In both The House of Bernarda Alba, and Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the double standards of society are clearly illustrated through sex, marriage and everyday life. These aspects of society, both in the physical form and the very concepts expose the double standards of people. It is not only the males that contribute keeping these double standards, but almost all individuals within the society.

             Throughout both novels, sex shows the double standards of society. Males.

             use their sexuality as power, and with it, they show 'who is boss". In Chronicle of a Death Foretold (DF), Santiago Nasar enforces his own power within the house by maintaining a sexual dominance over the females. "He grabbed my whole pussy.It was what he always did when he caught me alone in some corner of the house"(14). He grabs Divina, and feels dominant, which he displays by being sexually aggressive toward her. His grabbing her demonstrates his mind-set. He sees this girl as an object to play with. He can do what he desires with her because she is a weak female, and by exercising this power, he maintains his authority. He does this a lot, and sustains his place of power "what he always did when he caught me alone." Women on the other hand, are not allowed to be powerful in this way, without being stigmatized as prostitutes, such as the mulatto girls in DF. Males have much more sexual freedom than women. "Years ago, another of these [prostitutes] arrived, and I myself gave money to my oldest son so he could go. "(241). Poncia, a maid in Bernarda"s house has double standards. She says that "[Adela, one of Bernarda"s daughters] should have known her place", meaning, she feels that women have a place in society, "[she should have] not led him on", in which they have to control themselves, yet condoning the behavior of men, renouncing it as "A man is a man"(477).