The more I read Cien años de soledad, the more confusing it becomes. At the same time it also becomes more entertaining and interesting. The fact that the book covers so many years in a seemingly short space, means that indeed things have to happen fast.
An interesting progression is the ways in which Macondo becomes more civilized and at the same time grows continually more corrupt and faces more problems and conflicts. Perhaps this is true of any society. The introduction of new characters inevitably leads to more conflict, especially surrounding love and sexual relationships. Technology and modernization not only bring about “progress”, but the creation of organized religion and government no doubt bring about problems and changes of their own. The role of religion is interesting because up until this point it has not really been mentioned, and I think it will be interesting to follow its progression from this point on. The role of government has become a huge force and arena for conflict and death. Before there was organized government there was no space for conflict in this domain, nor was there fighting or war leading to death. Although death has been prominent in this book since virtually the beginning, it was never caused by war or fighting.
Another interesting aspect of this book is incest. The Buendía family essentially begins with incest as José Arcadio Buendía and Úrsula Iguarán are cousins. As more members of the family are born, more issues and opportunities for incest arise. What is interesting about this is that incest is one thing, but when it continues throughout generations, it is not just incest; it is essentially incest taking place in an already incestuous context.
March 14, 2007 at 5:06 am |
I definitely agree “civilized” = corruption, problems and conflicts. I put civilized in quotations because I hate the term; nevertheless, it makes all the more sense for me. Civilized always seems to have a good conotation… like progress, and yet these other three terms – corruption, problem and conflict seem to reveal much more truth.
March 14, 2007 at 7:21 am |
I found with books like this, as with Las Hortensias, that the idea that industrialization/modernization/etc is evil kind of slaps you in the face. I feel like it’s really not that original of a theme… but it IS a good one nonetheless as it can cause all sorts of off-shooting problems.
To me the incest in the novel might function as a rebuttal to the evils of modernization that are presented in the novel. An enlightened society, who has been educated about the impropriety of such acts, would not look unfavourably on this behaviour.
March 14, 2007 at 7:22 am |
ooops – i meant would not look FAVOURABLY on this behavour
March 15, 2007 at 3:54 am |
so a lot of people have mentioned the incest issue and while i do agree that it is important in the book i think the family relations themselves dont necessarily need to incorporate this aspect. what i mean is that if we take that out the relationships are still really complicated. the father and the sons are all detached from each other and the only real person who seems to hold them together is Ursula. So what does that mean? I guess for me it shows that the mother, altough not the most dramatic character is essential in weaving the family tree. Without her these people whould just be characters in a story and not a family we feel compassion for.
March 15, 2007 at 10:55 pm |
i agree with you and i think it is really interesting to see the progression of the town and how it brings more affluence, trade, and development, along with the seemingly necessary evils and dangers of modernization. I think its interesting how early in the novel the townspeople of Macondo put up the sign reminding them that God exists, but when the priest arrives bringing organized religion, it seems like a major shift for the village.