One Hundred Years of Solitude Summary
Description
Here you will find a One Hundred Years of Solitude summary (Gabriel Garcia Marquez's book).
We begin with a summary of the entire book, and then you can read each individual chapter's summary by visiting the links on the "Chapters" section.
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Last Updated: Monday 1 Jan, 2024
Chapters
Chapters One Hundred Years of Solitude Summary Overview
The tale revolves around the secluded settlement of Macondo and the founding Buendía family. The town remains detached from the outside world, with occasional visits from gypsies showcasing foreign technologies. The family's patriarch, José Arcadio Buendía, is a curious and impulsive leader, with a penchant for solitary pursuits and cryptic investigations. His children inherit his traits; his elder son, José Arcadio, is strong and impulsive, while Aureliano, the younger son, mirrors his father’s intense, mysterious concentration. The town's tranquility is disrupted as it engages with neighboring towns, resulting in civil wars led by Aureliano, now famous as Colonel Aureliano Buendía. Macondo evolves from a sheltered paradise to a hub interacting with the outside world due to Colonel Buendía’s notoriety. The town experiences numerous changes in governments during and after the war, including a dictatorship by the family's cruelest member, Arcadio, and a peaceful reign of an appointed mayor, both ending in their deaths. Following the latter’s death, peace returns with a treaty and the end of the civil war. Over the span of a century, the book details the major milestones in the Buendía family: births, deaths, marriages, and love affairs. The men in the family range from wild and promiscuous, regularly visiting brothels, to quiet and reclusive, engrossing themselves in crafts or ancient texts. The women vary just as much, from the extroverted Meme who once invites dozens of friends over, to the reserved Fernanda del Carpio who maintains a modest demeanor even on her wedding night. Throughout, Ursula Iguarán, the unwavering matriarch, strives to keep the family united despite their disparate personalities. The family's hopeful prospects for greatness, along with the entire village's peace, are shattered by the forces of modernity. The arrival of imperialist capitalism, in the form of a banana plantation, exploits Macondo’s land and labor. Infuriated by the harsh conditions, the plantation workers strike, leading to a massacre by the army siding with the plantation owners. The subsequent disposal of the bodies triggers a five-year downpour, causing a flood that marks the beginning of Macondo’s decline. As the city fades, burdened by years of violence and hollow progress, the Buendía family follows suit, succumbing to longing for past times. As the story concludes, the remaining members of the Buendía family become estranged from the external world, leading to an isolated ending. The final Buendía discovers a set of ancient prophecies, revealing the predestined cycle of their lives, marked by profound beauty and tragedy.
chapter 1
The narrative of One Hundred Years of Solitude initially unfolds as Colonel Aureliano Buendía's memories, focusing on the early years following the establishment of Macondo. This remote village is often visited by gypsies bringing extraordinary wonders. José Arcadio Buendía, the relentless seeker of knowledge and founder of the town, has a fascination for these miracles. Equipped with materials provided by Melquíades, the gypsy leader, José dedicates himself to the scientific exploration, causing distress for his practical-minded wife, Úrsula Iguarán. With Melquíades' encouragement, José's interest extends to alchemy, particularly fascinated by the concept of converting base metals into gold. His passion for advancement and thirst for understanding pushes him into seclusion. As he becomes more engrossed in his quest for knowledge, he distances himself from society, appearing untidy, aloof, and interested only in his studies. However, José is also a leader who spearheaded the establishment of Macondo, a utopian village dedicated to hard work, discipline, vibrant youth, and untouched by mortality. José Arcadio Buendía's fixation evolves into a thirst for connecting with civilization. He initiates a journey towards the north, as he's aware of the swamp in the west and south and mountains in the east. However, he concludes that Macondo is an island, cut off from the rest of the world by water. His proposal to relocate Macondo to a more accessible location is obstructed by his wife's refusal to move. Defeated, he shifts his focus onto his children: José Arcadio, who has inherited his father's physical strength, and Aureliano, who later becomes Colonel Aureliano Buendía, a mysterious and introverted child. The gypsies' return brings news of Melquíades' death. Despite his sorrow, José Arcadio Buendía's fascination with marvels and technology remains unscathed as he declares ice, introduced by the gypsies, as the world's greatest invention.
chapter 2
The narrative regresses to recount Macondo's establishment by the cousins and newlyweds, José Arcadio Buendía and Úrsula Iguarán. Originating from a village marked by Sir Francis Drake's raid on Riohacha, Úrsula delays consummation of their marriage fearing genetic defects in their offspring due to incest. This fear stems from a family instance where a child was born with a pig's tail. As Úrsula abstains from sex, villagers ridicule José Arcadio Buendía. A confrontation with Prudencio Aguilar, who mocks Buendía's impotence, results in Aguilar's death. Tormented by guilt and Aguilar's ghost, José Arcadio Buendía leads Úrsula from their home, ultimately founding Macondo. Buendía's encounter with gypsy ice sparks memories of his dream of Macondo as a city with mirror-walls, interpreted as ice. He resumes his scientific pursuits, now with his son Aureliano. Concurrently, José Arcadio, their older son, is lured by Pilar Ternera, a local woman drawn to his extraordinary physicality. Their affair leads to her pregnancy. However, before the birth, José Arcadio falls for a young gypsy girl and leaves with the departing gypsies. His departure distresses Úrsula who attempts to trail the gypsies, leaving her newborn daughter, Amaranta, behind. Half a year later, Úrsula returns after uncovering a quick two-day route through the marsh, linking Macondo with the outside world.
chapter 3
When Úrsula Iguarán uncovers a route linking Macondo to the outside world, the small town begins to evolve. José Arcadio Buendía is instrumental in the development of both the town and his family. Pilar Ternera gives birth to Arcadio, José Arcadio's son. An orphan named Rebeca also joins the family. Despite her enigmatic origins and initial self-harm habits, she is welcomed as part of the family. However, Rebeca's insomnia, which erases memory, spreads throughout the entire town. The townsfolk resort to labeling everything in an attempt to keep their memories intact, first with a sign announcing the existence of God. They fear losing the ability to read, which would render the labels useless. Fortune-teller Pilar Ternera employs her cards to recount the past as well as predict the future. The insomnia epidemic ends when Melquíades, a seemingly resurrected gypsy, returns with a cure. He also brings a novel technology, the daguerreotype, and José Arcadio Buendía attempts to capture an image of God to confirm His existence. José Arcadio Buendía’s other son, Aureliano, becomes an expert silver maker, spending his days in seclusion with Melquíades, engrossed in their unique interests. Despite maturing, Aureliano remains a loner, showing no interest in the opposite sex. As the Buendía family and Macondo grow, Ursula expands their house significantly. The magistrate, newly appointed by the central government, tries to impose his will on the color of their house. José Arcadio Buendía drives him out and later curbs the magistrate's authority over Macondo when he returns with his family and a few soldiers. Despite this adversarial relationship, Aureliano falls for the magistrate’s youngest daughter, Remedios Moscote.
chapter 4
Aureliano, in his loneliness, becomes involved with Pilar Ternera, the same woman who bore his brother's child. Pilar assists Aureliano in his quest to wed Remedios. Amid Aureliano's longing for the youthful Remedios, both Buendía girls, Amaranta and the adopted Rebeca, fall for a newcomer, Pietro Crespi. He arrived in Macondo to fit a pianola in their home. The girls are love-struck: Rebeca reverts to consuming dirt and whitewash, and Crespi decides to wed her. Even as arrangements for Rebeca's marriage to Crespi and Aureliano's union with Remedios are made, Amaranta, envious of Rebeca, is determined to sabotage the wedding. With the gypsy Melquíades' gradual death, he becomes the first to die in Macondo. Once the period of mourning concludes, a sense of joy returns to the house. Rebeca and Pietro Crespi are in a loving relationship, while Aureliano grows closer to Remedios, his betrothed. Even Pilar Ternera's pregnancy with his child doesn't upset Aureliano. However, the joy is fleeting. Rebeca is perturbed by Amaranta’s resolve to ruin her wedding. José Arcadio Buendía, worn out by his ceaseless exploration of the unknown, descends into madness. Haunted by visions of the man he once killed and the loneliness of death, he believes he's trapped in a time loop. His destructive frenzy results in him being restrained to a tree in the backyard, where he spends the remainder of his life.
chapter 5
Remedios and Aureliano wed soon after she matures, while Rebeca's nuptials are postponed due to a potentially forged letter about Pietro Crespi's mother's health. Remedios brings joy to the Buendia family and chooses to raise Aureliano's illegitimate child, Aureliano José, birthed by Pilar Ternera. However, Remedios' unexpected death, likely due to a miscarriage, sends the family into mourning, which further delays Rebeca and Pietro's wedding. The creation of the first church in Macondo and the revelation about José Arcadio Buendia's sanity, in that his nonsensical words are actually Latin, add to the family's struggles. The mourning period simultaneously ends with José Arcadio, José Arcadio Buendia's eldest son, returning home. His strong and wild nature captivates Rebeca, leading them into a passionate relationship and subsequent marriage. Ursula banishes them from the house due to their actions. Meanwhile, Pietro Crespi and Amaranta begin to show mutual affection. After Remedios' death, Aureliano had accepted a life of loneliness, but soon becomes absorbed in the impending conflict between the Conservatives and Liberals. Agitated by the Conservative's dishonesty, Aureliano sides with the Liberals. The town is harshly seized by the Conservative army, prompting Aureliano to lead a successful rebellion, reclaiming the town for the Liberals. He departs as the head of a modest Liberal army, earning the title Colonel Aureliano Buendía. As the story progresses, he ascends to the leadership of the Liberal armies.
chapter 6
Colonel Aureliano Buendía departs Macondo with his makeshift army to contribute in the national civil unrest, siring seventeen offspring during his nationwide journey. He entrusts the town's leadership to Arcadio, the illegitimate offspring of José Arcadio and Pilar Ternera. Arcadio turns into a tyrant, consumed by discipline and prone to brutal behavior. Upon his attempt to sleep with Pilar Ternera, his biological mother, she introduces him to a young maiden, Santa Sofía de la Piedad. Marrying her, Arcadio fathers three kids: Remedios the Beauty, Aureliano Segundo, and José Arcadio Segundo. The Liberals' defeat in the war leads to the Conservatives reclaiming the town and Arcadio's subsequent execution by a firing squad. Amid the ongoing war and Arcadio's rule, Pietro Crespi proposes to Amaranta, who spurns him despite her affection for him, resulting in his suicide. Overcome with guilt, she severely scorches her hand and conceals it under a black bandage which she continues to wear until her demise.
chapter 7
Colonel Aureliano Buendía and his comrade Colonel Gerineldo Márquez find themselves prisoners following the Liberal's defeat. They face execution by firing squad in their home, Macondo. Yet, Aureliano is rescued in the nick of time by his brother José Arcadio. He proceeds to instigate another rebellion, one of many in his military career. Despite an initial series of setbacks and being deserted by the Liberals, he manages to seize Macondo and nearby territories. However, a failed assassination plot leaves him jaded with the continuous conflict, revealing the fight to be about ego rather than belief. He reverts back to writing poetry, harking back to his days of wooing Remedios Moscote. Simultaneously, Santa Sofía de la Piedad gives birth to twins, sired by her late spouse, Arcadio. Named José Arcadio Segundo and Aureliano Segundo, their arrival is a rare joyful moment in a string of family tragedies. The cause of José Arcadio's abrupt death remains a mystery, leaving his wife, Rebeca, to lead a life of solitude in mourning. In the meantime, Colonel Gerineldo Márquez, in charge of the town in Aureliano's absence, is consistently rejected by the reclusive Amaranta, just as Pietro Crespi was. To cap off the series of calamities, the family patriarch José Arcadio Buendía, after years of living tied to a tree, passes away, with a shower of yellow flowers from the sky signifying his demise.
chapter 8
Aureliano José, the offspring of Colonel Aureliano Buendía and Pilar Ternera, matures and develops a dangerous affection for his aunt, Amaranta. In her solitude, Amaranta nearly reciprocates. They share a bed but avoid consummation. After a near-discovery of their affair, Amaranta ends it, and Aureliano José enlists in the army. The formal liberal faction signs a peace treaty with the conservative government, viewed as a betrayal by Colonel Buendía. He rejects the treaty, escapes the country, and Aureliano José follows. As Colonel Aureliano incites liberal rebellion across the Caribbean, Macondo basks in relative calm under the governance of mayor José Raquél Moncada, a compassionate conservative. Aureliano José abandons the rebel army, returning home with aspirations to wed Amaranta, who continues to reject him due to the incest taboo. He meets a tragic end, killed by a conservative soldier during civil disobedience. Following his desertion, Colonel Aureliano Buendía's seventeen sons, born during his travels, arrive in Macondo for baptism, all named Aureliano. After Aureliano José’s demise, the Colonel returns to Macondo leading an army. Despite being hardened by countless battles, Colonel Aureliano Buendía grows tall and pale. When a court orders the execution of José Raquél Moncada, he does not intervene, irrespective of their past friendship and the town matriarchs' pleas.
chapter 9
Moncada's execution signifies a turning point. Both Colonel Gerineldo Márquez and Colonel Aureliano Buendía start questioning the war's meaning. Gerineldo Márquez, rejected repeatedly by Amaranta despite his declarations of love, finds solace in her constant presence. Colonel Buendía, on the other hand, sinks into a deep solitude, losing touch with his past and emotions. His friend's death sentence forces him to face the harsh reality, making him realize the war's futility. Once Gerineldo Márquez is free, they join forces to battle their own troops, hoping to persuade the Liberals to cease the war. Colonel Buendía's peace treaty, a symbol of the Liberal party's abandoned principles, leaves him feeling like a traitor. A failed suicide attempt follows this deep sense of betrayal. Seeing that he will survive, his mother, Úrsula, takes it upon herself to restore their home, which had fallen into disrepair during the war.
chapter 10
Colonel Aureliano Buendía now avoids social interaction, spending his days crafting tiny gold fish in solitude and avoiding political discussion. Simultaneously, his grandson, Aureliano Segundo, gets absorbed in the mystical secrets of Melquíades's laboratory and even receives visits from Melquíades's spirit. His twin, José Arcadio Segundo, alternatively, exhibits religious tendencies before becoming a cockfighter and engaging in questionable sexual activity. The twins, who are nearly identical until adulthood, both become involved with the same woman, Petra Cotes, who doesn't know they're different people. After contracting a disease from Petra, José Arcadio Segundo cuts ties, but Aureliano Segundo remains, their passionate relationship leading to unusually high fertility in their livestock. As a result, Aureliano Segundo amasses significant wealth, throwing grand parties and flaunting his riches, bringing prosperity to the whole village. José Arcadio Segundo, echoing the exploratory drive of his great-grandfather, José Arcadio Buendía, attempts to craft a sea route via the river. He succeeds once, bringing a group of French prostitutes on his boat who then hold a grand carnival in Macondo. Remedios the Beauty, now grown into an unparalleled beauty yet retaining her childlike innocence, is crowned carnival queen. However, the celebration turns tragic when a competing queen, Fernanda del Carpio, turns up with armed escorts who initiate a riot and start shooting into the crowd, leading to numerous casualties.
chapter 11
This section delves into the life of Fernanda del Carpio, who was brought up with the belief that she was meant for greatness. However, her family's fortune is dwindling, and her noble bloodline is on the verge of extinction. Aureliano Segundo becomes infatuated with her when he sees her at a carnival and marries her despite their contrasting personalities. He continues his relationship with Petra Cotes, ignoring Fernanda's strict moral code and dissatisfaction with their intimate life. Fernanda tries to recreate her highborn home in the once carefree Buendía residence, ruling with a firm hand, making the home formally rigid and uncomfortable. Aureliano Segundo and Fernanda still manage to have two children early in their marriage, Renata Remedios (Meme), and José Arcadio (II). Úrsula, the century-old family matriarch, predicts that José Arcadio will become pope. Following Meme's birth, the armistice anniversary of the civil war occurs. The Republic's president attempts to award Colonel Aureliano Buendía the Order of Merit, which he rejects disdainfully. His seventeen illegitimate sons, all named Aureliano, visit Macondo to celebrate the anniversary. Aureliano Segundo joyfully welcomes them, irritating Fernanda. All seventeen sons retain the ash cross on their foreheads from Ash Wednesday until they die. Aureliano Triste and Aureliano Centeno, two of the sons, discover that Rebeca, the widow of José Arcadio Buendía’s son, continues to live in seclusion in her home. They decide to stay in Macondo and establish an ice factory, almost realizing José Arcadio Buendía’s dream of a town made of ice. Financed by Aureliano Segundo, Aureliano Triste constructs a railway connection, effectively bringing Macondo into the modern, industrial era.
chapter 12
Macondo, a once quiet village, finds itself in the middle of an industrial revolution due to the advent of the railroad, bringing startling changes that are both fascinating and unsettling. The introduction of foreign investors building a banana plantation and their own privately-guarded town amplifies the confusion. The once quaint village becomes a bustling city with the introduction of cinemas, phonographs, high-end imports and a surge in prostitution. This period of frantic growth and disorder is joyously embraced by Aureliano Segundo, while the enigmatic Remedios the Beauty remains indifferent to the transformations. Despite the lethal allure of her beauty that costs men their lives, she remains oblivious to love and men altogether. She retains her otherworldly nature until she mysteriously ascends to heaven, never to be seen again. The unchecked dominance of capitalism in Macondo leads Colonel Aureliano Buendía to regret his decision to cease war against the Conservatives, who are enabling the influence of foreign imperialists. The affluent banana plantation owners establish a ruthless police authority, punishing citizens harshly for minor misdemeanours. The Colonel's threat to reignite war, enlisting his seventeen sons as soldiers, ends in disaster. Unidentified assassins hunt the boys down, sparing only one, with their death marks etched on their foreheads. This catastrophe plunges Colonel Buendía into melancholy, leading him to seek Colonel Gerineldo Márquez to initiate another war, only to be rejected.
chapter 13
Úrsula, despite losing her sight, manages to navigate her daily life due to her knowledge of everyone's routine. As she ages, she remains committed to José Arcadio II's ambition of becoming a pope. However, continual family tragedies wear heavily on her spirit. The departure of José Arcadio II to seminary and Meme to school leaves the house feeling empty. Amaranta, anticipating her own mortality, begins weaving her death shroud. Fernanda del Carpio asserts her place in the household with strict religious rules, pushing Aureliano Segundo to relocate to Petra Cotes's home, where he indulges in wild revelries. His reckless behavior nearly costs him his life in a food competition with a woman called The Elephant. The once bustling house stands hauntingly silent without the children. Upon Meme's return from school, Aureliano Segundo also returns home, trying to fulfill his paternal role. However, when Meme brings home a large group of school friends, it reveals she has inherited her father's tendency for extravagance. The loner, José Arcadio Segundo, occasionally shows up at the house to converse with the old Colonel, who doesn't respond well and withdraws even more. The Colonel, unable to feel deep emotions, longs for tangible memories of his past as he drifts towards death. He ceases his habitual gold-fish creation, opting to make only a few before melting them to restart the process. Eventually, the Colonel passes away one morning.
chapter 14
While grieving for Colonel Aureliano Buendía, Fernanda del Carpio gives birth to Amaranta Úrsula, her third child with Aureliano Segundo. Amaranta, the last second-generation Buendía alive, spends her days lost in past recollections. Feeling her death approach, she starts sewing her own burial cloth. After finishing it, she informs the town she'll die at sunset and agrees to deliver their letters to the deceased. She dies a virgin, after which Úrsula retreats to her bed for several years. Úrsula enjoys regular visits from young Amaranta Úrsula, who she grows fond of. Aureliano Segundo and Fernanda del Carpio's first daughter, Meme, grows up as carefree as her father, only showing fake interest in the clavichord, her mother's enforced pastime. Bonding with her father over common hobbies and mutual disdain for Fernanda, Meme makes friends with some American girls and even picks up some English. She falls deeply in love with Mauricio Babilonia, a straightforward and honest mechanic from the banana plantation who is always trailed by yellow butterflies. When Fernanda catches them in a passionate moment at the cinema, she restricts Meme to the house. Realizing that Mauricio has been visiting Meme nightly, Fernanda puts a guard in the backyard. When Mauricio returns, the guard shoots him, leaving him paralyzed for life.
chapter 15
Mauricio Babilonia's heartrending paralysis stuns Meme into silence, leading Fernanda to take her back to her hometown. Meme is consigned to a convent where she constantly reminisces about Mauricio. After some time, a nun delivers Meme's illegitimate child, fathered by Mauricio, to the Buendía home. Fernanda, embarrassed by Meme's actions, conceals the child in Colonel Aureliano Buendía’s old workshop, claiming he is an orphan. The child is named Aureliano (II). José Arcadio Segundo, the quiet, solitary sibling of Aureliano Segundo, is engaged in rallying the banana plantation workers against their dire working conditions. When martial law is declared in Macondo, workers sabotage the plantation. In response, the government tricks workers into attending a meeting that ends in a bloodbath, with over 3,000 workers killed. Their bodies are loaded onto a train and disposed of at sea. José Arcadio Segundo escapes death by jumping off the train and returning to Macondo, only to find that all traces of the massacre have been erased from the townsfolk's memory. Continuous rain wipes away any remaining physical evidence. The government and military persist in eradicating any remaining union leaders and denying reports of the massacre. José Arcadio Segundo is eventually located at the Buendía house, hiding in Melquíades’ old room. The soldiers don't spot him due to the room's decrepit appearance. José Arcadio Segundo, traumatized by the massacre, secludes himself in the room, engrossed in Melquíades’ cryptic manuscripts. His obsession leads to his detachment from the world and eventual insanity. His sole purpose becomes studying the texts and preserving the memory of the 3,000 workers who perished.
chapter 16
Persistent rainfall lasting nearly half a decade traps Aureliano Segundo in solitude, leading him to abandon his past licentious life. He devotes himself to the children, Amaranta Úrsula and Aureliano (II), the latter being Meme's previously hidden illegitimate son. As Ursula's senility progresses while she's stuck in bed, she turns into a toy for the kids, narrating to them their family's history. The relentless rain wreaks havoc on the house and ruins Aureliano Segundo's extensive wealth as his animal stocks, bred with Petra Cotes, perish in the floods. Fernanda spends her time trying to connect with psychic doctors for her uterus ailment and takes pleasure in agitating Aureliano Segundo, causing him to damage all precious items in the house. Aureliano Segundo busies himself in a futile search for Ursula's hidden gold coins in the yard. With the cessation of the rains, the town of Macondo has experienced a steep regression. The banana fields are eradicated, and the town starts to fade into a distant memory.
chapter 17
Following the rainfall, Úrsula sets about restoring the Buendía home. She happens upon José Arcadio Segundo, who has secluded himself for years, engrossed in Melquíades' ancient predictions. Upon their return to Petra Cotes' home, they find all their animals deceased and are forced to battle harder than ever to survive. The once extravagant parties are now mere echoes of their former selves. Nonetheless, they rediscover their love for each other. Aureliano Segundo spends less time with his rapidly aging children as Aureliano (II) begins to resemble the family's other solitary Aurelianos. Úrsula retreats deeper into the past, passing away at an age over 120. Rebeca, the widow of José Arcadio, also dies in this period. A brutal heat wave hits the town, and the inhabitants suspect they are cursed. Mass bird deaths occur and an odd, half-human creature appears in the streets. The town takes on a desolate, forlorn aura, filled with the nostalgia of its past glory. Amidst this hardship, Aureliano Segundo dedicates himself to accumulate funds for Amaranta Úrsula's European education. However, his energy is dwindling, and he is on his deathbed. José Arcadio Segundo, nearing his end too, is making headway in understanding Melquíades' predictions and acquainting Aureliano (II) with the history and prophetic knowledge of Macondo. Eventually, Aureliano Segundo manages to send Amaranta Úrsula to Brussels. Having fulfilled his purpose, he passes away simultaneously with his twin, José Arcadio Segundo, who leaves Aureliano (II) with a final reminder of the forgotten workers' massacre. Amid the burial chaos, the coffins of the twins are switched, resulting in each being interred in the other's grave.
chapter 18
In the former workspace of Melquíades, Aureliano (II) continues to delve into the secrets of the prophecies with the gypsy's spirit appearing sporadically to provide guidance. He discovers that the prophecies, written in Sanskrit, can only be deciphered after a hundred years. Despite the Buendías falling on hard times, they sustain themselves on food supplied by Petra Cotes, Aureliano Segundo's old paramour. Santa Sofía de la Piedad, Arcadio's overlooked widow, leaves the family after fifty years of silent service. Fernanda del Carpio, consumed by sorrow and longing, passes away soon after writing to her children in Europe. Following Fernanda's demise, her son, José Arcadio (II) makes his way back to Macondo. Instead of studying at a seminary, he had been banking on a hefty inheritance. He finds himself alone in the rundown family house, with only his memories and illusions of grandeur for company. Upon finding Úrsula Iguarán's hidden gold, he squanders it on wild nights of merriment with the town's young folk. As he wrestles with solitude, José Arcadio (II) strikes up a friendship with Aureliano (II), who is making headway in his search for knowledge. Their budding friendship is interrupted when a son of Colonel Aureliano Buendía visits, only to be shot by the police like his sixteen brothers before him. The newfound camaraderie between the two Buendías comes to an abrupt end when four children, who had previously partied with José Arcadio (II), murder him and make off with his gold.
chapter 19
Amaranta Úrsula comes back to Macondo with her spouse, Gaston, from Europe. Despite knowing that her affection for Macondo is a sentimental yearning, he follows her. Amaranta, full of vigor and resolve, hopes to restore their home and town, but the downfall of Macondo is unavoidable. Aureliano (II) strolls through the deteriorating town and finds out that the once prestigious Buendía family is barely remembered. Embracing his family's predisposition for incestuous affection, he falls for Amaranta Úrsula. His unfulfilled love finds some relief in his new relationship with a wise Catalonian bookstore owner and four young intellectuals he meets there. They explore the seedier side of Macondo, frequenting brothels and bars. In one such place, his forgotten great-great-grandmother, Pilar Ternera, comforts Aureliano (II) with her wisdom and intuition. He also starts seeing a black prostitute named Nigromanta. Meanwhile, Gaston, uninterested in Macondo, focuses on his ambition of launching an airmail service in Latin America. As Gaston remains distracted, Aureliano (II) confesses his feelings to Amaranta Úrsula. She eventually reciprocates, and they become lovers.
chapter 20
Gaston sets off to Belgium for his business pursuits and upon discovering his wife’s infidelity, he refrains from coming back. Both the Catalonian and eventually Aureliano (II)'s four intellectual companions abandon the dying town of Macondo. Amidst this isolation, Aureliano (II) and Amaranta Úrsula's passionate romance persists, thriving joyously. With their reckless lovemaking and invading red ants, the Buendía house becomes completely dilapidated. Their newborn baby, also named Aureliano (III), is born with a pig's tail, confirming Úrsula Iguarán's longstanding fears about the risks of incest. After giving birth, Amaranta Úrsula suffers a severe hemorrhage and passes away. Aureliano (II) seeks solace in Nigromanta and alcohol, neglecting his newborn. By the time he notices the infant, ants have begun to consume the tiny corpse, marking the termination of the Buendía lineage. Aureliano (II) secludes himself in the house and finally deciphers Melquíades’ ancient prophecies, revealing the entire history of the Buendía family, since the establishment of Macondo. As he reads, he discovers that his present actions are reflected in the text. Concurrently, a catastrophic wind ensues, uprooting the town and wiping out its existence from memory. "[Aureliano] had already understood that he would never leave... races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth."
