Nelson Farina
Table of contents
Outer characterization
Nelson Farina is a character in the story “Death Constant Beyond Love” by Gabriel García Márquez. His outer characterization reveals that he is an escaped French convict: “He had escaped from Devil’s Island and appeared in Rosal del Virrey on a ship loaded with innocent macaws” (p. 78, ll. 29-31). Nelson has killed his first wife and has arrived at Rosal del Virrey with a Surinamese woman “he had found in Paramaribo” (p. 78, l. 32), with whom he has a daughter named Laura. Laura’s mother apparently dies of natural causes.
Throughout the story, Nelson Farina speaks French: “ ‘Merde,’ he said. ‘C’est le Blacamán de la politique.’ ” (p. 78, ll. 59-60). At the time of the narrative, he is a pharmacist (p. 78, l. 27).