Dying for Love in Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

In Junot Diaz’s short story “Wildwood,” many may argue that Lola’s mother Belicia deserved admiration for her subconscious overprotection and love for Lola that she portrays in an uncaring, despicable manner and especially because of her strong, independent fight against breast cancer. However, I think that Lola’s mother was unadmirable due to her lack of support, her weak role as a mother, and primarily because of her constant verbal and physical abuse that she bestowed upon her children.

The battle with love is a major struggle to even the most pure souls. The obsessive nature controlling ones mind can cause people to act in demonic ways. In Demon Lover written by Elizabeth Bowen, the author portrays the short story in a setting surrounded by distress and chaos. The gloomy background followed the protagonist Kathleen Drover throughout the entire story, portraying her twisted fate. Like this story, the Scottish ballad of Demon Lover, whose author is unknown, had the protagonist in a similar predicament. The stories relate in the same plot and some of the main similarities include that both women were being stalked and hunted down, both women had families away kept away from their ex lovers, and both women end up with their lovers

The arrival of the Inquisition was swift and powerful, the decline of the Inquisition was drawn out and pathetic. Laws slowly began to be abolished around the eighteenth century. The distinction between Old and New Christians was no longer legally binding, the Moriscos had all but been erased from Spain, and Judaism had no influence. The job was done. Over hundreds of years and a multitude of rulers hellbent on eradicating religious diversity, a mild amount of success had been achieved. As the decades rolled on, however, rulers became more and more disinterested with the inquisitorial rule. The looming French Revolution severely hurt the seemingly dormant Inquisition. The Revolution brought new condemnation for the movement, and more specifically, condemnation for the unnecessarily violent actions of the church. The Inquisition was truly crippled early in the nineteenth century as a Constitution was being constructed by Rafael Riego, an Asturian battalion commander. Through this, and various civil wars and revolts within the nineteenth century, the Spanish Inquisition was officially demolished. The movement that had thousands tortured, imprisoned, and murdered had finally

“For us it is not lawful to introduce any doctrine of our own choosing, neither may we choose some doctrine which someone else has introduced by his own choice.” (Peters, 1980, p. 30). As early as the second century CE, Christian writers, such as Tertullian (ca. 160 – ca. 200 CE), began defining what it was to be a heretic and what heresy could lead to (Peters, 1980, p. 29). Medieval churchmen believed there was much to fear from heresy, but the practice of witchcraft was especially troubling, as their greatest fears of heresy could be summoned by means of magic.

Although the Spanish Inquisition does not start until around 1480, it has its roots in the late fourteenth century. Anti-Semitism began in the fourteenth century during a period of plague and economic hardship in Europe. The resulting violence and hatred along with campaigns to get Jews to convert to Catholicism persuaded many Jews to convert. However, these New Christians once again became the object of hatred because it was believed that many of them were faking being Christian and still practicing Judaism. It was during this period that the Spanish Inquisition began. The Inquisition’s main goal was to rid Spain of all Jews in an effort to keep the New Christians from reverting back to their Jewish ways. Disregarding the fact that the inquisition was completely immoral, it was successful in ridding Spain of Jews and the uniting the country in Catholicism; but, the goal was also to end anti-Semitism, and the inquisition only strengthened and extended the reign of the anti-Semitic ideology.

The Spanish Inquisition was a court system established in 1478 that tried and sentenced heretics. Victims of these trials were predominantly “conversos”, Jewish people that had converted to Catholicism. The Spanish Inquisition was not formally abolished until 1834 by Queen Isabella II. Although the severity of the Inquisition is most likely exaggerated, it still remains a dark point in the history of the Catholic Church.

This book focused mainly on the Spanish inquisition of Peru from 1570 to 1820. In this time Spanish colonists brought the European way of life to Peru. An inquisition was a judicial stystem in the Roman Catholic church that aimed to fight heresy.

The Spanish Inquisition was originally an institution developed in Spain to conduct trials by the Catholic Monarchs. The Inquisition’s trial courts focused on ensuring that the Catholic Doctrine was enforced. After the conquering and colonization of indigenous groups within the New World the colony of New Spain was formed. The Spanish Crown sought to use the Inquisition to prosecute those guilty of heresy or blasphemy, which is the act of denouncing God or demeaning religious ideas. Comparing and analyzing Spanish Inquisition blasphemy trial documents demonstrate the recorded history and process by which these trials started and ended. Which presents us with the question, how did blasphemy trials effect the personal lives of indigenous groups within New Spain?

The word “inquisition” means to examine. Inquisitors would “examine” suspected Heretics, people whose ideas do not match those of the Roman Catholic Church, and punish them accordingly. This included torture and burning. The great inquisition movement that took place in Spain, or Hispania as it was called before Spain united. It was called The Spanish Inquisition. It took place for approximately five hundred years, from the late 15th century to mid 19th century. Many ironic elements were involved in the history of the Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition lasted longer than any other preceding it, and was the most cruel, bloodthirsty, and festive of all. The objective of the inquisition, in its early state, was to

character into the society of slaves and letting her find out how harsh it is to be a different race.

One way Poe instills fear and dread in his story is through well crafted characters. The Narrator is one of the characters that adds depth to the story. An example of how the Narrator creates fear and dread is simply how he speaks. Throughout the story, the Narrator’s sentence pacing enhances the story. During slow parts, he speaks in very eloquent and lengthy sentences while during very intense moments his sentences become choppy and flow much quicker.

Sadness, guilt, and fear are some of the most negative emotions that humanity can experience, however they are also the strongest. Edgar Allan Poe, a nineteenth century author and poet, is known primarily for his use of these emotions, as well as the results that may come from these emotions, such as substance abuse, depression, and death. However, the ability to write such elegant, sophisticated works that delve into the very dark recesses of the human mind reflects greatly upon the author himself. Repetitive themes found both in Poe’s stories and in his life deliver insight on the inspiration for this author’s stories. Poe uses themes of death, illness, and depression in order to reflect his own experiences within his writing.

A few months later, at the meeting of the heads of the Spanish church, Pope Sixtus issued a Papal Bull giving the church in Spain the authority for an Inquisition. However, the authorization was actually given to the Spanish crown. They were to be the ones who would assign the bishops to complete the Inquisition. Thus, the Spanish Inquisition was founded to purify the nation from the heretics. Although purification was the original ideal for the Inquisition, it came to have a more materialistic, racial, and political motive, which led to the terror for which it is more widely known

This is a similar tone to that of other articles written regarding the topic. The articles by Joan Bristol and Ruth Behar discuss witchcraft in a negative light with the same tone as the primary case. They both also discuss the seriousness in which the Inquisition views acts of sorcery and religious deviance. For example, a healer received “200 lashes” for using a “potion” in the article and another woman underwent domestic abuse that went ignored due to her supposedly cursing her husband. The strength of the Inquisition and its ability to persuade others to accept their beliefs is represented in the above secondary articles, but also in primary diary entries by Brazilian slaves that describe the Catholic church as controlling marriage between slaves. The Inquisition held a role of control, and they utilized it in many aspects which is represented

Through the history of civilizations, humans have seen how religion can be both a positive aspect of society that brings people together or a contrasting problem that creates damage and conflict. From human sacrifices to holy wars, religion has also been part of the most negative aspects of humanity. Yet, religion has also played roles of reconciliation and love. Just as with everything else, there is a good and a bad side. Traditionally, one of the most frown upon and hated events in the history of any religion is the Inquisition created by the Roman Catholic Church in Europe and later expanded to the Americas soon after colonization. Traditional views of the Inquisition present it as a bloodbath, a tribunal who was responsible for the suffering