One Hundred Years of Solitude II

ashley8 said...
The second section of One Hundred Years of Solitude reinforces the idea that the women of Macondo are very strong and they do not depend on assistance from men to help them through difficult situations. I agree with valleygirl 09 that Ursula exemplifies this idea because from the first section of One Hundred Years of Solitude “thanks to her the floors of tamped earth, the unwhitewashed mud walls, the rustic, wooden furniture they had built themselves were always clean…” (9) Not only is Ursula able to take care of the house, her “…capacity for work was the same as that of her husband,” (8) especially when she had to paint and fix things in her house and take care of all of the children because José Arcadio Buendía consumed all of his time with scientific inventions. I think this concept of women taking the lead role in their families is very intriguing because in the book, Things Fall Apart by Achebe, women came second to their husbands and they were seen as inferior to men. The difference in their beliefs causes me to wonder what Okonkwo would think of José Arcadio Buendía for allowing his wife to become the main provider for their family.

The women’s desire to do things on their own may cause them to push love and affection from men in their village away. For instance Remedios the Beauty was known as one of the most beautiful women in Macondo and the men in Macondo would go to great lengths just to get a glimpse of her beauty, however, she never allowed herself to become involved with these men. Fernanda del Carpio is also a woman who shows her independence by continuing to uphold the beliefs that she was taught by her mother, even though her husband, Aureliano Segundo and his family do things differently. She also continues to raise her daughter, Renata Remedios by very strict rules, despite Aureliano Segundo’s resistance. I feel that Fernanda is also a courageous and determined woman because she never becomes angry or upset with her husband despite the fact that she and everyone else in Macondo know that he often visits his mistress, Petra Cotes. I think that the women’s resistance to have a relationship with other men in the village or their unwillingness to leave their husbands is fueled by their desire to focus on the important aspects in theirs lives, such as their children and their well being.

Steph113 predicts that Ursula will live longer than her family members and I agree with her prediction because Ursula is the only one who held the Buendía family together through many of their difficult times and she was able to uphold the original beliefs of Macondo. While José Arcadio Buendía was tied to the Chestnut tree, Ursula would bath him, bring him clean cloth and food, and she would confide many things in him, while other people neglected him and infatuated themselves in the new inventions that were brought to the village. Ursula did not allow herself to become involved in new technology or occupied with the war and the conflicts between the Liberals and the Conservatives. Through all of the destruction and chaos that occurred in Macondo, Gabriel García Márquez later revealed in the book that, “…no one discovered that she was blind.” (246) For Ursula to have endured all of the pain, mistrust, and deception that has evolved in the Buendía family over the years, I feel that Ursula deserves to live the longest and to see how the village can be restored. She has seen how Macondo developed into a destructive and dangerous village, but it is time for her to see how the village she took so much pride in many years ago, can change for the better and become a prosperous and unified village once again.

August 8, 2008 2:10 PM