Pedro Páramo Madness Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Section.Paragraph)

Quote #1

I wondered if she were crazy. But by now I wasn't thinking at all. (5.22)

When Juan Preciado first encounters Eduviges, his explanation for her strange behavior is that she is crazy, not dead. That seems like a pretty reasonable explanation: You don't often encounter someone acting strange and think "Oh jeez, I bet this person is stark, raving deceased."

Quote #2

"If I told anyone else in Comala they'd say I'm crazy—the way they always have."

"No. Not crazy, Miguel. You must be dead. Remember, everyone told you that horse would be the death of you one day. Remember that, Miguel Páramo. Maybe you did do something crazy, but that's another matter now." (11.17-18)

Miguel dies and he can't see anything, so his first reaction is that he must have gone to the funny farm. Just like Juan Preciado, he confuses death and insanity. The concept of death is pretty nuts.

Quote #3

"My illusions made me live longer than I should have. And that was the price I paid to find my son, who in a manner of speaking was just one more illusion. Because I never had a son." (36.12)

Dorotea is able to admit, now that she is dead, that she never had a son but only imagined that she had. In a way, death has cured her madness. Um, we'd rather be crazy, thanks very much.