he lost interest in Comala, it did indeed die.
