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C A M BR I D G E I B E R I A N A N D

L AT I N A M E R I C A N S U D I E S

GENERL EDIOR

P. E. R UE L L FB..

Emeritus Prfessor o Spanish Studies

Uniersiy o Oxord

OCIE EDIOR

E. PPO-WLKER

Director Center or atin American and Iberian Studies

Vanderbilt Universiy. R. D PG D EN

Lecturer in Histy, Universiy Cambridge

Gabrel Garca Mrquez

New Readings



CAM BRI DGE IB ERIAN AND LATIN AME RICAN TDIE

IT ERA TRE AND LIT ER ARY THEORY

STEVEN BOLDY: Th e Novels Julio CortarANTHONY CASCARDI The Limits lusion: criticl study CldernMARCE HEMINGWAY: Emili Prdo B;an: the mking of novelit

B. w FE: Reding nd Fiction in Golden-Age Spin Pltonist critique nd some picresque repliesJHN KING Sur stu the Argentine liter joul nd its role in the development of culture,

1 931170JOHN LYo• The The/re VlleInclan

BERNARD McGUIRK AND RICHARD CARDWELL (EDS) Gbriel Grc Marquez new rdingsJLIN OLIVARES The Love Poet Frncisco de Quevedo n esheic nd xistentil stu

FRANCSCO Rio The Spnish Picresque Novel nd he Poin of Vew

HENRYw

s

LLVANCldern in the Germn Lnd nd the LowCounries his reception nd iuence16541DANE F REY Gd nd !he Iro of Lnguge

HITORY AND OC IA L THEORY

ROBERT I. BRNS Muslims Christins nd Jews in h eCruder Kingdom VlenciMHAEL P. TEL oE Response to Revoluion Imperil Spin nd Spnish Americn revoluions

1801840HEATH DILLARD Dughters of the Reconquest women in Csilin town scie 11001

JOHN EDWARDSChrisin Crdob he ci nd is region in /he lte Middle Ages

LEONARD FOLGARAT So Fr om Heven Dvid Aro Siqueiros' The Mrch ofHumni ndMexicn Revolution Poliics

JAN LEZ-MORILLAS The Krusis Movement nd eologiclChnge in Spin 18541874MARVIN LNENFELD Keepers heCi The Corregidores Isbell I Cstile (14741504)

LINDA MARZ: Pover nd Were in Hbsburg Spin: the exmple ToledoANTHONY PAGDEN The Fll Nturl Mn the Americn Indin nd !he rigins of comprive

ethnoloEVELYN s PROCER Curi nd Cor/es in Len nd Csile 072125

A DE M ANDERS: A Socil Histo Blck Slves nd Freedmen in Portugl 14411555DAVID E. VASSBERG Lnd nd Socie in GoldenAgeCstile



Gabriel Garca Mrquez

New Readings

EDITED BY

B E R N A R D McG U I R KAND

R I C H A R D C A R D W E LL

The right of 1hUnv Cambrdg

pr n su/ mnnr f bk

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C A MB R I D G E U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S

AMBRIDGE

NE W YORK NEW ROCHEL E

MELBOURNE SYDNEY



CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSY PRESS

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So Paulo, Delhi Dubai Tokyo

Cambridge niversity Press

The dinburgh Building Cambridge CB2 8R, UK

Published in the nited States of America by Cambridge niversity Press New York

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nrmation on this title: wwwcambridgeorg/9780521122825

© he Nobel oundation 987

This publication is in copyright Subject to statutory exception

and to the provisions o relevant collective licensing agreements

no reproduction o any part may take place without the written

permission of Cambridge University Press

First published 1987

This digitally printed version 2009

A

catalogue record for this publcaton s available from the Brtish braryLbra of Congre Catalogung n Publcaton data

Gabriel Garca Mrquez new readings

(Cambridge berian and Latin American studies)

Bibliography.

ncludes index

1 Garca Mrquez Gabriel, 1928- - Criticism

and interpretation. I. McGuirk Bernard. II. Cardwell

Richard Andrew SeriesPQ88017A73Z674 1987 863 8624424

SBN 9780521328364 Hardback

SBN 9780521122825 Paperback

Cambridge niversity Press has no responsibility r the persistence or

accuracy o URLs r external or thirdparty internet websites rerred to in

this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is

or will remain, accurate or appropriate



Contents

Note on the tranlation

Lit o contributor

Iroduio

page vii

Vlll

BERNARD MCGIK

Charariaio i h ary io o Gabri Gara

Mrqu

R IHARD AR DWELL

Bar o i-bari as: radi Baaars

Prodiious Aroo aordi o Mar Mauss

EDUARDO GONZ LEZ

Th body as poiia isrum ommuiaio i No

One Write to the ColonelRENE PRIETO

Maia raism ad h hm o is i One Hundred

ear f Solitude

EDIN WILLIAMSON

Trasaio ad aoy One Hundred ear f Solitude

AN BAL GONZ ALEZ6 Th humour o One Hundred ear f Solitude

LIE GRFFIN

7 O maia ad soia raism i Gara Mrqu

GERALD MARIN

v

33

4

6

8 1

9



� ONENS

8 Ape of naae uue n The Incredible and Sad

Stoy the Innocent Erndira and her Heartless Grandmother

MARK MLLNGON

9 anguage and powe n The Autumn f the Patriarch

JO LABANY

O Wng and ual n Chronicle o a Death Foretold

ARLOS ALONSO

1 Fee-pla of e-pla e on of non-onummaon

peulaon on Chronicle f a Death Foretold

BERNARD MGRK

A popee pop apopo o Love in the Times o

Cholera

ROBN DDAN

Te olude of an Amea Nobe adde 8

GABREL GARc I A MARQEZ, anaed b RHARD

ARDWELL

See bblogap

JOHN WANWRGH

Index

R HA RD AR DWELL

7

35

69

07

5



Note on the translations

I eac cae, e corbuor o oume aeoped o prode er ow ero of erac omGarca Mrue orga e A of aaabepubed raao of major work ma beud e eec bbograp

Vll



Contributors

Dr rlos J. Alonso i Aian Pofeo of Romane Languageand ieaue in e Welean niei Middleown, Conneiu, SA Among i inee i e novela de la tierra on wi e apublied a monogap ud He a alo wien aile onCapenie, Coa, Donoo Samieno and oe Lain Ameian

wie

Dr Ricrd A rdwell i Pofeo of Moden Spani Lieauen e niei of Noingam, England Hi majo inee ae inRomaniim and e Euopean de ile He a wien book onEponeda, Blao Ibe and Juan Ramn Jimne numeouaile on Spani lieaue and a publied ediion of Gil, Reinaand Iaa He i uenl wiing a ud of modeimo andmbolim in Spain

Dr Robin W Fiddin i Leue in Spani and Lain AmeianSudie in e niei of Newale upon Tne England Hieea inee embae e Spani noel in e wenie enuand onempoa ion in ain Ameia He i alo ineeed inape of ompaaie lieaue and e Spani inema ine e

Ciil Wa He a pubied udie of e Spani Genea ion of 1 898and of e noel of e onempoa peiod in Spain and LainAmeia

Dr Anbl Gonzlez i Aian Pofeo of Spani Ameianieaue in e niei of Tea a Auin, SA Hi aademinee ae modeimo nineeen-enu Lain Ameian ion,

Hipani Caibbean lieaue and liea eo He a publied al



Conbuol

book on e r6nia modernista ale on Rael Snez and oe;e a omng ud of e novela modernista hispanoameriana and wkng on e nuene of jounalm on e developmen of ea Amean naave

Dr Eduardo Gonzlez Aoae Pofeo n e Depamen ofHpan and Ialan Sude n e Jon Hopkn nve, SAH majo eld ofnee an Amean on He a publednumeou ale n eld, a book on Capene, a book onpoanalal m and a omng ud ofCoza He

a peen wokng on Roa Bao

Dr Clive Grifn ellow and Tuo n Span n Tn College,Od, England, and nve eue n an Ameaneaue H nee embae e o of pnng n eenen Span and an Amea, on w e a eenl publeda bok, and an Amean poe on He uenl wng a

ud of Azuela Los de abajo.

Jo Labanyi Seno eue n Span n Bkbek College,ne of ondon, England He majo nee n e on ofe moden peod n Span and an Amea on w e awen a ee of ale, nludng a book on u Man SanoSe a alo anlaed onempoa Span and an Amean

poe and on

Dr Gerald Martin Pofeo of Hpan and an AmeanSude n Pomou Polen, England H nee le n eoa and oal ape of lea eav H publaonnlude an edon of Mguel ngel Aua and ale on anAmean leaue and ulue

Dr Bernard McGuirk eue n Hpan Sude n enve of Nongam, England, wee e alo eponble pogaduae ude n al eo He a wen on eapplaon of onempoa lea eo o wok n Fen,Span and Pouguee He uenl wng a book on pouual appoae o an Amean leaue



CONTRIBUTORS

D Mak Milingtn is Lecturer i Lati Aerica Studies i teiversity of Nottiga Eglad His acadeic iterests icludete applicatio of recet arratological teory to Lati Aerica

ctio critical teory ad te ciea He as publised a book oOetti ad articles o Borges ad Garca Mrue

D Ren Piet is Assistat Professor of Spais i te SouterMetodist iversity of Dallas Teas SA He specialies i teapplicatio of critical teory to coteporary Lati Aericactio He as publised uerous articles i tis eld icludig

studies of Arguedas Borges Oetti Sarduy Vargas Llosa ad ispresetly copetig a book o te indigenita ctio ofMiguel gelAsturias

Jhn Wainwight is Assistat Libraria a te Taylor IstitutioLibrary iversity of Ord Eglad were e is i carge ofHispaic collectios

D dwin Wlliamsn is Lecturer i Spais ad Lati AericaStudies i Birkbeck College iversity of Lodo Eglad Hispricipal iterest is i te ctio of siteet ad seveteetcetury Spai ad e is autor of a ajor study of Cervates He isalso workig o Lati Aerica ctio ad its istorical backgroud



Introduction

B E R NA R D M G IR K

Te present volume of essas on Garel Gara Mrue wasorgnall oneved n 1 983 sortl after e was awarded te NoelPre r Lterature Apart om etendng rtal appreaton of swork to an Engls-readng pul ts prnpal ojetve was toreet te readt and varet of urrent rtal approaes to

lterature appled to a sngle orpus of wrtng B no means all of tewrters prol output s dealt wt ere toug s major novels anda seleton ofs sort ton are overed Euall te range ofrtalmetod wle not eaustve seeks to enompass pratal rtsmtemat rmalst-struturalst antropologal psoanaltalMarxst plosop of language and deonstrutonst readngs

Te rst tree ontrutons deal wt te earl pase of sortton w Gara Mrue mself saw as te ke to s rstunversall alamed masterpee One Hundred Years f Solitude.Rard Cardwells analss of te tenues of arateraton nBig Mama' Funeral speall n One of tese Das and TuesdaSest reets te pluralst rtal approa ofleral umansmelaoratng on te wrters avowed ommtment to wrte well demonstratng one of te prnpal resoures of Gara Mrue tetelle of tales In ontrast Eduardo Gonle approaes a sngle

stor om te same olleton om an angle of antropolog Hsstud nvolvng a rtue of te strutural metod vews BaltaarsProdgous Afternoon n te lgt of te elerated Marel Maussessa on gft-eange B jutaposng stor and essa e rejets anempt rmalsm demonstratng and stuatng varous narratveparallels wtn a sooetn nton of le Wereas te prevousstud solates one aton n one stor Ren Preto llows a sngle

teme n No One Writes to the Colonel-

tat of unger. He treats te



2 BERNA RD MCGUI RK

concoman peoccupaon w e lowe bod ncon n aua-Baknan manne, unng e polcall ubee andcoanalcal wn a Feudan applcaon of oal and ana

pae o e poagoncolonel deologcal and peonabeaon

Two juapoed eadng of On Hndrd Yars Soltd low, ene emac, e oe eoecal Edwn Wlamon ace enaae paen, ae an e eo, of nce w a ew opong e necenc of a aboo-egme In e poce, a ocalled magca ealm dened ee a e cnaon w e

a, e ecape om o no memo, e ongng o ecoe ane nnocence, and e uende o mnde eoc dee ejeced a a meadng of o Complemena o Wlamona, Anba Gone ana ofe eo of anlaon, dawngncpal on Wae Benamn, popoe, owee, a e deeneamen of Meluade nooou decpeed manucp Aoadl genec analog of m and language pooke e

concluon a no on nce bu alo e ac of anlaon ef anmpope ac Anbal Gonle pang uggeon of a paallelncon n Ceane Cde Hamee Benengel and Gacaue Meuade aken up b Cle Gn, abe om aoll deen ccal pepece H ud of e umou of eoel aod, nance, e Baknan appoac and, m n empca adon of AngloAmecan common-ene ccm,ake up Gaca Mue own wanng a On Hndrd Yar olitd compleel deod of eoune Caalogung a ae ofcomc dece, ea pode a counebla o e man anale ae nauaed o neuaed e mo mou of Gacaue wng b aocaon w one o anoe wodewn dec cona, Geald Man ague an deologcal appoaco o noel and o e poblem ofe oeued ece labelaa ea an an unaea denn oe

aied agan e neable oene of an Euopean and NoAmecan eadng of an Amecan eaue He aem oconon, polemcall and om a oca ewpon, a ac, een funconcou, conpac on e pa of muc AngoSaon ccm ognoe e onologca, epemologca and ocal mplcaon ofGaca Mue wok n ou of e meapoc pa of declnewc, e ague, meadng And meadng



Inoducon 3

T mo macall ocal a n olum MakMlngon naaologcal amn of o ofInnocnt ErndiraFollowng Gn, ola uc naa ucu a podcdfal, al, caual u noncaual, and nlockngpon, and pa om malm of naa pan ongg w mac of mpn, cnc and panon,bocng, oo, w o fnc o Baknan canalzaon, ocal and dologcal mplcaon of naa opn-nddn

T la a a n common a poccupaon w ploop of languag Jo aban ud of Th Atmn o th

Patrarch a mdaon on wng n wc aca pokn/wn dncon b juapong Gaca Muz pacc n nol, w Dda w on critr Agung awng f back o an abn ouc, uon adonalw a o conol languag o wld pow T uonng of auo of wn wod akn up b Calo Alono n ana oflanguag and ual n Chronicl fa Dath Fortold Dawng

on un/Sal pc-ac o, ugg a ncon ofnaaon n nol pma a an fnal, a namn of a cm wc, om kng o undand,adonall and mnucall, amp ma o accal ac onl b agng H agu a amoun o a ac of olnc, a nol a pfc analogu of wngl Calo Alono alo k a Ddan no, wn pon o d o abol dnc a conu In nalud, Bnad McGuk co Dda noon of languag anddnc, applng la pacc om Spculaon on Fudn a of olappng pculaon on Chronicl Takng up gnall gnod ludc lmn, nonl a pan o dologcal ponal of po-ucual ccm b owng ow dconuc ndng m of an Amcanconcoun

anua I 986, Gaca Muz publd a nw nol, Lov in thTi o Cholra T do w o ank Robn Fddan, of n of Nwcal upon Tn, judcou po-cp nw ancpa pobl uman, fmn and Amcanccal pon o mo cn nol

I nagd a collcon, gn dual objc oulnda ou, wll nd knowldg of wok of Gaca Muz



4 B E RNARD MCGUIRK

and nrodu o boh h gnral radr and o sudns oflraur aplural of urrn ral approahs

Th olum loss wh Rhard Cardwlls rndrng no Englsh

ofh auhors Sokholm Nobl apan addrss and an nd, andohn Wanwrghs sl bblograph, nludng rsm aalabln Englsh



I

Characterization in the early ction

of Gabriel Garca Mrquez

R I C H A R D C A R D W E L L

Te ear io as bee iewed as e eessar ierar preparaior e maure work ad espeia ofOne Hundred ears Solitude. Yeo sugges a e sor sories are appreie piees is o dera omeir rea arisr, eir sube ad eir arraie eiues Gieeir remarkabe ierar uaiies, i is srage a e soud aereeed su sa riia aeio I is essa, I soud ike oosder oe eiue, a ofaraeriaio as a sarig poi ra er appraisa of e ear sories ad, peraps, of e major worksAfe a, Gara Mrue oe said i oersaio o MigueFernde-Braso, i reai oe o wries a sige book (GabrielGara Mrquez (una conversain infnita) Madrid, 969, p 44) Hewe o o reea is osumig eres i is ear araers wiuiaed i One Hundred ears Solitude wi is e basis of e

jigsaw wi I ae bee assembig i m ear books Te ke,erere, is o be ud i m rs works I wa ows e aasisis eessari seeie, a sarig poi r a ompee sud

Mu of e appea of e sories i Big Mamas Funeral as mu asi e major oes, ies i e sube ad ausieess eeeusieess of araeriaio Ma of is araers are akeo e assia reperoire of e eera omi, iudig

araers wo roug eir disarmo or absurdi i beaiouror dess, or wo b ioeme i disguises, riks, beaigs, periiai, or idee beaiour, reae umorous siuaios wia e a readers a a imes Some of ese sok eemes appeari Big Mama's Funeral Tere remais, oweer, oe rer pewo appears i a umber of guises i e ear io e eroiooe, e ourageous deis, e resoue moer, or e subbor

agmaker. Tese ae a umber ofuaiies i ommo. To arig5



6 R I C H A R D C A R DW E L L

degee e beome oled a ooao w e auoee egme, e mao, e u, moeed uee Bu GaaMue ombed feelg of umou ad aeo owad

aae allow m o deleae em a e peal wa Heaod e eempla gue wo mg be ued o aee GaaMue deologal ad polal alao ae well kow e ue of o ad amgu, e allue ad elue aue of maeal, po o a pepee ad a ead of o aaeao ad aae I ue ulke e emog oemg d amog fellow a Amea ommed we Gaa

Mue a ad a ommme o we well . He e,pmal a lea eao, a elle of ale, a eao ofaae, ad ee feaue w ma abo e eade depedel of ema epeao a ae bee lad o e wok Te u,e, mg popel e o lea eue, oe of aao, ueof mage, aaeao

I Big Mama's Funeral a No One Writes to the Colonel, Gaa

Mue eem o be aaed o umble, uaumg people wo,wle ofe poo o ued lfe adee, a, eeele,demoae eomou eouele, a ll d e ouage ofpual eom o e oppeo ad defea, a ll de,defed a deepl eld pple o, almo uooul, oo adoeome e e aged aga em. Te oloel melf aoou membe of galle of aae. He mu be ludedw e moe Tueda Sea, e de o Balaa Te all, e dee wa, oppoe e pae of beaou w epeed of o lad dow em, oppoe auo, waee gue, a upg bu upeaula wa Te moe owelome e ow e de epeed o pull e oo ad beele, le ad oblgg Balaa o ake ome wou poe maepee Bu e eae of ee aae e eoppeo o guad o eeal a, a ea mome, a ddual

a ejo glmpe of eedom b eg o aep e au uoTo puue u a le mg podue a epeae ew of

aae ae a a eal aal of ow e e dloeu deg p eag ade e eao GaaMue oe of paula aae pe le u ode emea weeb e ae peeed

Bu we mu eu o e eme ofooao To be peuae

e auo mu deleae e aue of ad eao e



Caaceaon n e eal con 7

connaon Te caace placed n uc a uaon a opodce a c n peonal. H accepance of e dcae ofauo o e ele complance w e pejudced, unccaland uneece paen of beaou of e majo ae placedunde an n uc a wa a a mno anmaon ake place ne caace mel a cange wc could no be eeced woue peence of e gue wo and n a poon ofpowe o nuenceoe e caace In No On Writs to th Colonl e cononaon peened n a due wa, e gue of auo e mao,Don aba, e guad, e cleg, ec. appea and eappea Bu we

canno doub a e peonal of e colonel undegoe a cangeOne mg ae epeced a c pon n e cononaon n ecano beween e guad, e mudee of Agun, and e colonelYe aca Mque undeae e moal upeo of colonela pon o eae n a pecacula wa n e colonel nalwod and wen e eade lea epec Tu e gound o enaue of e cononaon ofen allue ae an eplc;

upng ae an pedcable. In e cae of Don Auelo, o emo of Calo Ceneno o of Balaa, e encoune and edecon ake ae unepeced Te den uge, e pewag oom and Monel pao become, of a udden, aena ofoppoon o eance o e paen of beaou epeced n uca uon. T, en, e apec of uc caaceaon apeccall eleced pe wo mg pa unnoced n a cowd bu

wo, n a gen momen, and pomnen n e amaon of peoal neg Secondl, e necea peence of a gue ofauo; dl, e occaon of e conc elf wen e ce ofepeced complance collde w e eble o ndomable wll ofe unaumng nddual; ul, and peap e mo noelapec of man of e o oe, e unpomng locaon coena a backdop e cononaon wc o emege T laapec, ogee w e unaumng cenal caace, conbue o

e cnan and conen elemen of upe wc a cenalfeaue of all aca Mque con. Fnall, we mg ncludeanoe ecnque wc, lke e la, bo a naae a well a acaaceng one In eac of e cae we ae been eamnng, andcomonl n oe o oe, caace conc and cange aealo mulaed b an aal ofen of e poagon melf oomeme b an objec lke Balaa cage) . A Mak Mllngon

pon ou n ea n collecon, Te eec of e aal o



8 R I C H R D C A R D W E L L

disrup i irodus isabiliy io a pris siuaio, ada isabiliy produs irs ad also mom ' I is oi also produs mom of arar, mom i ss of

dlopm alog a w ad upd pa T arar isdsabilid, rd i a w dirio, o udrak a aio wisgis ag ad a rur o a w uilibrium By sam ok,ofours, dparur is usd o rmia pross wi arrialiaugurad ad so los dlopm T mayor las, mor sps ou io sr, Balaar las paio r asioo bgi a w yl of arrial/dparur, Gara Mru uss

dparur moif arraily o los is soris ad as a losur rarariaio I is prf ial sio.

O ommo mas of oyig arar i arra io isroug dialogu aor is dsripio, aor symboli laguag.All s ius ar usd o osumma No One Writes tothe Colonel: i orsaios i dsripio of olol ados wo sad agais im i symbolism of limai

odiios, lr ad ok A rr u, usd wibo oomy ad skill i sor soris, is a of sigposig sagsi dlopm or roology of sory Fially, w sould oorlook iroi or ambiguous gral sams or allusidails of miliu or sig All of s ar usd i O of s Daysad Tusday Sisa , wo soris os r aalysis T sory ofBalaar, olol or ors mig also sr as id r prs sudy

L us osidr lmary prsaio of dis AurlioEsoar is grad om ous of sory oursy il of Do.I is gi by arraor alo, r o o ls i sory addrsssAurlio i is sio No spi irpraio a b applid oi, owr, r mas so is ulikly o us i T a mayor, oly or gur i sory, dos o us i maysuggs a mayor iws Aurlio as a ifrior, uwory of

l Praps arraor is oyig o oly is ow sm bua ofAurlios fllow owsm Praps i is usd iroially, r posii of Do is immdialy dad by llowigdsripio of uualid dis, oly r iroi or posii? rus o rassr islf i pras a arly risr ad, as w lar, aard ad dilig workr T radr is prpld W ar o oldwy Do Aurlio r ualid or wy riss arly T surgry

islf suggss pury ad sruggl o mak a mods lig T



Cararaon n arl on 9

arl rng ugg ard work and onnuou or o am ndT parn of opnng dlnaon alo ugg a ownn a runa, ndd, a Don mpl, o a a manwo n pra w kll and ar T drp nu, n, onom rl ugg T r of drpon ll u of nnr man rar an of oal poon B r grar parof enung drpon ok a ngl mpron W ar gn llowng dal of pal mak-up ad ap

He was sti, spare, with a gaze which rarely matched the moment like thelook o the dea . . He seemed not to reect on what he was doing but he

worked stubbornly pedalling on the drill even when he was not using it He wet on working . . . The voice o his son . . aroused him fom hisabstraction.

Afr a or nrlud of dalogu w larn rr a

He hel [the tooth] at arm's length and examined it through hal-closed eyes. . He went on examining the tooth . His expression still did not change Wihout haste with an extremely quiet movement he stopped pedalling

the dril withdrew it fom the chair and opened the bottom drawer o thetable

T araraon, w no, bom nrangl rbal wdrpon ndad b mnmal adrbalaon mool, wa arl prur of ngr, ll wou a, I aranon om nomnal and adjal drpon of man odrpon of aon T dn bom anma; wo

domna n, monopol momn and onraon n arna ofmpld on T pal arar ofborbd or abrad dmanour ar prpard r b arlaon, prparaon n urgr plad on abl aandl of rumn w lad ou n ordr om larg o mall, a n an bon Dp lak of ualaon anddn por, auor mpl a rn of pronal Tour man, omwa rdulou n bra or a rpd r wa gold ud u no ollar, bl nnr ompour T paldrpon , n ral, barr of an mpld prual drponT ual okd ar rln, ordrln, drmnaon,onnraon, na,jo n work wll don, a , nnr armon

Bu n mpa n drpon (om adjal orbal, om man bgnnng a wkl roun o a man angpamen r n ommd, gnpod b r rr d

dalog, upr and mbolm



IO R I C H A R D C A R D W E L L

Te nroducon of dalogue ued, of coure, r narrae eecI bear e burden of racng e maor dcomure and epamen r pa n. Bu alo gnpo e deelopmen of

caracer Te r e den Tel m I am no ere" Teeec o carr narrae and caracer deelopmen n an unepeceddrecon Te reader a been prepared r nner compoure bu noourg anagonm and rudene Te ne age n e budngproce e laconc Beer" , woe eec underpnned b ereadne o allow a rupure w e epeced norm ofocal grace awell a ofocaonal du o rea e uerng mpled n e peec

elf and n e conrae rea o alow e preen ak a ofpolng e oo o be nerruped Te ne age of e proceagan concde w e den rer repl n e elaboraecarade ofoence b pro Agan laconc uerance embeddedn a ere of acon opped pedallng, wdrew om e car,opened , wung e car . Te budng up ofenon n e ere ofprece acon woe narrae burden pon o cononaon

mple a correpondng enng of wll n e peron of e denmef Te rea ofe maor reoer me b a ofe denBu e mpled oence of e maor rea maced b coolneand conrol on e par of Don Aureo Garca Mruez doe nooerl decrbe ual; raer mpled n e enencebegnnng Wou ae, w an eremel ue moemen ande concludng lne of e euence eadng o e appearance of euerng maor He coed e drawer w nger p and ad

ol, S down." We are preened en, w a lgl rdculouand unaumng gure Ye b e momen of e naon o beeaed e den a grown n nner reng and n auor. Wae den ee n e ee of e maor a rer dece ofcaracerzaon, r eplan e eled conemp of e clong ofe drawer and e lowered oce Te conrol of acon and of oceempaze, b conra w e oen rea and e eec of

prolonged uerng n e maor ce ogeer w e ubmon ofe maor o e mnraon of anagon, an upurge of moraluperor Pca wellbeng mple prua webeng GarcaMruez car a pae of e cange e den undergoe ba conra of reae calm, uggeed b e decrpon of e roomand of e maor eaed n e car, and e reurn o dalogue andmoemen Agan urpre ued o add o e eec n e reelaon

a anaeea canno be ued. I an ronc commen r bo men



Caaeaon n e eal on

undeand wa appenng Te eed mle ndae eneang ga of e den and pon o e ne age of DonAuelo' ole Bu Gaa Mque doe no allow den ooen e mao e e now o aume anoe moebol ole a ofebue jue Te ononaon moe a pon om an mpled oal peap polal one o ameapal one. Wee e den ould ae aued pan e onlmoed w. Te ange n aaeaon gnalled e b ebal aon eond b e adebal wou anou . .w a be endene la b dalogue w w e eme of

ebuon made epl Hee leuenan ou ae makng upamen wen kllng.

e e of e o neal ombne bo eal and mboleadng Te upng ommand o wpe awa ea wee o wpee mou would ae been moe appopae pon o e eme ofoal neaon and umlaon of an anagon. Bu e nalqueon onenng e denaon of e bll wle ombnng bo

emae e eme of ebuon n e nal wod of emao and of e o) e ed b e den o adm apubl oe a beome pae pamon

ona of de neane agan undne) of beang ofpee e e nea o aaee. Bu ee eman one lalel of mpled delneaon mbolm. A w oe enque oee Gaa Mque emplo a due mpl allue mode of

peenaon Te appaenl ndenal deal of e buad on eoo e gold oo and e obweb n e wndow ee o u eopo of ononaon Te buad eoke an amopee ofpedaon and dea w ubequenl e mao ome onnae Te nfeed oo alo ugge dea. Bu e gold oobeome e den mbol wod n e momen e e emao Ionall e mao eed b gold a meal onl e and uppoe mg be uppoed o aod He eed b e mage of own la Bu e gold eme beome moe omple and ublewn we eogne a ued no onl emaall n eononaon) bu a a mean of aaeaon Te den aaed w noupble meal peap o beome a e pon ofebuon e nng wod of e aengng angel) e mao'oo abeed oup. Smlal e ona of e lea kand e du obweb lled w pde' egg and dead ne'

ene e aaeaon of bo poagon and undeoe



1 2 R I C H A R D C A R DW E L L

e aue of e ymbo o Te ea ky eem o uggedeam, apao, ope; e obweb a uue w b,ee pob, e ugg g of u dea apao Te

pde egg appea o make e pobe a ope boud of euma ea a moe pde w appea o p moe web Teope of e e, e m ofe pde, ugge defeaed dea,apao ad ope ad, a e eg aeme oeg epayme mude ommed by e mayo, e dea of deame Aga u e e domabe p of e de eemdouby powe

Te moe of Cao Ceeo Ayaa wo appea Tuedayea , aguaby, ey ma o e eo of No One Writes to the

Colonel. Te poey w, a age way, ofe a eogadeu ad oby o e ooe ao boe by woma Weee ea e ame bu e aey ad uby debed kee ae of Do Aueo, oy eew e mof of ooaoad of upe a oue Te oduo o e oy aue

aae uay ad geeou depo Daogue, oo, eewed ou of mooogue, oy e moe peak duge a jouey A of e ueae eoke e ame uae ofpeoay oude e d ad a awaee of oapopee, of appeaae He aeme ae auoaa yeombed w geee a weed e gee epeo' ww e eu e ook of e d Te pmay bude ofaaeao a e oue , owee, by depo Te pa aeaeg d-a, e beogg ae of eap maea, eowe wapped ewpape, ey ae deed goou ad poooug oe Te eao e moug ae o ye doedTe jouey, e owe ad e oude ofappeaae a ugge,a e oy om, a o e gae of a ea eae Tedepo goe o o eea e moe a pemauey od, aapee, deed gue fe, eay, a bee ukd ad, a e

g ugge, ukd Te moke, e ea ad e me aeued a dea bakgoud depo bu ey ao ugge ee aged aga e Te boodg ee ad e ug eao e ea ubeuey pem e ame o ad pepae eway e opoae oy o e oupe a e oy oe Bu edpo ad, u, e aaeao ake o a ew deow e eo of wo key eee Te oe ow e

aeed w e pe peed my aga e bak of e ea



Caaeiaion in e eal ion

He psial posue is e beae of e spiiual seng Psialeiude is oal eiude Tis is oned b one of GaaMues os evealing poaals of aae, one wi weig assoiae wi e peson of e olonel, e auos osenduing eo Se ad e supulous seeni of ose peopleausoed o pove Te obinaion of wods denoing eouwad anifesaion of pide in oneself, a digni devoid ofaogane o e paade of pove ogee wi a sense of popie(spulous) is winned wi e ipliaion of inne esolve, selfpossssion, al, inne aon seeni) Te juaposiion of

wods, as wi oe siila insanes in One ofese Das and oesoies, pies e skill of e naao o evoke e absa andelusive naue of spiiual seng and powe We nd, oo, in isso a singula anspaen ofaaeiaion, a siplii no onlof deail o of signian feaue bu a evelaion, in e siples andos eonoi oflanguage, ofe inne oefpesonali Noing isobsed, noing abivalen Te oe sows no naive o

ingeuousness, se is e vii of no uou o ion In e wepeeive e indesuible oe of e essenial self wi VagasLlos as noed in e wiings of Gaa Mue Tis siplii ofaaeiaion is, aguabl, one of e os poinen aspes ofiseiue

Wi e arival in e own, e iniial es eappea, suggesedb e silen anoni of e sleeping own and e in ees beind

ik lenses of e piess sise Te ode ofaaeiaion angesa is poin o psial desipion and elling juaposiion ofwod o veba and advebial delineaion gesue, one and ineionof vie, egad, deeanou Te inne seeni and inegi of awoan undeaking a sad and unoable joune gows songea is poin in e so I oinides, as we ave alead seen in Oneof ese Das wi a oen of ononaion Se eses o be deeed o e pupose I need , Is pessing" , insised,

suggesing esolve, all ulinae in anoe pial wod paiingepsed enai Seng of will wi seeni, esolve wi elaedonol Se eses o wai an ou and iss e ain Nowdialgue beas e buden of aaeiaion and e esal spokenin a one of voie sill genle, wi a vaie of nuanes onves esa obinaion of ualiies as eposed enai Te ipession isevoed b psial deeanou and ineion of voie of a e of

pesnali o be ekoned wi Te oe ig be poo, aggad,



R I C H A R D C A R D W E L L

a tm oflfes uneen and But e wll, e ntegt and dgnt,e seent of nne ontol all emege n te onesaton wt tepest Te buden of te dalogue s saped to glgt tese

ualtesTe unpomsng sto takes on a pomsng deton and eplans

te mounng lotes and te ostle slene) wt te emegene ofte sopo pest and te euest te emete ke. Wen enall undestands wo se s, e eats n a e speal wa Hesutnzes e Gaa Muez adds notng else But te tetdsloses, n te eaton of te mote, te detals We etun to

te teme of onontaton. Te pest auses wt s stae temote etuns s look wt a uet autot Su s te ntenst ofe gae tat te pest bluses Te ause elds te psologaladantage to te aused f, n te st onontaton, te ssue wasone of onenene now te aena of ont as sfted to a moalgound t s an eample of te sgnpostng alluded to eale. n tssft te mote undegoes anote sgnant ange and, n so

dong, gows n moal statue But te pest, toug umbled, annotesst te ueston, Dd ou nee t to det m on te popepat?" Ts maks a te ss pont o sgnpost n te odeng ofte sto omng, as t does, afte te asbak of te son's tagdeat Te nne seent and ontol old m and se eples onlae se as sgned te ledge Se oes no ustaton, onl anamaton of e son's goodness Ts statement, too, s eealngClat of onsene needs no ustaton Te adete inalterable sused ee to sngula eet. Ts s wat te pest omes to eognzeand ee, as n One of tese Das, te nteaton of aate s usedto establs aate. Te pests eaton tells us moe about temote tan te pest mself ndeed, te wole seton wllows, gng te bae essentals of a moalt doed om temoalt of a popet-ownng soet, leads te pest to te pont ofaptulaton Hs utteane of a pous l and Gaa Muezs

eelaton tat e sad t wtout mu onton, patl beauseepeene ad made m a lttle septal, patl beause of te eat,maks a g pont n te sptual asendan of te mote But t snot te gest pont, one moe te sto takes an unepeteddeton and we etun to te mplt teme ofostlt And et tsal eatue, wose psal ondton beles tat nne oe ofgowng stengt, lke te olonel, wen ed b te allenge to e

moalt and e alue sstem, aepts and takes on te allenge



Caaceiaon n e eal con 5

Tee i a emakable mlai of piual eng eole andneg ofelood n e nal lne of e wo oe n pie of edeence of one and ege. Te moe wll no be deeced ome du; e will no accep e ea compome o ecue oeedb e pie and ie; e ce e oli of e peudcedownlk eoluel and uael. All mpled in e wod ofe pe and e. In e wo nal eb of e o e moeancend e compome of lfe and owe n magncen moalacendanc oe e fellow Se ook e cld b e and and wenou no e ee. We canno doub a e ouced e ene

ownTu we can ee a caaceaon i aceed in an ognal

wa Gaca Mue elegae e ole of omncien naao ino of a moe ndiec and allue appoac o e delineaion of oued pe of caace H oie begin n an unaumngeen unpoming wa. H poagon ae mlal unaumng.Ye wi e noducon of anoe gue epeenng eed

inee o auo piual o empoal) e coen caacebeg o deelop Te coen mleu oo ma eem unpomng ee ackgound deal ee a e bu mpoanl mbolic ole.Te combinaion of e gien aena of conic and e coenanaoni poduce a pon of ci n e deelopmen of e umblecace Fom e imple and economc kecing n of ouwadpscal abue wc a we ae een ae ofen e beae of an

mpled inne being and condiion e delneaion i aken oepnpall b acon eb and adeb) a e caace emegeand b peec e dalogue eealng e emegen piiualualie) No ould we oelook e cael making n enaaie of ke pon in e deelopmen of caace. In e endwe peceie a wle Gaca Mue able o peen a ealicpoai of ee caace inee i pimal in alludng o eipual o moal caace. Te moal of a o i like e

iceeg eealed Gaca Mue n coneaion w PlnoApuleo Mendoa mu be eld aoa on e pa a no eenn ud eecon e maeal included bu no decl emploedn o Gabiel Gaca Mue El lr de la uayaba, Bacelona98 p 43) Te ame ue of e bulding ofmoal caace. Ande ade mu pecee a poce n a ud of and eecion on elea e elf We eun o e poin made a e oue of e

ea and Gaca Mue commmen o we well . He aboe



R I C H A R D CA R D WE L

all a ltea att Yet e alo a poltal wte and ommentatowoe deolog and ew ae well known H at owee neebeome te andmad of pampleteeng In an eadng of

ton we need to onde te le onpuou featue of totellg mu of Gaa Mue atlne and kll a anaate nnoato le n wat t ae alled magalealm. In t tee lttle tat magal n tee eal toeae n te ene ofmagnate etement) we ae dealng atewt an teme ubtlet of tenue te tanmaton of te awtu of ealt een te e odna and ngnant nto a oal

ealt and a ommenta on t. But te e teno of atle nTabla Redonda (Imagen 40, Caaa 969 p. 8 ugget apefeene att onet and ntegt eated out of eal ledepeene oe am-a poltal teong Te meage mutnot ontol te att eaton ate te meanng oneed buggeton Tee an nee be a ueton of emonng

In te e ofGaa Mue own onton tat mu of atn

Amea ue om a m of poltal bankupt e oe n teetoe and te matue ton a on of umble but potent dealmH eoaton of ptual alue n wtng of w unaumng aate ae te beae pat and pael of tatonton e epeed memoabl n pee of aeptane of teNobel Pe n 1 982 tat tee a need ange n oet and n toutlook. In te pate and ommtment to wte well and n teeoaton toug tat wtng of an altenate on of umanondut and of uman and ptual alue e empae andeemple own pat n tat need ange. It oped tat teegong ommenta a elped to pode ome undetandng ofe patal and tenal apet ofGaa Mue ommtment



2

Beware of gift-bearing tales: reading 'BaltazarsProdigious Afternoon according to Marcel Mauss1

E D A R D O G O N Z E Z

Jus se t obstnment refs a fre des prodiges que a fue en et rpour u; e pus grand mrace et t qu nen ft pas; jamas !es os dehstore e de la psychologe populaire neussent subi une pus frtedogation Les mraces deJ sus frent une vioence que ui t son sice, unecocesson que u arracha a ncesst passagre. Auss 'exorciste e ethumaturge sont tombs mais e rfrmateur regieux viva terne-

leent. (Ernest Renan Ve de Jesus)

Speakg of e ma ak of Essai sur le don ( 1 925) , Mael Maua a e ed o a e eeg mome we a oe ad membe ake emooal ok of emelve ad e uao aead oe' . e wake of ee uual ompleeMu wod appea g ad edowed w a kd of aveauo Of paula ee empa o emoo ad

feeg a peeme obje of aal The G Mau ebula ae ofoal beg w wa ga a eemed o beoal ad pe of abea dpla ofee ad wae, paalHe aw e a of gf-eage o oal peeao a a juue me ad pae wee uue ad eve eep ea oe Aa obje of o-ellg e goup becomes beg a u amome oal eal ogae a kairos a a oao oveuled b

ow dloueed Mau aoal aal ee wa a obe

awaee ofavg o be mel eee; e ue abueof oal peomea o ud e oa bu owukl e ll e of e meag mg pe Te defe of deao eae e lluo a e pae de adlluae ae beg eld oage o u w a eeg meaue

of me w wll o aga be aeble o e ae1 7



8 E D U A R D O G O N Z L E Z

and le of Mau eploaon bng m loe o e o-ellean o e emoan o oe een paone of euual ene

Te lang eemplane of Mau pae mg be demonaed b a eadng of Gabel Gaa Mue o ale,alaa Podgou Afenoon , a f wee an oaon akn o ene a Mau aw n gfeange I all oulne a wa ofonung e o a a ble onenng e ogn of e socal a analenang doman. W eee I ope o demonae ow,wou embeddng oe n a paula enooal one, ou

uual knowledge of em bound o eman an emp mal.owee b one I all undeand no o mu e oeal eng n ae e Colomban ounde) a empl lnk eng beween a o and oe nane of enooal leanng w ge genealogal aneeden o a gen ale. Aue wll be wa we mg all e anonal gnane ofoe of naae le) amed a dlong e meanng of peon a

oal beng.Reade of Gaa Mue One Hundred Years ofSoltude wll bemla w e elde Jo Aado Buenda ndne eal n aoel wld epemenaon and elenle nkeng, a e den e pell a on m b Meluade, e Gp Magu InMaondo monng, obje and numen of all knd e ome lumbe wen eaed b e eal of e elde Jo Aadoeome demuge. Te plo of Te Podgou Afenoon nge on amla a of eae en A e o open, poagon, eumble and nae apene Balaa, a ju pen mu ol anddubed leep bulding a bdage H alen a afman aeeeded apen; on oaon e a managed o on aodgou obje, wo of e kll een onl among mae aanf me me.

Balaa le unmaed and ldle, w e leeleaded

Uula pon ompleon, e bdage oon beome e ene ofneang polem Fom e a, ula eluel neeed ne podu a alue, wle on pa alaa eem o ageew e ong ene of po; bu, n e end, a moe oe anbanng a wll ule oe aon Te own lden ae e o gae a eleban of e age beau, bu oon a moeeenl dpoed obee appea Doo Oao Galdo wan o

e e age o nald wfe, a bd loe Galdo podgal pen n eo. pee a one ee an pebol He



Bwa of gft-bag tals Baltaza'

addsss th cag ad though t Baltaza as fstad of bug t hw gagd sllg t to ts ma Galdo's htocal lgactasms th cag to a soptc lluso Mtapho acts h as ad ohomotopc gstu whch shadows th cag's mmttoalt Docto Galdo s th st cuto of ths topsm wh hputs to pla hs g mtomc smpath Th s o d hsas t put bds th cag I t would b ough to hag t th tsso t culd sg b tslf' p 27 Baltaza's cotact wth th cag'ssoac s of a dt sot phaps o a th obct's tactoccupc of spac a m of publc dwllg whch s mat to sst

mtamophc szus h ds th cag's tcacs ad thsoud t wth o dtv oush ofhs wst Th masumtsa call calculatd" h sad potg to th dtcompatmts wth hs g Th h stuc th dom wth hsucs ad th cag lld wth soat cods' p 67 Th cagbcoms a tug whch gsts th soacs of achdvdual's pcpto of t

th d th good docto's ots a thwatd. Accodg toBaltaza th cag has alad b pomsd to Chp Motl's soMotl os th accusd putato of bg Macodo's chma Galdo qubbls to o aval: ca Baltaza pov that th cag smat toupals ad ot oth bds? dd th chld gv hm ablupt to llow Dug th bagag Usula suppots Baltazamovd b h ds to sll th cag to th ch Motl.

t s to b otd also that t s Usula ad ot Baltaza who stmts Motl as th bu wh sh stmats th bst pc whchth ca s ll to commad Th ad mght sums at last twothgs that Baltaza has told h th mplct past of b thsto about th chld's qust o that ld b h commo ss adgood busss pactc sh tas gatd that fBaltaza has ddup buldg such a tavagat cag t had btt b th olpso tow wth th mas to bu t. Th pot s a cucal osc as w a about to s th sto os a mut accout of thol pad b fc socal aas o stac stctldscuv tms th cag ss b th ad's magato lldtal s f smg complct wth th docto's aval o th scs psc bgs b ou s th achvd objct all tscomplt Utl th th cag has std as sh fc asumo dvod of m subsqutl t bcoms a vsual alt as

wll a a dvdual mtal pcptoTh docto's vst stablshs sval thgs st t cs both




sula ad Baltaza to dcla that th sal to Motl has ctlad ta plac whch of cous s ot th cas) scod tudscos th ct that sllg a poduct volvs mo tha th

blt to act th bst possbl pc: socal pstg ad powbg a Motl ad ot a Galdo) mght b stog ctos atg commcal ts tha just th amout of mo chagd;d last but ot last Galdos vst hghts th coct btwma ad us cocg th thg mad ts valu ad cotgtmags Th st paadocal outcom of th stos plot s to bud Galdos odd vcto ov Baltaza th docto's lu to

bta th sal though htocal plos caot match th lastgotago poducd b hs dagoss As a ld ow h stllmaags to pscb th spadg c of wod ov dd ofstabl mtapho ov th psumptv accuac of acto o labouphaps Galdo s dstd to ow ol a walth of wods whchh v-tob-owd objct ls bud th shadows ofhtocsluso)

I a cuous wa whch tsts to th dpth of pactcal wsdomovd to th tal th ma of a mdval exemplum -

aldos dvous attmpt to bu th cag atcpats Motl'ssubsqut sal v to cosd bug t Both m would sm togad th tasacto as somthg of gat mpotac tha asmpl commcal dal Galdos quat lgac ad cug gvwa to Motl's bastl altss No matt how much hs so avsh wll b o dal It s at ths pot that ads ofMausss Themght s Motls sal to hoou hs sos qust as wll as s suspcos ofBaltaza's motvs somthg mo tha just th faf patg wth mo at th whms of a chld

Wth spct to chag ad suoudg th mass ofMotl th ls a aa of tttual podgalt whch thspatcula cas happs to dal wth th ustad gvg adtag of objcts As s wll ow Macl Mauss udstood

ommual gathgs such as th potlatch) as aas whchpmtv goups gagd pologd bouts of gftgvg adtag ud th commo ad cssa blf that a pvasv c a sot of mstc cmt th wods of Mashall Sahls stddg doo ad cpt a c covd ad b th hggv a c whos ow could ot b astd : cvg mat gvg tu to a thd pat ad so ltlssl ad somtms ws

m boud thmslvs though cpoct



Bwa of gft-bag tals: Baltaza 2 1

sg Baltaza Motl mafsts a tact ad advttss of th logc mappd ot The G s chaact bcomsattud pttuall to th owldg of th ctal moal put thb Muss Motl sms awa ofsomthg h sal whch cdsth m oto of a tasacto somthg th od of a cpocalbod mo dpl ootd huma sol tha th ovt chag ofcash objct I oth wods ad l wth Mausss lco t sfa connubium of a lastg dwllg th oth ad of th oth oslf though th c hld what s gv I t s such apphsowhch hauts Motl to bag ths act ofattmptd commercium

O th socal pla h fas th uptu of hach th flg ofbg bhold

Baltaza's cssv ad utl ow ucusd zal mts Motl's dal a ttg ad complmta c Th clash of wllsbg about a shft om mat aas to th old stctu of gftchag: Baltaza's zal ad z whch ma mstfg adav at a aowl alstc lvl) pot bod sllg whl

Motls sal gasps gatvl th g lmt dwllg thobc ts posoous talts ts gavt I am of cous alludgto Muss's us of tmolog to cat hs ow ss of aaltccotaousss: sval laguags cludg Gma g adpoion tad ghboug complct cf Wag's Tritan) I ousto Motl's sal to bu s llowd b Baltaza's gft of th cagto th chld a act mo osv ad thatg to Motl tha

th attmptd sal tslf Ths aga pots to socal uptu. ms of th d to cpocat show b Mauss Motl gtsawa wthout bug bcaus othg l th g latoshp sts Macodo ad ths tslf s valg) . O must s th achacom of smbolc chag as hpothtcal bg th oppost ofcto t wog ot wog ad t b actual t wouldhav swd Motl's sal wth stf But Baltaza's g s asucpocal as Motls o-bug: t shows as th pososhadowd th sal As Motl w wll somthg achacad pottall thatg lud bath th bla mo of thcapt's c.

hav td to show that ou udstadg of th mtg btwMotl ad Baltaza s hghtd wh mgd wth th ttualcotgcs actvatd b The G. I would also agu that whMaus tpts th act o sttuto of gft-chag h s dalg

wth h phomo of hghtg tslf oth wods h s




dalg wth th poblm of whth o ot a occaso ca v aswh socal phoma mght b gaspd at a hghtd ptch aoccaso at oc so sgula ad gal as to amout to a total socal

dd. Wthout such hghtg of commual pupos thstuctualst pojct could ot mt ts pop objct of stud aobjct both dsct ad uvsal. Nothg ou opo wtsMauss s mo ugt o pomsg tha sach to total" socalphoma; addg that

the advantage s twold Frstly there s an advantage in generalty, r ctsof wdespread occurrence are more lkely to be universal than local

institutions or themes, whch are invarably tnged wth local colour Butpartcularly the advantage is in realism We see social cts in the round, asthey really are In socety there are not merely ideas and rules but also menand groups and ther behaviours We see them n moton as an engineer seesmasses and systems or as we observe octopuses and anemone in the sea Wesee groups o men and actve rces submerged in ther envronment andsentments (Mauss p. 78)

Ths wods should pla how th sttuto of gftchag

bcam th augual stuctualst costuct. vStauss ss The as such a bgg wh hs toducto to th ma wtgsof Mauss h calls pcg th t gamut of motos upoadg th ssa th st tm compag hs pc wthMalbach's vocato ofhs st adg ofDscats a thumpghat th had bolg oth wods a total szu om ths wma gath that pots ad stotlls a ot th ol catos uldb th jublat but also aous dscov of th powlpdcssos

Mausss mphass o th possblt of tascbg flgs ad ofmovg bod das ad uls casts hm a hoc ol gv thductv ad ad chaact of much of what owadas s od as asmotc accout of socal acto At a at h ams at a totalgathg of socal mas flgs ad maggs hld omatvcoct Such a total costuct achvs both ts tgt ad logc b

opposg placg o holdg at ba oth quall compassgad qutl lthal domas. th cas of The th advsatus out to b wa tslf. ust as gftchag must bcom total od to pvt stf Mausss costucto of t must also achvaaltcal tgt ad wholss f t s to stm chaos adadomss th alm ofathopologcal aalss As th Amcaathopologst Mashall Sahls has so lgatl dmostatd The

shows th savag stat of costat wa agast wa



Bwa of gftbag tals Baltaza

amoutg to a w vso of th dalogu btw chaos adcovt'

ust as th athopologst ducs adomss th v act ofsumsg how th savag stms wa though th battl of th gftsBaltaza dats Galdo but ol aft th docto cts b hsv s a alad odd ad podgous cag wappd a vl ofwods Thus th plot of th sto ulds as a ss of polmcs tmas tslf o thus s ou lluso as ads out of a pmal goudof cpocal cotgcs I am mdd of Paul Rcoushtocal clamato wh cootg th gut of th

stuctalst who l th Agoauts bulds hs vssl as h sals o tNow sas Rcou ths s qut a stag bad of mtato whchcompss ad costucts th v thg t mtats!

Ev ctcs ot cocd wth Macl Mauss hav adBaltaas Podgous Aftoo tms of latt wa ThPuva ovlst Mao Vagas Llosa spas of th wa whchcat dvsos ctoal alt ad of th pmodal stuggl

whch actv at th hat of th sto tascds a aowl ddsoco-coomc udstadg of ts cdts ollowg ths otoof stuggl o could s how Baltaza pvals hs mtg wthDocto Galdo ol at th lvl ofalt h maags to psv thcag Motl's chld) whl bg bstd at th lvl of mtamophc o gua valu: th docto pscbs oms of udstadgwhch tascd th mmdat th pactcal ad ugtl usl ust

as Baltaza dd wh catg th cag all ts sumptuousss bh cam to th busss of havg to sll t I hs mtg wthMotl howv Baltaza dvats to tascdt sgcac cogzs ad szs upo th podg of th cag that s th gfth dfats mass Motl ad as a sult h gags u ssud of th cag sms to b at oc dculous ad magctTh ad s ft wth a hghtd ss of th coctg maghld abac b th oto ofpodgalt mbddd th ttl Isto b podgal to b clss wastl ad v dotc o s t phapsto cs th oblst of huma talts? Aswg ths qustovolvs addssg th compl ssu of th chstologcal aspct ofBaltazas gu boachd m pgaph placg mphass o ththolocal ad sttal hatus that spaats Jesus om Christ.

Baltza wll ma oblvous to cta mtaphoc gas Istadofpocamg hs tumph b basg t o th pstg ofgvg gfts to

th chld of th ch thus acowldgg hs lu to sll ad to



E D U A R D O G O N Z L E Z

pot) h will accpt hs ow umous llows hostig thm whilig acclaimd dfatig Motil's mass though a salThaumatugic gosit ad its mbaassmt of smbolic ichs

s thus dfatd b a dit sot of mtamophic css As suchBaltaa's ight ito th alms of mtapho is iatioa It is so atast i a tipl ss h pas th clbatio of his ow hoicswith mo om a sal that v tas plac ot havig such mo lavs his watch at th saloo as to offutu pamt to b madwith wags ot as t ad ad oc du h dams of buildigthousads ofcags uti bcomig a millioai O might as ifsuch

atio could ot b somthig mat to impl th ihtctioalit of both mota ad psoal valus somthig thattas th ill-bgott pows put ito ths tos i od toabstact om sh toil ad thig thi spcic talts thi coctmods of big W hav h a allgo of aliatio: could it bthat ous is li th of thigs which bcom commoditis adth tos of chag Baltaa's t tlls us about fligs

about tims livd ad flt tim ow i th dd but it tlls us aboutall of it bcomig i th log u ot a m of big but o ofhavig b ofhavig to lag bhid ouslvs lgthig th hiatusof ou ow lif told as a tal ofdispossssio Th allgoical dift of thdividual towads abstactio ad aliatio just stchd amoutsto a mov o th pat o both plot ad chaact ito th latt almof political coom ad awa om a oth mods of chag adsmbolic valu

a-Pi Vat has dscibd th status of atisas i acitGc i ptit tms Woig ud a sstm of valus whichaisd th us of poducts ov thi maig atisas mad ojctswhos woth dpdd o th dsigs of thi itdd uss Thmodls povidd b th latt w th os which uld ov thpoducts sigicac ad social plac M actd ol wh thusd ad ot wh th mad thigs th stood o accout of

this igig idal ol wh th actd as uss ad ot as mas Ict accodig to Vat maig was did th philosophicalstatus of big a actio But such had ot alwas b th cas Iachaic tims b th owig ofthpolis, th w thaumaturgoio wadig mas shoudd i dmoic pstig Ths mgagd i maig mavllous thaumata o agalmata, objcts assumptuous i thi iticacis as th w uslss which ths

magicias displad b thi audics Buildig such captivatig



Bwa of gft-bag tals: Baltaza'

dvs std o th cult dmugc as wll as a adcal sspotc to sz th ght occaso th kairos o pgat momth th mas labous stood th bst chac of achvg thhthms lg thm wth th c ad valus latt matt. Itshoud b cla that th sam pcpl of sumptuous css adpodgalt dscd b Mauss s at wo h th at of ththaumatugus

Baltaz too scbs hs actos as ma wth a smla domaof valus although hs cas th spllbdg uslssss of th cagpovs phmal. s casg lu to sst th coachmt of

th cotdg ms ofus valu whch oths would mpos upo thcag quals hs ow dft as costat as hs hatbat towads thpoltcs of coomcs ad th coomcs of poltcs It sms that ths th od of thgs a cug sot of cpoct whch pas thtbut ofaw b th thg mad ol to chag t mmdatl th appopato ofus valu. Nothg ofvalu ca st omtwo mpoal mods rst th o whch valu s ud ad scod

th whch mas h obct's t as chagabl valu as tbcoms cuc

Ths tmpoal dft chaactzs th stctus of poltcal coom I hs Le miroir de la prodution Pas 973 a Baudlladagus vou of gadg poltcal coom as a catgo stwth th Wst Euopa ad b tso captalst udstadg of poducto gos o to thoz that th Maa

ctu ofcoomc mods cs th basc cocpts of poductowhh t atmpts to dmstf bg a tso of th v sstmof poltcal coom that t sts out to subvt I hs vw th sstmsof smbolc chag that chaactz achac o savag socts ofth sot tatd b Mauss a ot coomc I vwg thm as suchMast ad oth thos of poducto pm a act of cogtvmpalsm Rgadlss of th valdt of Baudllad's thss thalm of pu coomcs I would l to udl ts lvac to

pactcal ctcsm to subct lta ctos to smotc tascptomght sult a smla act of mpal appopato Wthoutcssal havg to u to a subctvst o motoalst appoachto la valus o that matt wthout tug ltatu toth tal savag wth ou mdst o mght sach mods ofudstadg mo smpath wth that aspct oflta ctoswhh mas a wawad act a gstu ot haustd b bg

ctd th atomsc mo of smotc agos




I ow tu to Baltazas Podgous Aftoo to suggst that thsto ssts coomc closu. o ampl th a th womUsula s a Plop who awats ad ps tm slcg oos ad

who l h amsa Usula Igua om One Hundred Years fSolitude, jos ach sgl da wth th t to m a duablmasu oflf. Th s Galdos wf th gmatc vald om thshot ovl I Evl ou alwas slt bdl h glddsolato all th s Motls w who s btt ow to us asth wdow ofMotl s Wdow ad whos ol momt of gaclacquatac wth lf sms to hav b h wlcomg of Baltaza

to th hous ad h dlght at th cag so who s dsmssd bmost ctcs as a spolt bat cds such a mo ol bg phapstwc a opha: opha to Motls callousss ad to Baltazaschldlss podgalt Btw chld ad cag th s a taspatat th chld jumpd up mbacd th cag whch was almostas bg as h was ad stood loog at Baltaza though th wwowthout owg what to sa p 75 Both chld ad cag a

cotstd objcts two mas of dsowmt th cag ts joousmptss as th vashg pot of th tals allgos th chld as thhto of th blssgs though whch hs dual ophahood twcds hm th chac of bcomg podgal

Bsds ths stacs ofchaactzato t s stuctv t o cuso t two mtgs btw Baltaza Galdo ad Motl to thplot upo a gv st a maga pot tm ad spac lagough to compass th ma dplomt of th acto ad t smallough to allow cohc pocug a ctal bl that ofpassg om flg ad ds to smbol ad ultmatl toabstacto Galdo s s as dagostca of Baltazas pdcamt og th a pscpto o a cu hs casgsolato Matchg Galdos loquc wth som boowd jagoI would call Baltaza a steresiac I oth wods h mght b sad tosu om blatdss h lags bhd th cts ofhs ow wllss

ad caft vbatg to th tu that somo ls plas wth hscato B hstss I do ot ma a pschologcal malad butath a uptu of tmpoal ad smatc mmdac tag ctbtw pso ad suoudgs a acut stat of otologcaldsplacmt wth spct to lf habts ad commo valusBaltazas Podgous Aftoo s mblmatc of hs llg toltatu of th lad dsclosu whch hghts hs bg as a

acto op to adg Ol as such could ths fw hous b at



Bwa of gi-baig tals Baltaa' 2 7

oc catastophic and blissl Th plot that blls Baltaa movshim om his social cadl om th cotivd spac ad tim whichhis caft cavs out

If h is a to oflitatu i th tal o a citical poit whthis pculial mod aictio is bst gistd it might b ud ith potagoists sistac to stuctu Fo all that w ow wh atth d Baltaa lis b th wasid i dathli slp Th womwho assd o thi wa to v-ocloc Mass didt da loo at himthiig h was dad' h might b joig that obitatcodtio of abjctss which Gogs Bataill placs as th uassail

abl alm of maig ow as th heterogeneous.4 With Baltaa wobta ith th sidual oddit lft bhid b a ho ofvda toilo jut a patit awaitig som disciplia judgmt of his ills

I jutaposig Gaca Mqu's sto ad Macl Mauss's ssa Ihav tid to outli what should b gadd as a basic stuctualistplo ofwhich The G is a smial ampl It cosists of astig thu of social phoma at a vitual poit i tim o at a momt of

pottial cisis wh sstms of blif as wll as pactics ca bgaspd i dualistic cootatio Wh th thics of stuctualisma imagid it bcoms appat how phaps om gl thmthod has ivaiabl tid to ba such dual cootatios bmas ofgatig a thid alm ofsthtic solutios This moalbl is a psistt o i th histo of stuctualist discousbgig with th isolubl ad cisis-lad bod of sigi/

sigid o Smbolic/Imagia as i aca cotiuig with thmast split Natu/Cultu plus its dlss divatios ad gathig a vgowig lico of polaitis th mthod mais poisdo th li which must spaat smigl ali ad t cipocalsphs i d of mditatio

I av tid to suggst that both ssa ad tal hight us thpi of passig om adomss to cultu doig so though a sot oftasactioal cadc Th givig ad taig ofgifts libatd cultu

om what Mauss saw i li with oth Fch moalists as a butishad sagat coditio But i so doig h altd th viws ofclassicalcotact thois b dmostatig that chaos had ot pcddcommowalth that b civiliatio cocio had ot b thpic ofod such is th cas mad b Mashall Sahlis Similalth tl hlpd us stablish a miimum cocit of sociabilit iMacdo's lif I both ssa ad tal cultu swigs pcaiousl

btw cootatio its iss ad th dispsal of gis Cultu




s agl macd b coupto ad dstust but The G t stllmas om th c of th bod poltc Gaca Mqu tllsth sto ofMacodo as a stuggl to ma cpocal o to blv

th al gacs of th oth to wlcom th g of hs aval thussustag what Mlvll calls Moby-Dik th Sams coowth a plualt of oth motals' Soo o lat howv socalaas wll ba awa om th g's closu Macodo wll volvom Ed-l hamlt to boom tow to ghostl u Th gpsMlquads's al ogs thos mavllous tos whch osAcad chagd to th pot of madss bcom th d th Boo

tsl th o gftd occuc whch som chaacts wll hav touavl mag of th ow lvs a ttg tu ts mut scpt

If as Gad Gtt has sad stuctualsm vws laguag as apocss of oabl dgadato of th smbol to th sg thtas of gfts os us o o th alst stacs o such a dt Foachac smbolc chag compasss a stuggl a pugna whsmbol ad thg mt as th m s bg sttutoall bo But

b th motvatd chaact of th smbol wth spct to thatwhch t mbods gvs wa to th umotvatd ad abta sg apo svac wll hav occud th thg would hav bdsgatd o amd all pcptv mmdac btw psos adwold havg thus b bo a passag whch stuctualsm caadop o smpl assum but could ot dscb wthout gog bodts ow pstmologcal stctus Th tal bgs us clos to thspmal scao tha dos th ssa sc Mauss g-chagmust amout to at last a udmta sttuto whl GacaMqu's tt th bdcag would cd all stabl lgustcdsgatos bg th a uamabl aspct of thghood o agato of th most tavagat ots to dscb t

Th thotcal poccupatos ofacqus aca tll us how closgft-gvg was to th alst vstgs of smbolc pactc ow tohumas Symbol, o what mght cospod to ou oto of t

dsgats sval laguags bod' tcous' twstgtogth' ottg' ad achac G a cotbuto to acommo mal o fast' I paalll tms Vladm Popp ss thogs of ltals as a aatv dtachmt om tual whch asto s cast o om a cmo wh a obct o amult pad thctal ol of bg tasfd to sto th obct was vtualllost o smpl placd b a uclusplot dalg wth th sach t



Beware of gft-bearng tales: Baltazar 29

an reovery (a ttng fhstorally ubous geness r stores suhas Baltazars Progous Afternoon

owever, what seems at stake here s not hstory as suh, but ratherastng our knowlege of ble-makng n terms of taletellng tsel aprojet whh leas to the nostalg sense of havng lost ontat wthobjets whose makng an rtual possesson the stores uphol nmemory Walter Benjamn also left us a ble of the story-tellers raftan o ts magne hstoral orgns The narratve elements of hswell-known essay heghten the loss an eventual reovery of an objetwhh remans at the heart of the tales orgn Thus at one pont n hs

essay Benjamn speaks ofhow traes ofthe storyteller lng to the storythe wy the hanprnts of the potter lng to the lay vessel For hmthe teller of tales ventures nto the epths of nanmate nature'(p 207 a themat threa whh gans n promnene as the essay

·nears he en, nng perhaps emblemat resoluton n hs retellng ofJohann Peter ebels story where a woul-be bre reovers therystallze boy of her eease betrothe after years of bural at the

bottom of a mnng shaft, an outome that lens to the human rm,reovre n jewel-lke perfeton, the status of an objet at oneprstne an entve, lke those whh the art ofthe storyteller s sato seek

Th ethnograph reors voure by Laan bear antes wththe vws of Propp an Benjamn In them thought, aton ansourse beome avalable to the arha mentalty as etraneous

atons an support of gfts rulate n rtual What soursereplaes an supplements nto eventual oblteraton s a touhstonelke objet whh, n an even more prmoral sense beomes a ste-ofstes, lngng-to-plae, a holng-st-plae, a wellng plae nnee ofbeng rent or ast asuner om tself Though struturalsmmust lave suh prmal grouns n haste, searhng r other, morestrutrable terms, reaers of lterature may rese suh ght ntoabstraton, holng st to the engmat gft-objet

To onlue, the mergng of g-bearng tale an essay suggeststhat, n what s lkely to prove the most enurng aspet ofstrutralsm, there s at work a gran ble whh narrates theuntunng of savage harmones an tells us how there use to be anatve embeng of the nvual n hs ommunal an naturalenvronments These harmones the rtunate enthnographer mghtarrest an transrbe bere they e out r ever What lterature




might have to oer in answer to suh a stern nostalgia r a bygoneintegrity o thought, ation an setting is its own problemati sense ostruture Problemati beause, in spite o some reent itial eorts,

objet/tets suh as Baltazars Proigious Aternoon' have a strutural harater whih might be at best ubious an at worst trivialCritis bent on struturing (an even some trying to emulateeonstrutions) o not seem to have learne the lesson onveye inreent tion by writers as ierent as Carlos Fuentes, Manuel Puig,Thomas Pynhon, Mihael Tournier an, o ourse, GaraMrquez For them, semiotiians oliterary tions woul seem to be

engage in a rather ponerous removal o the Emperors new lothesLast but not least, these novelists themselves remain as muhonnoisseurs o ranomness as they are ountereiters ealing instrutures

It is in grasping the strutural ontingeny an eess o literarytions as well as o hermeneutial strategies, an not in reeployingthem struturally, that the beginning o the ritial task lies In this

sense, to rea a tale by means oan essay may be unerstoo as a tivean allegorial retelling aime at islosing the grouns o theinterpreter's hoies an ploys Here the reaer is aught in the neeto answer an always unllle all r reiproity embee in theble itsel

Notes

This is a revised version of an article which appeared in Mode Language Notes 97

1 98) , 474 Marcel Mauss The G Forms and Functions f Exchange in Archaic Societies

translated by Ian Cunnison New York 97) pp 77-8. All quotations comeom this edition.

La prodigiosa tarde de Baltazar Penguin Parallel Texts Spanish Short StoriesII Harmondsworth, 97) pp 77

4 In the prece to the English version ofhis Lapolice des amiles Jacques Donzelotgives a new twist to the social viewing it as the strange aquarium that has becomein a brief perod of time, the reality principle of our societies I shall llow

Donzelot in regarding the social as the implied and taken r granted mode ofcohesiveness which grounds the discursive knowledge of the social itsel making ofit an insulating and alienating domain What is thus abstracted is not theindividual as much as his or he concrete needs and conictive moral and politicalaims

5 The nuances of signication are not readiy perceived in the most sustainedanalysis ofLa prodigiosa tarde that I have come across David William FostersGarca Mrquez and the criture of Complicity La prodigosa tarde deBaltazar" Studies in the Contempora Spanish-American Short Sto Columbia &London, 1979) pp 94



Beware f g-bearng tales: Baltazar

6 lde LviStr Introdction a !oevre de Mrcel M, in Mrcel, Sociologie et anthropologie (Pri, 1950) p. xxxiii he ll e red Pede eronne ont lire I'Essai sur le donn reentir tote l mme de motion

bien dcrite r Mlebrnche vont remire lectre de Decrte lecer bttnt, l tte boillonnnte et !erit envhi dne certitde encoreidnible mi imriee diter a n vnement dciif de voltionientie

7 See he Sirit of the Gift, in Stone Age Economics (Chico, 972) 149-838 Qoted by Cliord Geertz in hi Negara. The Theatre State in NineteenthCentu Bali

( rinceton, NJ, 1980), . 1 2 , n ndertkin whoe imortnce tdy ofmbolic ytem in their hitoricl ettin the literry critic hold not inore

9 rio Vr Llo, Gabriel Garca Mrque; historia de un deicidio (Crc, 97 1 ) 372-9 ie l err e divide l relidd ctici

1 o J nPierre Vernnt, Aect ycholoie d trvil n l Grce nciennei Mythe et pense che les res (Pri 19 7 1 ) 37-67.

1 1 rnlted nd introdced by Mrk Poter The Mirror oProduction (St Loi,175

12 Beide imlyin the menin ofprodigalidad lredy diced, the lot extendte echoe ofprodigiosa t let lon two more line 1 prodigio (prodi, the ceer berrnt exceive nd lo (prodi: pro-agium thin id, OED) te object om which omen nd ronotic tternce ie; nd 2 pr6digo1rodigal wht rce i Bltzr eventl retrn to Url nd to everydy

time bt beyond thi, there remin ymthetic nity between the ce ndontiel on, which crete trinlr reltionhi (c of oible redincordin to Lcn notion of the nom de pre) whoe two other oint wold berked by Montiel brren withdrwl of ternl blein nd Bltzrrtile rtin ift, which eem to tnd in lce of hi own lck of children nd inrticlr, on. At thi level, the tle wold llde to the contrctlcertintie of mle decent nd their ttendnt cltrl retie, thi bein theme deeeted theme which bind ll mle inheritor nd mker of the Book (ofte overein cltrl obect) in One Hundred Years o Solitude

1 3 I borrow the term it i bndntly lied by Pierre Bordie throhot hi

Outline a Theo oPractice (Cmbride niverity Pre, 1 97 7) , 63-, 8 8;e lo index entry nder habitus 234.

Michel i h rovided irited ccont ofrroot reitnce onte rt of ome Colombin rrin worker int the hbit nd vleerced on them by mrket economic. See the rt rt of The Devil andommodi Fetishism in South America (Chel Hill, NC 980) , 31 39 Althoh1 i interrettion ttemt to incororte into Mrxit theory the rcticeof thee ent worker, hi deeer ndertndin of them tend to conrmBdrillrd critie of the imiltion of rchic or micl concetion of

echne into the ttern of oliticl economy i i lo ood exmleof how to enetrte beyond the lientin cteory of the social decribed byDonzelot

14 he ll intenity ofBtille view on htrognit cn be red in the doier ofhi olemic with Andr Breton In lce of comlete mmry of the concethich cnnot be ttemted here, it miht be enoh to y tht the heterogeneousme deree of bein which ociety mt kee t by in order to nction,hvin recore to them in deected or medited hion Althoh it involveht Elide wold cll the Sacred the heterogeneous remin in mny of itnifettion relm of erthly immnence hrborin rce which rne omtoe mnifeted in dim to the one which chrcterize reliio ecty he




heteogeneous occpies the edges of commnity, or those regions viewed by Victorrner as liminal, althogh Bataille places a heavy emphasis on the degree ofpolltion present in these rces Contact with sch ealities is saly obtainedthrogh orgiastic excess, of which the potlatch itself is a prominent instance. Alsothe dynamics ofscapegoating are very mch in evidence at the heart ofthis realm,wth the presence in it ofmasses of miserable beings and their repellent objects, allvictims of conering abse One might also see in these manifestations of theabject a stats of extreme rlornness not nlike Drkheim's anomie which in thepper reaches of literary discorse wold show rth as melancholy's teminalprestige I have had access to this phase ofBa taille' s work throgh the anthology inSpanish selected by Mario Vargas Llosa: Geoges Bataille Obas escogidasBacelona, 974), pp 2408, and also throgh La pat maudite Pars, 197)

15 See the notes contribted by Anthony Wilden to Lacans The Language the

Se The Function f Language in Pchoanasis Baltimore, Md, 198),pp I 1821 .

1 Vladimr Propp, Lasceshisticasdel cuento Madrid, 1 974) , pp. 52-5 A strongcritie ofPropp's theories regarding the origins of lktales can be nd in DavidE Bynm's TheDeamon inthe Wood Cambridge, Mass, 1 979) See in particlar itsrth chapter, The Rital Phallacy', pp 149-254 One shold add, however,that in reting Propp's accont, Bynm reinrces the notion of there being aprimal link between storytelling and a given object, in this case throgh thecontact between the hewer of wood and the two trees which this character

cononts see Inter Dos Arbores', pp 8514.1 7 Walter Benjamin, he Storyteller Reexions on the Works of Nikolai Leskov',Illuminations New York, 198), pp. 89.

18 Compare the accont of this primal site in Wilden ed ) , Lacans ' The Language fSe pp 1 201 which belongs to a desciptive genealogy whose most illstriosancestor is Marice Leenhardt's sperb Do Kamo La pesonne et le mythe dans le mondemeansien Paris, 1947), particlarly the ninth chapter, La parole', pp 14-8



3

The body as politica instrument:

communication in No One Writes to the Colonel

R E N P R I E T O

as a work of tion ever been as spuriously transparent as No One

Writes to the Colone!1 Crisp an iret to the point ofbeing laoni thistale of a retire olonel who waits away his life ying of hunger r apenion whih never omes oul well be just what it seems annothing more: a brilliantly terse initment of soial injustie in LatinAmeria Certainly in 1 96 when it was rst publishe the story wasseen in this light whih is to say that it was rea on its mostunmistakable level. More reently ritis suh as Peter Earle anGraiela Maturo have uly note the omple network of symbolswhih sustain the main theme ofGara Mrquezs novella reognizing one an r all how this author always elivers more than mereappearanes Earle r one notes at least three features instrumentalto our unerstaning ofNo One Writes to the Colonel: 1 ) the novella has a

musial struture programme on the basis of two voies isouragement an illusion 2) there is a ialeti between esire an eathhoue within the persona of the protagonist; an 3 the rooster prizepossession of the olonels slaughtere son must be seen as an allegoryof vigilane an resurretion .3 Maturos onerns are of a morereliious nature she views the hronologial evelopment in the lightof the Christian liturgial alenar The ation starting aroun the

tim of the Otober equino onlues at Christmas an suggests tothis riti the spiritual regeneration of man .4

What these reaings both share an bring to our unerstaning ofGara Mrquezs novella is rst the importane of the theme ofrenwal seonly the t that the story is a rite of passage uringwhih the olonel ees himself om the oppression an sense ofisouragement whih typify him at the onset an thirly the notion

tha in Earles own wors we must speak in terms of an apparent33



I

'H R E N E P R I E T O

impliity when we reer to Gara Mruez' mot elebrate hortwork. Apparent beaue, even when the entene are lippe anhe ynta plain, No One Writes to the Colonel ha the imple' ompleity

o a gothi atheral the truture i iipline, almot evere, buthe reult i labyrinthine iwe peak in term o the omple layeringwhih pell out the meage. Fortunately, all labyrinth have a entren No One Writes to the Colonel i no eeption Not urpriingly, airet path to it i uggete by Mario Varga Lloa in hi monographn Gara Mruez, Historia de un deicidio.6

In thi tuy Varga Lloa unerore the importane o the

emon or obeion whih appear an reappear onverte inheme in all work o tion. Something about hi remark,rthright though it i, athe the attention. Criti approahing No

One Writes to the Colonel have onerne themelve with the net reult Varga Lloa' euation the theme intea o iretly tappinghe wellpring. It i unuetionable that the ghting ok, an thain, an ertain number are namental to the evelopment o thi

ovella They are piee o the narrative puzzle but not, a r a I anee, a entral obeion om whih the entire themati evelopmentmerge. An yet, uh an obeion i preent. Reunane anbvioune o muh to amouage it, it i true, but houl in no wayetrat om the t that a onern with eating ntion i the matriNo One Writes to the Colonel. To emontrate the entrality o thiheme, I propoe to tart om the beginning, with an overview o thearrative evelopment I will then u on the role o o an tuyit ramiation in the tion bere iuing the emanti ontentn the three-tier tehniue o Gara Mruez otenibly impler hi teture.

The ation o No One Writes to the Colonel begin on a morning inOtober an en on a Sunay in eember, late at night. Theprotagonit are a 75yearol man an hi wie e i a reamer, aninveterate optimit; he, a woman o a naturally har harater,

arene even more by rty year o bitterne' (p I O They arenable to make en meet, having waite r over teen year r awar penion whih the man, a retire olonel, houl have reeive ineognition o hi ervie. They have no money let, no proviion ano guarantee r the ture Their on, Agutn, wa hot nine monthpreviou to the beginning o the ation r itributing lanetinepolitial literature at the okght. i legay to hi parent i hi

ghting ok, a ure winner at the ght heule r January. The



Communaton n No One Write to the Colonel 35

problm s that, havng no resoures, the ouple wll have to hoosebetween feeng t or feeng themselves

Th ay an the aton begn smultaneously when the oloneltakes the l o the oee an an reales that there was only oneteasponl le (p 7 e throws half of the bolng water own theran an srapes the nse of the an wth a kn, to get at the lastoee grouns me together wth rust om the an (p 7 Thsntal oupaton, not to say preoupaton, wth o an rnk, sonly te rst of many n the story an, some mght argue, oul well bea reton of the t that Gara Mrue wrote No One Write to the

Colonel whle lvng n Pars on a shoestrng buget Real hunger wllunoubtely re the han ofan author, but menton ofeatng n thsnstae s no mere onene Foo, onsumng t an shargngt, bung t, preparng t or resng t, s n t Theseuss threa tounraellng the protagonsts knotte evoluton an graspng theotherse problematal outome of Gara Mruezs novella.

fwe onern ourselves elusvely wth the three members of the

man househol the olonel, hs wfe an the ghtng ok we anount twenty-ur nstanes of eatng an rnkng n the 1 06-pageslong blotea ra eton ofNo One Write to the Colonel.9 In an oftself, om a rtal perspetve, suh nsstene oul a up to nomore than a mere aton What makes the referenes to eatng anrnkng so revealng s that, untl the last of seven setons, an wthonly one eepton, all menton of o an rnk brngs rth,mmeately llowng, a referene to eath Clearly, t s not possblewth the amework of ths artle to uote all of these nstanesNevetheless, a few eamples wll sue to onvne the reaer thatthe systemat assoaton between onsumpton an eath n the rsts setons of the novella s r om gratutous

To begn wth, n the rst sene, when the olonel s watng r theoee to brew, he eperene the sensaton that posonous mushroom an lles were growng n hs bowels (p 7 . Soon aer, when

hs we, prostrate n be after an asthma attak, rnks the last sp ofoee left n the house, the omnsent narrator elares at thatmomnt the bells began to toll The olonel ha rgotten the bural 8 ) . ven as hs wfe nshes rnkng, she was stll thnkngabou the ea man (p. 8. Later n the aton, she reovers herproverbal pluk an es a stew by bolng together all the eblethng that tropal lans are apable of proung (p. 2 7 As they

are aout to nsh ther meal, ther otor pushes the oor open an



REN PR IETO

ris out: ar all th sik a?" (p 28 Th olonl answrs himalong th sam morbi lins So it sms otor . . I v always saithat your wath kps tim with th buzzars" (p 28 . An his wif

nvr on to stay silnt vlops hr husbans thm: On of thsays I ll i an I ll tak you to hll otor" (p 29 In thmantim howvr sh ors him a up ofo whih h turns ownwith rvaling irony No thank you vry muh . I absolutlyny you th opportunity of poisoning m" (p . 29 . uring ytanothr mal prpar by borrowing som orn om th roostrsprovisions th olonl mournlly rts I am thinking about th

mploy rsponsibl r my pnsion Fifty yars om now w willb rsting in pa unrgroun whil that poor man will b in agonyvry Friay as h waits r his own pnsion" ' (p. 66) . Th llowingay as thy nish up th rst ofth orn stw it is th wifs turn to flsponnt: I am thinking" sh says out of th blu that thman is a going on two months an I havnt gvn my rgrts yt" (p 68 Th a man turns out to b th sam on r whom th bll

tolls at th bginning of th story his boy onvnintly ragg outas th topi of o turns up on again This topi is taint withath morovr whthr provisions ar availabl or not an it isallu to both mtaphorially w ar ying of hungr" (p 8 1 or as in th prviously quot ampls tually within th tion

Rlntlss obsssiv an systmati th assoiation btwnonsumption an ath rahs a lima at th n of part si in an whih ntions as th turning point of th novlla. Th olonlgos to th pool hall on Sunay vning A in ofhis sons slips him aht of lanstin politial propagana. Th olonl pokts it analmost immiatly aftr th musi stops It is a poli rai an halizs that lik his son Agustn h is aught r-han To bootth man onuting th rai th vry on who shot his son is nowing him his ri pointing right into his stomah (p 89 . Th mantars at him unblinkingly whil th olonl fls swallow by thos

ys mash igst an immiatly pll (p. 89 Signiantly howvr th murrr lts him walk out of th tight spot withth wors: Go aha olonl" (p 88 Mor signiantly still tht an nal stion of th novlla immiatly llowing th snn whih th hro is mtaphorially swallow an pll opnswith a omplt rvrsal of all prvious prmiss. Si of th svntions tak pla uring th humi Colombian wintr or rainy

ason Th svnth unls at th bginning of th spring-lik ry



Communiation in No One Writes to the Colonel 37

seasn: He in't have to open the winow to ientify eember(p 90 To say that the overall tone of the novella hangesramatially after this point woul be an unerstatement arlier inthe ation man an nature were hopelessly sik unremittingly rearywheeas the brave new worl of setion seven glistens with newnessAll f a suen the bakyar is a patio maravilloso' (p 90 invitingthe olonel to set out r the quay as usual on Friays to wait r themail boat Instea of stepping out into the rain as on previousoasions however hs walk beomes a proigious moment mae ofa larity not yet trie out' (p 92) an the olonel taking his ue om

newege surrounings feels risp an lean as if mae out ofglass'(p 2

The pain of waiting is over even if waiting itself is not The lettermay still not ome but hope is in the air In keeping with the stivemoo the irus arrives the rst to ome in ten years' (p 93 anushers in with a typially arnivalesque sense of inversion thetranposition of all previous onventions The sun begins to shine the

sik man heals The relationship of the entral ouple evolves inunison He heretore unertain starts eember ll of mettle justlike the ghting ok whih his wife is so aamant about sellingurng an argument on the subjet he isovers with no astonishment that she awakens neither ompassion nor remorse in him'(p 7 an with unthomable kinness proees to inrm her that The ghting ok is not r sale" ' (p 98 Their relationship

evolves not only in what they say to eah other but more importantlyin the manner in whih they say it p until the spring setion the wifetypially resorts to the imperative voie when aressing her husbanan tens to treat him like a hil: Those shoes are reay to bethrown out" ' she tells him in setion two go on wearing the patentleather boots" ' (p 20) . Later wrangling over their most typial boneof ontention she orers him thus: ou get ri of that roosterimmeiately" ' (p 52 an on a ierent subjet ou take him thelok right away you put it on the table an you tell him: Alvaro I ambringing you this here lok" ' (p 54 Aamantly emaningmoey she nally inrms her husban on't you ome bak herewithout the rty ollars" ' (p 55 The olonel's aw is not merely (inthe wors of his wife that he laks harater' (p 79 but that inkeeping with the inversions whih typify relationships in No One Writesto th Colonel, he is often reue to the status of a hil while she the

voie of authority behaves like his parent The olonel's inntile



REN PR IETO

bhaviour is strongly suggst uring ur irnt sns Th rsttaks pla at th post o whn th hro turns towar his in thotor with an ntirly hilish look p 23 soon aftr in a

isussion about politis h physiian rmins him ont bnaiv oon w ar aray too o to b waiting r thMssiah (p . 24) Finally muh latr in th ation whn thisgruntl olonl tlls his in If I wr twnty yars youngrthings woul b irnt h is rmin somwhat ryptiallythat h will always b twnty yars youngr (pp 834) Bingss ovr parntally by his own wif rthr rinrs th thm of

th ol mans hilishnss Not only os sh irt an sol himthroughout sh nhans his protrat boyishnss whnvr possibl as r ampl by taking twnty yars o [his] bak (p 35) whnutting his hair an prsuaing him to kp on waring what to himankly look lik orphans shos (p 20) Whn h murs sh isuik to rsh his mmory with th t that thy ar in orphans of thir son (p 2 1 )

Th rol ofhil is suprs in th last stion howvr whr inaition th wifs us of th imprativ to arss hr husban issubstitut in th Spanish tt r a sris of nonassrtivintrrogativs whih lly ualify hr nw station in th novlla anntion as ils introuing th olonls thrustl nw ton

1 ' "And f he doesnt come?, asked the woman"He will come. (p. 98)

2 She "And f they dont understand?He: "Then they dont. (p. 99)

3 She:' "And if it doesnt arrive?He " It wi arrive. (p o1 0

But th sris of arnivalsu invrsions in part svn os not nhr Th rfrns to o in this stion r on ar assoiat withath in th as of th wifs isours lusivly nvr that of thhusban uring lunh priv of hr authority sh inrms him

ou shoul raliz that I am ying that what I sur om is not aisas but an agony (p 1 02 ) An latr that vning aftrmumbling prayrs in b th original vrsion has rvalinglyhwing hr prayrs masti oraions (p 1 02) sh omplains I ont want to i in th ark (p 1 03 Thr is on othrsigniant hang in this last stion th olonl is nally ri of hisigstiv troubls fls goo w ar tol mbr ha wilt

th ora om his visra (p 92) So not only os h prpar an



Couniion in No One Wries o he Colone 39

onue o i unine o iion wi e, bu, ju iony, e i i o e exeen ue wi oun iugou e ix eie eion

e e u y-ege eon, e obeion, in inov ou oie no one inge ingeien bu e inio nie o n exeen ou oe no uie wee eing wi nive ee in wi e uoing eeennion in i ubn/wie wine/ue eive/ubiive e oogi xion ou uie u even e e nweon i bnie oug quez ion, o In Evil

Hou o One Hundred Year Soliude. Ae , niv n eiv ieue wi ee wo eioize o eiey) i o,ing o Bin, eebion o e e o e owe boy, iy u ownw

i u enee e nove o e ge, wee eogon i ie by e inving enion ey ue o,e oionou uoo n iie gowing in i bowe 7 i

e ue ee eioi ieen ie ougou ee been noe by ii u eoge uy in iexen uy on quez oweve, uy ene ooiey ge e bee o i nyi wen i oe o inveiginge oone ien, wi e ienie gii A oe uy oe e i enoug o ein e oone ue i, oweve,quie ieen o uy ignoi Ae gonizing ny

ou in e ivy, weing ie, eeing e o o i vie wong n ing in iee 5 2) e eo iny en w ey e 26) Squing on e oougen bo, e nxiouy exeiene e uneine o n ugeue 26 is oube, in oe wo, i no n iniono e ining o e o uy wou ve u beieve bue, o u i buny, oniion n inbiiy o eieve ieI i n inbiiy wi i eove e vey beginning o eion

evn, we ve een, e e oone ee wowe n ejeeby i on uee e yioogi eouion in un in ei boene n wn e uene o eviouy enu oogi ei o i wie injunion e e,w o wee , e oone ebeiouy nwe, Si 06 binging ogee in i nne e wo oe oe yboi ixin n eo o Feu uin u, exeen beoe

ien e obviou queion i junue i, ow oe i



REN PR IETO

conuence twtn te scee of te acton? It s a t ts pont tat wecan grasp te coplexty of arca rquez's concepton

In No One Write to the Colonel eanng s appreene on tree

autonoous but also nterwoven levels On te rst an ost obvouswe rea te njustce ofte poltcal syste wc acts te ero Tesecon level recors te evoluton n te relatonsp between a anan s wfe an, rea n te lgt of te rst, rases a pvotal queston,naely, wy s te colonel's battle ugt, wc s to say, epcte, onte oe ont? Snce te context s te ly e wat s coon toall) an not te battleel, I woul suggest tat arca rquez's

a n ts novella s to portray te urgency of evolvng beyon tesubssveness wc les at te base of all socal njustce, abette byte en wo wat rater tan act After all, te well-worn praseapple to te last Aurelano n One Hundred Year Solitude, te abtofobeence a re up te sees ofrebellon n s eart', couljust as easly apply to te retre colonel at te begnnng of ts taleBut unlke Aurelano, te colonel clearly evolves towar a self

realzaton wc culnates at te concluson of te novella wen efeels pure, explct, nvncble' p o6) Wat s less anfest s tect tat ts evoluton s epcte troug te guraton of bolynctons, a pysologcal ae wc operates as te tr level of tenarraton an one wc arca rquez planly conceves on tebass of psycoanalytc teory

Fro ts teory, r exaple, we know tat te oral pase s apero of epenence, a pase urng wc te uan nnt sncapable of acceptng separaton o te oter Cast n te saeoul, te ero's epenent pase n arca rquez's scee saunte by a xaton wt o

Twenty nstances ofeatng an rnkng take place urng te tete colonel subts to s wfe an s treate lke a cl aresse nte peratve voce an recte n s actons) Psycoanalyssrter teaces us tat te ncapacty to accept separaton o te

oter turns out to be, n Noran 0. Browns classc rula, tecore of te uan neuross' Neuross because separaton confersnvual lfe to all organss wle, at te sae te, t leas toeat an's nablty to eal wt ts prospect akes repress teeat nstnct but, n so ong, e roncally enes lfe wc can onlycoe troug nvuaton In oter wors, urng te oralepenent stages, a xaton wt te boy of te oter brngs

togeter te noursent wc proves lfe an te subjecton



Communition in No One Write to the Colonel 4 1

wi dni it, t wi ditintly illumint t nxu btwnod nd dt in No One Write to the Colonel nd on tt lo xplint dnil oflimintion t olonl urg utrtd' ) in t rt ixtion of t novll Antittilly, t orl p rgroundinorportion wil t nl i typid by prtion Frud inti prtion pt troug wi t orgnim' innt dtrutiv intint t dt intint) i nnlld T orgnim onvrtt dtrutiv nrgy into n ggrion dirtd unto otr', rgu, wi prrv it om rm nd m it own xitnpoib' But w mut not in ti ggrion r wi r

ultimtly dtrutiv of t orgnim itlf On t ontrry,rjtion i, n t, t vry mnim of rinttmnt driving torgnim rwrd in dynmi ononttion nd involvmnt witlif I i, Juli Kritv point out, l mnim mm d lrln, d l tnion, d l vi' In t ligt ofKritv rmr, wn bttr grp t ll tnor of t olonl' volution nd rogniow t limti nding of t novll bton in vry wy t

bgining of nw lif r it ro W n lo ow t onluivinvtiv t t nd ignl rl it i not ironi' urrywould v u bliv, or vn nw wy of xpring violn' Angl Rm uggt, but rtr t mot ndmntl tp on tpt to lf-rlition T ro volvd wy om ubmiivn nd bom pbl of rting i indpndn It i noturpriing tt ould fl pur, xpliit, invinibl p 06 prp to oppo t will of i wif nd rt i own r t rttim in t tion It i vn l urpriing tt t word ud to rmti nwly quird lf-uiny ould b t mblm of trjtion bout to rry out And by rjtion I do not mn tt br wy om i wif but, imply, tt tir rltionipvolv until t limti onluion wi t t ro on tpbyond t trold of involvmnt wit lif

No One Write to the Colonel i, trr, ulogy to indpndn

piturd n orgni volution) nd portryl of t trugglrquird to iv it drmtid in t ontinuing dilogu btwnubnd nd wif, utority nd ubordintion, prnt nd ild It i lo n inditmnt of politil injuti nd, impliily, ninjuntion to t mn wo, troug tir pivity, m it poiblFully in ping wit i politil im nd i rm blif in oilvoluion, t novll i onivd in omplt ordn wit

r ru' wolly originl rtiti rd And by ti I do not



REN PRETO

to i atl tniqu but at to t oniuoununt o i tion in o u o i innovation li inwat i not o aily aant a intan in i tanation

aity an o ialy o olitia aity a alwayuiat t ijugnt innt in t bning o atitiniation to v oitia ai In a vy valing atilubli in Taba Rona' in 960 intiat wat wa too t bai al i tion It i a o waing towit ontly about wat on i aab o tling aving liv it la tan to wit wit t a g o antn about

at wi ou oitial oition uggt ut b to vn iit annvnting it ° Foing t n to t t ag in ot wo anittingy to ilu Wit qual onvition iniat tat tt an o liiting a on i toug uggtion anallng not toug ontiation Al ti by way o aying tat ining wit bot i olitia an atiti bli t ag oNoOne Writes to the Colonel o not t t a at vy tun T

iolencia wi to toug Colobia tating in I98 i uggtili allu to tougout but aa quz o not wit aa owa otay a u o ntating ag naly tugg btwn two o anniy oniv on two vl A toy i t io o t ou allow t vital o o iotagonit to itat t ynai voution o ti ationiFoo an t oonl utat ug' a a iotant in untaning No One Writes to the Colonel a t ialogu btwn taat a vn o o Fo toug t univalanguag o t boy aa quz voi bot a tal o tuggln a angyi to ation wi ali qually to all n In tin it i a t ot oitial an aing o i nov

Not

1 Griel Grc Mrqez El oroe o tiee quie le esriba (Mexic Biliec Er1984 All pge reference re hi ediin; ll rnlin in he ex re mwn

eer G Erle El r cm epejim in abriel ara Mrque (Mdrid1 981 Grciel Mr laves simblias de ara Mrque (Ben Aire 1977

3 n hi ricle El r cm epejim eer Erle refer E Cirl ADitioa fSymbols (New Yrk hilphic Lirry 96 p 49 in rder inerpre he rle f he rer in No Oe Writes to the Coloel

4 Grciel Mr laves simb6lias p rn5



Counion in No One Wrte to the Colonel 43

5 eer G Erle 'El uro como epejimo p 826 Mrio Vrg Llo Gaca Mquz: histoia d un dicidio Brcelo I7I)7 Jid. p I 36

8 55 Grc Mrquez w e reig correpode o Europe b heolombi ewpper El Espctado. He rvelled r o Rome d he o Pri,ol o dicover few moh fer hi rrivl h he pper hd bee hu dow order of he Colombi dicor Roj Piill ed of reurig homerc Mrquez decided o ell hi icke d i Pri o wrie He lived i hei Qurer he Hel de Fld re ekig ou exiece mol om he leof emp bole d ued ewpper bu he mged o ih he mucrip ofl coon no tin quin l cia i le h er ereed reder c d ilumiig perol ccou of he wrier r i Pri i ierviewcoduced b eMichel Foe Erevi co Gbriel Grc Mrquez

publihed i Imagn 40 Crc 6) 8 p 7 8 20 27 28 2 32 33 38 5 I 53 66 68 7 I 72 78 86 8 o I

02 04 -Y i o viee-pregu l mujer

-Vedr2 She -Y i o eiede

He -Pue eoce que o eied3 She Y i o lleg

He: -Llegr

I I Mikhil Bkhi Ralais and his Wold r Hle wolki CmbridgeM 165) p. 3702 eorge R McMurr Gail Gaca Mquz New York I77) 3 rc Mrquez udercore he c h hi hero rogl dilike proi erl

i he cio Whe he goe o ee Alvro o ell him he clock oe of he ougm ied i mzed he igh of he coloel ver oldhioed hoe declim "Shi coloel p 56) The coloel i ver ke bck b hi remrkd reque h here be o werig; Alo proe b ig h hecoloel hoe re quie igh d he older m wer him i rm oe Bu ou c h wihou werig Thee moer [he hoe h i] rer er old d i i he r ime he hve herd wer word p 5 7) io coicidece of coure h hi wer word hould be he ver oe he coloeer he cocluio of he ovel do o hik m rcig he poi bggeig h Grc Mrquez wihed o emphize he c h he coloell ijucio i much more h imple proi i r hi reo h heke cler he hero dilike cull more h dilike codemio dee rejecio) of werig The cocluio mu be red herere ce vlueih he ll rce of i cooio i purpoell choe word vehemelgllig he c of emcipio wih which he cio coclude

I4 Sigmud Freud Collctd Paps vol 2 ed. Rivire d Srche New Yorkd Lodo I24-50) p 48I 5 briel Grc Mrquez Cin aos d soldad Bueo Aire Edioril

Sudmeric I6) p 308.6 orm 0. Brow Lf against Dath Middleow Coecicu 170) p 284 7 Sigmud Freud Bond th Plasu Pincipl r. b C M Hub bck 2d ed

odo 22) p 68 uli Kriev La volution du langag potiqu Pri 174) pp 136-7 Through

ou her erlier wriig Rchchs pou un Smanas Pri 6) La volution dulngag potiqu d Pologu Pri 77) Kriev mke much of he



44 REN PR IETO

slimation of the anal implse in the work of writers sh as Artad Batalle andJoye we old easily inlde Gara Mrqez in this list whose narratiedisorse nhinges the epi integrity of what she refers to as the sjet naire theset sordinated to the law - whether sh law is emlematied y God thether logos or reason

19 MMrray Gabriel ara Mrquez, p Angel Rama Un noelsta de laiolenia ameriana in ueve asedios a ara Mrquez Santiago de Chile 1 97 ) p 1 19 n a slightly derent ersion the rst part ofthis artile entitled GaraMrqez la ioenia ameriana appeared n the Monteidean weekly Marha,01 1 1 7 April 1964 -3

0 Fossey ntresta on Gariel Gara Mrqez p 8 n Historia de un deicidio pp 34-5 445 Vargas Llosa gies a sint aont of

the politial holoast whih left ehind etween two and three hndred

thosand itims and almost ompletely destroyed the prone of TolimaColomia etween 1 949 and 196 Readers wishing to onslt a more detailedaont ofla violenia shold refer to Germn Gzmn Orlando Fals Borda anddardo Umaa Lna L violenia en Colombia ols 1 and 2 Bogot 963 and1964



4

Magical realism and the theme of incest in

One Hundred Years Solitude

D W I N W I L L I A S O N

For ll te ttention it reeive ine it publition One HndredYear Slitde rein n eluive n enigti novel Altougete one o te jor exple o Ltin Aeri ontribution to oernit writing te proble o unertning ow itigy lie tenique o gil reli tully wor i tillunreolve At te level o iple enition tere n be littleireeent gil reli i nrrtive tyle wi onitentlyblur te tritionl relit itintion between nty n relityBeyon ti ritil opinion i ivie to weter gil relii entirely el-reerring or weter it etblie new in oreltonip between tion n relity

Aoring to te rer view One Hndred Years Slitde inlogou to te ccines o Borge it tionl worl i utri

reing troug te t o nrrtion peil onition o evelopen n ening wi enble te tive igintion to ieve ee-oting tte o pure el-reerene in to te exilrteinnoene o ilren t ply Te iulty wit u view i tt itnnot explin te politil n itoril lluion in te novel. To beontent it u borb tee lo into te rel olui utonoyn t terere leve r rque open to te rge o ving

etetiie te itory o Ltin AeriTe oter ount woul ve gil reli expn te

teorie o te rel o to enop yt gi n oterextrorinry penoen in Nture or experiene wi uropenreli tene to exlue i explntion erive o AlejoCren tier erly ie bout lo rel-rvilloo n it i epeillytiying beue it enow r rque prtiulr brn o

orni wit unique Ltin Aerin rter Wt i ore45



E D W I N W I L L I A M S ON

r rquez iel oen le bou gil reli injui wy Neverele, i exlnion, in o r i reinroue enoive lin o n exernl reliy lbei ore inluive n

uroen reli roue very negive, eiii reing oe ex. Te novel en wi e relizion o ure n ellen o roey, n o i renly vinie e yilower o lign e A u, i woul er o onen Lineri o oele oniion oioril ilure, llowing no oer nge or ee un ion

In eier oun, iulie rie in reoniling gil reli

a nrrive yle wi e ul oveen o e ion in e novelo oun regr gil reli n enirely oiive,libering eure n, in onequene, ey re eqully r u oxlin e nure o e Buen egenerion n e reon rono eruion Bu i one exine ow gil reliully nion in e nrrive, i will beoe ler ere i ninie onneion beween i n e degenerive roe de

ribe in e novel indee, gil reli n be own o be ieion o e lie ue e eline o e Buenily

gil reli ree i eei i by ing er re inrinile ooe o e oer Te ee uon e reder o u ion o n ny or innoene n nowledge i, owever, noone o bolue ieniion wi e rer bu rer ixedreion o yy nd oi een Le u e nexmle Jo Ario Buen enouner wi ie In e rine, e nrror eribe e ie in eilirizing wywi llow e reer o re in e rer wonderen eyeriou enoenon

When the giant opened it, the chest let ou a chilly breath ofair Inside it therewas just an enormous transparen block with countless internal needles

which broke up the light of the seting sun into stars of many colours (p 22 nd ye, wen i oe o explaining e yery, e ierenebeween Jo Ardio Buen innoen we n e reernowledge i rly drwn wiin e ex iel, roduing n eeo oi irony

Taken aback yet knowing that his sons expected an immediate explanation,Jos Arcadi Buenda dared o murmur Its he biggest diamond in the

word'No, the gypsy corrected him, it's ice (p. 23)



gl el n net One Hundred ears 4 7

Jo A Buen' we t te ovey o e enunpe e ponoune t te getet nventon o ou te' but e ee n no longe e n tt epone ne t eventtt uez nten te gypy' oeton gnl ttte te toungly ntepetng penoen w teee peue to te gnte n own expeene o tewol. Te ene o te velou oe u by g el tee tnent oon enoug uez tp te wn t ee t wee etng oplty ben te b o tete wo en ube by n eeentl nnoene

w but not ooue ent to onvne. Su uoouopltyext n te oe nttl ntne og e n y Reeo te Beutl' upton nto even n uy owte eet p . 205 . ven toug te nbtnt oono gtept t tue event te ee onene te t otbeng nte n te text oe not tengten t l to tetol tut Rte te oppote t eyte te penoenon

beue o te uneyng upton n te e ene bove) ttte ee' wo-vew t o wt tt o te te.

In pte ot otenble on o nty n t g el oneve wly peou oue tt nevtby bety tlluntoy te n te vey t ot beng e by te n oee uez eng Wee te ee to ptptewoly n te pepetve oJo A Buen tee woul be nouou n One Hundred ears f Solitude; t oue woul be ll tooolenly enottve But uez et up n on nteplybetween te identiy o oppote poote by te gl-elue n te nepble ene oderence etne by te eeTe novel ten pete upon let tt oppoe teexpeene o te wol inside te ton to tt w e outside t

Te let between entty n eene oe nevetele

opete ybolly wtn te tonl wo o ono. It oneye toug te otvtng tee o net Le ge net ten tow te on o eent tegoe n u onttute tet to ol ognzton ne t ween tevtl tnton tt unepn ultul oe te eene betweenel n ote In t ene net n be ten yboleuvlent o te olp tt unele gl el Fo wen

np eene e not popely e ounton oontutve o nteoue e enee neetve. Te ly



E D W I N W I L L I A M S O N

beoe u o entet enegy tttng te etendvdu tt ooe t b nto n undeentted genedentty

Te ndent etu o One Hndred Years o Soltde ngo te w to avoid net Inty te Buend et to te teto nt n two wy Uu ee to uod n net tboognt t wee e ubnd Jo Ado Buend vng deedt tboo by ng Pudeno Agu nd ng nteoue wt we oo to etbng new ode e eve Ro toe ontt wt vzton beyond Te ntue o t vz

ton en vgue but tee e ndton tt t oeond tott w ext outde te ton wod In ny e tdtngung tet ent nowedge Jo AdoBuend n te ey tge o te nove n n e oene eundete nnuebe oet nd exeent wt te eden o entt nd even t te o own e 1o) gnton we e tod eed beyond te t o ntue nd

een beyond me nd g' g) . Wen on ee gyy nde den y t te wndow o botoy on g etJ Ado Buend dee Leve te to te de We bette tn te wt ueo ent eoue tn tteted beded 34 Atoug te uou tt tezete ntve tye o g e not en n te ount oJ Ado Buend endengy evee uet ue ent nowedge eot e deted ndted bove by te totton eey towd undong te entty o g wtn w e e oned e oe to ove outote wod ote nove o to e nd nto te wod o te edewee de u yng et n be uey dtnguedo eone

Sene ten woud be Jo Ado Buend deene gnt tetet onet ne t b onen to dove obetve t bout

te te wod exude by denton te ntoveted otent tttude eeented by net Uu o onto toug uettou ueene n tboo ett but nnot ote oveoe te obe o ntoveon nd ubetv t eenty odng oeton gnt net ened by on o eeton nd by ton e o gn ebyond te w o n

Jo Ado Buend e ent undetndng oon



gil eli n inet One Hndred Years 9

ute, not jut beue i ento elque i n leitwoe nowlege i oote in oulti n eievl lening, butiey n eiively beue e ooe to bnon it n give wyto lul' pioitie ven toug n exutive explotion o teegion onvine i tt ono i not well ple to e onttwit iviliztion', e ein, une peue o i wie, ooving to oe popitiou lotion e i, none te le, we o teonequene We ll neve get nywee . . . We'll ot ou livewy ee witout te benet o iene p 19)

Aio Buen' t o eigntion povie te ey to te

ignne o ono eline. It ow tt te poe oegnetion i et in tin by ee un oie, lo o neve int, n not by oe ieitible e o etiny wi yteioulyipel te Buen tow peeteine en e unbebleile o te tt will ppe to enloe te itoy o te Bun i, e ll ee, n illuion ete by te te. e uningte eiion not to ove on in i quet iviliztion' put into

evee te ebelliou ive gint te inettboo wi otvte i eptue o Rio.

ee e two in onequene o ti evel. In te t ple,it onen te Buen to lie witout iene, to tte o in,tt i, wi nnot e itintion between objetive tn te ubjetive pojetion o eie. Subequent genetion willn teelve pey to ugent popting o e, igintion n

eoy tei peeption o te extenl wol will be oloue tou egee tt tei ol on elity ein ngeouly gile,levng te pen to eluion o, woe till, eeption nexploittion

Son, te eiion eeply et o Aio Buen oneption o tie ut bee i eep ig oeigntion we e tol ttoeting oue inie i oeting yteiou n enitivewi upoote i o i tul tie n ie i it

toug unexploe egion o eoy' p 20 . Now te got oPuenio Aguil etun to unt i, einling te e n guiltoite wit i oiginl ene o te tboo e begin to negleti expeient n te to onveing wit got until iounion wit te pt intenie to point t wi e e upi lbotoy n, believing it to be eve ony in ,iine tt e bolie tie ltogete pp 73) By

boning iel to i eoie, e ut out te unetintie o



E D W N W L L A S O N

e ue an aep o ben ie ba upon iela i o eove aae o piine innoene a woul pii away by agi oe aoie in e aual oue o i lie i agial eape o

ioy ino a in o yle o noalgia will beoe ye anoepowel legay in e Buena ily

Ae Jo Aaio Buena enoune i ea iene enieeniae ao eaene by ine an only be ep a bay byUula' einaeen o e abooenaliy Uula' egiepovie e bai a oial oe o o bu i i an oe wi

equie onan vigilane Uula e lynpin o axi o i oe alway anially buy leaning e aneal oe eeping eaywa ily in e ening e legal ie o inip oveeeinge upbinging o e young an geneally poviing a line oontinuiy o one geneaion o e nex a long a e enegieallow Bu all a e oal eonoy of e abooegie iepeive aiial an ineien Ju a e oiginal obevane o

e aboo a ep Uula an e uban o aing love unilo Aaio violenly ee i o oo oe i eeablien e aliae o eiliy an uaion in e ily Uula' oe annoaiae e uge o ine i i bae on ea ae anneaning an a u pelue e poibiliy o iiinang beween ieen ype o eie Fo inane o e on JoAaio' poigiou exual enowen e eel a i wa oeing a unnaual a e pig' ail e ouin wa bon wi'p 9) Bu equally e oe on Aueliano' eie nowlege avine by i inee in i e' laboaoy ae e laen ee onvine a ee exavagane o e on wee aigening a a pig' ail' p 1)

All eie eee beoe upe ine any one oi anieaion ig iguie e eae ineuge A inie law egulaeUula' abooegie vey ue eie wee ineuou o no

neve uilly aie I i eie wae iplae o eainele Fo exaple Jo Aaio e bon aie aowyonging i oe Uula in e a o Pila enea wo aloauage iila veile eie in i younge boe Aueliano ebeoe a in o uogae oelove e wo boe Pilan un will n eel e obje oe own on Aaio' eie bue ae e onolaion in i wie Sana Sofa e la Piea Pila'

oe on Aueliano Jo abou exual eeling i aun



gl el n ne One Hundred Years 5 1

An, wo wll evenully ne l obeon n e gegeneew Jo Ao An eel oee ueoulyw e uve e Rebe e love o Peo Ce buRebe le e wy by e bln on e uveboe Jo Ao In noe geneon, Pe Coe ee eole o Pl Tene by beong uoge oelove o eboe Aueno e Seon n Jo Ao e Seon In eo Uul booen nxee, we n e ee o nelng e ly, -ong e geneon o web oenoou on lung bene e ue o legl n

Ionlly, e ly n only eeue el by onnullyoung e e o e Sexul elon beoe oenlne, e begeng o ong o eng e Auloeon neve e eul o uul love bu eve neoug uoge, ee w n ll love wo n n ee elve eg Jo Ao, wo ee Uul bu woon by Pl Tene) , o w lege oue wo ubue

ee e e g Ao wo len by Sn Sowen e elly ee oe Pl Tene, o Auelno eSeon wo love Pe Coe bu len by we Fennel Co) Genune ee no ewe by lege ue ule, len e bon ee o unee wve, o o woen wove been ue vouly o ge n unonee ee ly elon Te eul e legy o e Buen lne oe by e eegene o uby be o b, ee,nul oe n l ll n uoun e ol lyn ee n e long un onng uon w llow e lwo Buen o o ne wou lly elzng e ue nueo e np

Te ogeve blung o e non beween legy nllegy on u e neeny o e booege wy oonollng e uge o ne Sue obne by e eeon o

leen oee, n by oneble eleen oee lu In, Uul oe ue e e oe nne evon onvul lve Sne e Buen nno ll eelve, eybeoe uny w e ul onon n en o wwno ue olue, eeng e exeene o e unnge Wen e nl e o e eelve ue ole, ey beoe egne o e o lugg y desidia

n lve ou e e o e lve ee n el-bobe nolg



E D W I N W L L I A M O N

tat dconnect te o tocal te, o by dtactng teelve n pontle and epettve actvty (hacer para deshacer) .

In o a te taboo-ege epee ntnct and wll, t pevent

te caacte o ealng a dtnctve peonalty Uable toattan to te condton of ndependent caacte wo concoulydect te own lve, tey ae aed ntead by geec tat oeedtay vce ubevence to an peonal ly typlogy evdenced by te alot bewldeng ecuence of nae JoAcado, Auelano, Aaata, ula, Reedo and cobnatonteeof and of pycologcal caactetc tat ovewel pecc

otvaton te Auelano ae clavoyant, wle te o Acadoae exually voacou In te Buenda ly tee, aaloge andpaallel ovede patcula deence te expeence ofte vaougeneaton co to toc patten wc epeat teelve wtuc egulaty tat te lnea equence oftocal event appea tobe dtoted nto cycle of te evolvng aound a tll cente ofetenty

And yet, even toug te acton of One Hundred Years f Soltudegt appea to expe tocal te a a ee of cyclcalecuence, tee a pogeve, lnea dynac to te naatvetat bele te typologcal epetto geneated by te taboo-ege dynac elled by te uvval of te udng-teognal dee to ebel agant te paalyng fea of te ncettabooIn evey geneaton tee ae cetan Buenda caacte wo, albetcoedly, defy autoty n ode to bea out of te vcou ccle offea tat conden te to con to type Stugglng to becoeconcou ndvdual tead of toc gue, tey ae pepaed toaccept te tocal peent and conont tng a tey ae atetan egn teelve to utaton, oltude and te lluoy poeof telene aoded by notalga

Let u tae te cae of tat upee evolutonay leade Colonel

Auelano Buenda e ognal otve any ebello aevague e ebel patly becaue e oced by te decetle ofte conevatve p 89 , and patly becaue e uppot te lbealw to accod te ae gt to natual opg a to te legtatep 88 But, apat o nebulou uantaan ypate,Auelano at tat te ad vey coned dea about te derencesbetwee conevatve ad lbeal p 88 y epa)

ebellon ae, ten, a bd to etabl t ot of deece, to aet



gil eli n inet One Hundred Years 53

i inepenene o n oe o ting wi ext untiningonity to eeity et o vlue e onevtive it i ieen te piniple o ivine igt to ule te tbility o publioe n te olity o te ily p 88 Nevetele ColonelAuelino one ult on te etblie oe ti up tepete oinet Fo exple i illegitite on AuelinoJo wobun wit pion i unt Ant i t one point tol by ebel olie tt te w i being ugt o tt one n y oneown ote p 1 3 ) ee one n ppeite te extent to wiJo Aio Buen bnonent o i puuit o ienti

nowlege lo te ie gint te ue o ubequent Buenebellion by iply ebelling gint utoity i on ColonelAuelino it in te unleing o inetuou ipule ove wie no ontol given tt e i beet o te intelletul en toovee te olipi tt inet epeent

Colonel Auelino evolutiony w not upiingly begin tote o n inetuou qulity e oti violene wi vge te

ounty nlogou to te volni euption o exul eie tt i bte Jo Aio) onvet te libel into te io-igeo ti onevtive eneie p 19) te ieene ColonelAuelino et out to etbli e lot in n ll-bobing pointleo Fe wit ilue Colonel Auelino now evet to ilytype e te ege in ono to eel te wt o i oleteoie p 1 7 ) n expeiene te e pty tt e ovei te An yet even t ti low ebb e e iel out o inotli pty n eolve to put n en to w wi tuneinto little oe tn ne tuggle powe One te w iene Colonel Auelino buie i wepon in te outy witte me eeling oepentne i te wen e buie te lnett ille Puenio Aguil p l 5)

e pllel between Colonel Auelino ebellion n tt o iteJo Aio Buen e le but uil ieene n be

obeve in tei epetive epone to ilue Jo Aio Buenwitw o itoil elity n ee ege in ointovte booing ove te pt wee i on ee to eigniel to notlgi n tow iel inte into te opulivenutue olittle gol e Deet y ve e te Colonelinto uitle olitue but i attitude i te vey oppoite oeigntion e eep live i bittene t itoil ilue in

noou ietion o te etblie oe o ting politil



54 E D W I N W I L L I A M S O N

ebellion i eplae by a peanent pyologial ebellion, anunwillingne to eape o itoy into oe agial pee weee poble of i atual ituation an be iolve Colonel

ueliano Buena teee beoe te ot igly iniviualieebe of te ily e eain an iolate, eenti gue wooe an altenative to te to Buena epone to te ipotene ofilue

Te igniane of te Colonel' eant tane eege wenaono i uenly line to te outie wol by te aival of teailway an n itelf at te ey of a new wave of outie wo

ing wit te te tenologial invention of te oen age teinea, te telepone, gaopone, an eventually te banananuty Only te Colonel i apable of peeiving te exploitativeue to wi tey ae put Te ote inabitant ae one aneue by te intiate ogepoge of tut an iage tatxapeate te got of Jo Aaio Buena une te etnutee' p 1 95) Tee tange atet uelly expoe te tal

weane of te Buena aving been epive of te benet ofiene' , tey ega u wone a pout of agi an ialeo u o, tat noboy wa able to tell ue wee te iit ofeality lay' p 1 95) Tenology, not upiingly, i tune againt aefenele aono by te inite ebet an i tea ofienti avie ven o, te ipule to ebel i not yet extinguiei tie, oweve, te ebellion ut be twol, not jut againt teagialeal tabooegie but alo againt te eign exploite woave been able to tae avantage of agial eali to te etientof aono

Te intenal ebellion againt te taboo i aie out by eeWen e ll in love wit te unuitable auiio Babilonia, eeet wit te oie oppoition of Uula eelf an e ownote Fenana el Capio, an a-onevative pue woexalte ntay-life ofaitoati itintion i a gotequely exagge

te veion of Uula' peoupation wit te legitiay of teily Uneingly, te pevee law tat utain te taboo-egieoe into opeation Any tue eie ut be epee, an oauiio Babilonia i uee

Te ebellion againt te eign exploite ll to Jo Aaio teeon, wo beoe a ingleae in te tie againt te BananaCopany Te tie aving been put own by a allou aae of

wi te only uvivo i ielf, Jo Aaio te eon e te



gi ei n ine One Hundred Years 55

oi o eponing o iue eie by euing o AioBuen' ig o eiy o Coone Aueino ubbon eo ignoe e o ioy

exiene o o oie i onveye in e niveou e evie oeque oo wi w bui e gypyge wen e wiew ino n unouniive oiue. ee ebegn o wie w wi un ou o be popei ioy o eBuen iy. eque' oo n be oie wi n eoein gi inepeion o ioi expeiene. Ae e gypy'e e oo i ee o uni Aueino e Seon peue

Uu o open i up gin. I now ppe o be be in pue igwi eep i giy ee o e u n obweb o ie Sie e o eque oo vie oing o e eye o ebeoe Fo e ie young Aueino e Seon wo uie up in i n ie o eipe e gypy pen i iunoue by ie ii enpue gen oeeniy inowi o Aio Buen eie wen e eigne i que

ene By on e unepenn evouiony CooneAueino ee i one wou expe i o be uey vge by epge o ie In e i wi been e pue n ouinou in e oue ee ung n unbebe en o oeneoie p 209) W i oe e Fenn e Cpio e ooin e innuebe goen be-po in gi eei oe o be nown e bepo oo. Fo e Coone w e be ne i beue wie e e o e iy weeze eque oo ou be iune o u n eye w i ipy ungep p 22)

o Aio e Seon vie beween e ioin e gi onepion o ie wo ige un i ioi one ney e ie on e e o n bou o be ouing one o Coone Aueino evouion n oe nebuouige o n o n in wio weing pe ie

ow wing eing veou oie nex o zzing winowwi e nno pe in ny peio o ie e e ige i oeqe bu i w n unein eoy . oppoe o eeoy o e n bee e ing qu wi in enee oue o i ie p 225).

By oining e ie gin e Bnn Copny o Aioe Seon op ioi ion bu e e e e e

ege in eque oo In gi nuy e i be o



E D W I N W I L L I A M S O N

e e beyon te e o enee e nvbe to teoe wo e untng n wo n ee ony ut n eywen tey e te gypy oo vng uvve eet, Jo

o te Seon enoune egne to Coone Aueno

Years bere, Colonel Aureliano Buenda had told him of the scination ofwar and had tried to demonstrate it with countless examples om his ownxperience But the night when the soldiers looked at him without seeing him,tinking about the tension ofrecent months, about the miseries of prison life,about the panic in the railway station and the train loaded with dead bodies,Jos Arcadio the Second came to the conclusion that Colonel Aurelianouenda had been either a charlatan or an imbecile He couldn't understand

why so many words should be required to explain what one feels in time ofwar since a single word would suce: fear (p 2 65)

ue n te gypy ge oo,Jo Ao te Seon epete vtue o toy

Protected by the supernatural light, by the sound ofrain, by the sensation ofeing invisible, he und the peace he had not enjoyed r a single moment inis previous life, and the only fear that remained was that he might be buried

alive (p. 2 65)

e pee expeene by Jo Ao te Seon , o oue,bougt t pe te t nugget o to onoune bobe nto g pee Te t Buen ebe tu py ntote n o oppeo, wo now poee wt punty to eete e o te toy boo ven tt Jo Ao teSeon bte eponbty wtne to toy, teBuen oe vetge o objetvty, n, wt t, te pty tonte between eeenty eent tegoe u tutn eoo A eut, te town woe ue te te tt pevouy been te te nvuy It opeteyote o e exten wo by n w e to pege teventu etuton, n t n nto tte oetgy t begn toe t gp on ety

In te ong pe o te nove te ntve oue beoeengy e-eng n ntt g e oe yto t own te ton ove tow te ezton o te woypube net-ue Te ent o te ue, oweve, ny pobe, not jut beue te pue to ebe been totyue, but pnpy beue Uu tbooege be own

Ate te n ve ee, Uu ttept one oe to epoe



gil eli n inet One Hundred Years 5 7

oe by etoing te netl oe to it pitine onition Inee,now tt te Bnn Copny n te ote eigne veepte, ono ppe to ve etune t n elie point in ititoy Uul i tu by te t tt tie oe not p it utgoe oun in ile p 285 But ti iul ene oitoil tieoon ove to be n illuion it i le enewl, Uul i eingte liit o e enegy, n wen e ie otly tew eegie ollpe entiely Neite Fenn, no Snt So e lPie, no Ant Uul n etieve te netl oe ote uin tt ovewel it one Uul pe wy

Te titionl yte o eene gint inet ving llen topiee, te uviving ebe o te ily eit in n biguou newee wi oul, on te one n, povie te en totnen te tbooentlity but wi, on te ote oul levete elple bee eugene o te tl uge to inet BotAuelino Bbiloni n Ant Uul n teelve in poition to oveoe te tbooentlity Auelino i oiginlly

peente potentilly eini gue e i i by Fenn tove been iovee in bet oting in te ive lie oep 29 , n lte, ving il tu up ienip wit iunle Jo Aio te Seon in elque oo, e i ble toelt to te et o te ily te t o te itoi e owo t te ilwy ttion, pene tt tie Fenn ilgiou poy oJeu ong te oto p 295 Togetewit te oult n upentul nowlege e len o JoAio te Seon, Auelino gin poeion o itoil t ttoul bing te Buen b to n objetive wene o teextel wol Wt e nee i tlyt tt woul llow i teiiintoy powe to it te tue o te le, te iginyo te tul But Ant Uul ubn ton note ttAuelino i not buy boo intion but to on teuy o i nowlege p 323

Ant Uul, e pt, etun o uope eeinglyunenubee by upetition n et bout lening up tenetl oe Wit te weep o e boo e put n en tonel eoie, to te pile o uele bib, n to ll teppenli o upetition tt gtee in evey one p 3 1 9 But, gin, e ubn wyly obeve tt e etun to ono iue t e ving llen te unwitting viti o ige o notlgi

p 30



E D W N W L L I A M S O N

e eeo e Buen enjoy fer e ouon ofU ruboorege bn e o e erery w ur wner nure Arn Uru rovocvey creee reence n

e ncer oue roue e en on of e ero ncory Aureno, n o e ccuue oenum of vcvce overwe e regenerve obe of e reen In orenng eeo o e boo, e nen w ofUru orer ecvey broen ere neer ce noreree bu conrve ong o oe rue objec

ug u n e roonge enzy of on ow,

rn Uru wce e n evng e gren, nger reorc unger on e ber of e oue n e w eorren of vng v nve e corror once ore 3 ) eorer Uru rven o r o uo now geeyeroye n n orgy of eroc reee I w Arn Uru wo,w er w gnon n er yrc vorcy, ree over re of er oug e concenre no ove e

nobe energy er gregre-grnoer evoe oe nucure of e cre n 3 ) A vorex ofuu on oe e nceuou over o er urrounngey becoe o engroe n ec oer er ere eve eeo e no e efe eny A e regnncy vnce eyre urnng no nge beng, negrng eeve ever oren e oue of oue wc neee ony one u o bow own' 35)

e br of c w g erze e cure une Uru rougou e nove nrrve conron ofuerou fer renrce wen Aureno crc e coe nwc eque cronce ve been wren o ee reveebere roec ccoun of e ory of e Buen yeveree, of no e gncnce e unveng ofeque ex conce bouey w e evon of

cono by wrwn e roec conuon ofcono ory r of ef-conuon, r Aurenoe e rcen, e encng e uree Buen vce ofog, gure r gerng wn o e en ewn re wr, ncen, of voce o e ,ururng of ncen gernu, g exreng onen recee e o encou nog 350) ureno

eng oube ory bc uon ef o e no y



gil el nd inet One Hundred Years 59

et eind by tue event ut que inted tl nton t ee u on nd eventuly devou te eent le ylone.

One Hundred Years Solitude et t two dtint ode o edingitoy tt oAuelino Bbiloni nd tt o te odny ede o quez nove. ode i edited uon etin tyeo onioune. Auelino edng igt be teed netuou iti devoid o obetvty, oeene to n extenl elty nd to linete o, Aueino dee elqude oeti onle,te ie nted ove eve nee to te te o eent exeene,

nd te loe te event Auelno i eding bout get to te tie inw e living, te lle te g between te ntive nd tetoy it uot to eod ventully, equde text begin toeet exeiene wit u iedy tt t beoe eingiro 350) oweve, te text eing io neelytnint enoenon beue, eding i to te le t l, dely etween exeene nd it nton i nevitble. Aueno

eexve eding o ly toy edue tt dely to ontwee nted tie nd lved tie tully eet, nd t ti onteding eoe ioible beue te ntive onue telndut e. In te lt ge o te novel one enounte teextodiny enoenon o itoi ntive tt beoeo etly e-eeing tt it ole uviving te ed i ownte wle e in te vey oe oulllng it Te Niu gue o

Aueino ontelting iel in te eng o tudetind to ndulge n te ultite t o e-egd utonnibi It te, t en, wi lend qunt, not toy oeti, qulity to te nine ntoogou wiAnt Uu d gven . 3 1 9) .

oweve, ne One Hundred Years Solitude can be ed, teodny ede ll too obviouly we, quez veono te Buend itoy ut be dly deent o

equde.° Une te g ent, te novel doe noteldetut t nge nted to etin wt elqude oet text boi te neey dey between event nd tenton. Te ede oOne Hundred Yearsi, o oue, not identi toAuelino. I Aueino n ntenl ede o te Buend toywo witnee i own te n elqude eng o, teodiny ede en outde te nted event nd teee

be on objetive, dtned view o tt itoy. ow ten doe



60 E D W I N W I L L I A MS O N

quez veon peeve objevy w oelque eoy?

e openng ow ene o objevy n ne by

quez n own oun o e l y o ono In le pe oe nve e Uul oe boen ownpeely wen ono wole begn o n no neuou eleeene n enely new e o e noue Clnbblople n young ple one o wo lle belquez e ge-gnon o Colonel Auelno Buen oe-n- enelo quez Auelno Bblon been

bel n lo beoe n e o e Cln Inlly Cln ppe o be no oe n oe v o elqueWen Auelno e e wo boxe ll ooe oley pgew oeow ene oelque' pen p 336) Bu e Cln' ue o e wen wo xue o olenepe n gopy eveene No even own nup weepe duali' p 33 7 y l) Su uly oppoe o e

obeve ll-bobng enon ele by e peng o' o elque pen) evne ene o ony n eCln w wll pove o be e lvon o bel n eno e euon oono Fo wen e Cln eun o nve vllge e n nolg bple evenullyone by gowng nolg ono

Confused by two nostalgias cononting each other like two mirrors, he lost

his marvellous sense of unreality until he ended up by recommending thatthey all leave Macondo, hat they rget everything he had taught themabout the world and the human heart, that they shit on Horace, and thatwherever they und hemselves they should always remember that the pastwas a lie, tha memory provided no way back, that all the springs they hadlived through were irretrievable, and tha the most unruly and obsessive lovewas in any case an ephemeral truth (p. 339)

ole ou o nolg e o n logee by e onng

pull o wo nolg e Cln beoe n n-elquegue wo uenly ee oug n epue e pen oonoune ee n e Buen ly by e gypy' oulSyelly e onen e ee o gl el enon w e p e epe o oy no eoy elongng o eove pne nnoene n e uene o nleeo ee

on wenng oe oo le Auelno Bblon By



gil ei n inet One Hundred ears 6 1

ti te i inetuou ion Ant Uul got te betteo i n e wite i inteetul legine b toelqe In oing o, te tyti eet o i eltion wt teCtln, wi igt ve enbe i to vge te objetive tuto te e o te wete o notgi ntie e ie u ineqe' oo, i totly bote

By ontt, Auelino etwile ien bie quez tete Ctn vie n eve ono i etue entil tntion o onioune o te el-bobing te ogi ei eite in i viit to te unel bote in ono

to n eition o te ulity o iony i jouney i o witinte tionl wol e e wit te Buen to te wo outiete tion in wi te ee o One Hundred ears i itute

Fe o te gie onioune o te Buen, bielquez n loo b on i exeiene n wite itoy ooo to ivl te inteettion o eque But ine lntive i n exeie in etoetion, biel ut ontut i

out in u wy to eet ono' itoy witout ielling ey to te ienong o notlgi Ting te Ctln'ont o notlgi ig o ibetion o olii,quez enoune te noveit' tition llegine to iein u io inte to eque io o te Buenitoy By ononting tee two io biel ibue i novewit n ioni uity Te gil ei tt in teonioune o te Buen i eoue in bie' ioue Butit i gien te ie by it eetion in te eign o te ntive, wioe event in line equene tt eo te nowlegeure by elque ylil veion o itoy te oitution oJo Aio Buen, te vge o Uul egie,te ui ene o Colonel Auelino, te ieene betweentenlogy n gi, te ignine o te e t te ttion,Jo Aio te Seon uene to e, n o on In ot, te

ounointing o ioue n ntive eign egite teexitee o oie bee te te between eigntion toiluion on te one n, n eonibility to itoil tut on teote

Te tiu oiginlity o quez' tenique lie,oweve, in i ving lowe toug to it utite onequenete ogi o i gi-e ioue A te nove eibe

oo' ogeive evion o itoy, nguge li it ieue



E D W I N W L L I A M S O N

ooring in relity nd drift wy to libo were it n rbitrrilyrelize it own ntie until it i nlly drwn into te void of pureelf-referene And yet, preiely in tt tte of libo, briel

nrrte te nner ofi own igt o ondo, tereby oeringte reder wy b to te itoril relity tt te dioure of tenovel ll but bndoned Wt i ore, in te lt entene ofOneHundred Year te dulity of te novel i de epliit by nunpreedented utoril intruion ondo i deribed te ityof irror or of irge) ' i prentetil lterntive r teure of te peing irror' to revel te underlying oie

between illuion nd relity it invite te reder to quetion tevlidity of elqude propey nd to repudite te polyptiending inribed in te dioure noting ore tn perniiouirge reted by toe rter lie Aurelino Bbiloni wo veondened teelve to gil reli nd r wo tere i, inonequene, no eond ne of lvtion By iplition, terere, tere y eit eond ne r oter ntive of ondo

lie briel rquez nd i iend) wo ve oen to leve ndwo ve urvived te detrutive vorte of inet On ti reding,One Hundred Year Solitude end, if not etly on note of optii,t let wit te ene of relief felt fter wing o nigtre

Note

1 For a comprehensive review o crica opinion, see Donald L Shaw, Concerning

he Inerpreaion o Cie aos de soledad, bero-Amerikaisches Archiv, 34 1977),318-9

See, r example, Ricardo Gln, Garca Mrez and he Los Ar oSoryelling, Diacritics, : amn 197 1 ) Roero Gonzlez chevarra, WihBorges in Macondo, Diacritics, 1 197 ) , 57-60 Rodrgez Monegal, OeHudred Years f Solitude he Las Three Pages, Books Abroad, 473 973) , 4859A more recen eponen is Regina Janes, Gabriel Garca Mrquez: Revolutios iWoderlad Colmia, and London, 1 981 ), pp 4869

3 See, r example, in Sore Garca Mrquez, ed Pedro Simn Marnez

Monevdeo, 1 97 1 ) , he llowing wellknown essays: Mario Vargas Llosa, lAmadsen Amrica, pp 106- 1 rneso Vlkening, Anotado al margen de Cieaos de soledad'

pp 7806Jos Migel Oviedo, Macondo n erritoro mgico

y americano, pp 44-53. The lles sdy is Vargas Llosas ara Mrquezhistoria de u deicidio Barcelona, 197 1 )

4 See Carpeniers prologe o hs novel El reio de este mudo Meco, 1949) Anexpanded version appeared in Tietosy derecias Meico, 1964)

5 See his remarks in an inerview wih Plinio Apeyo Mendoza,El olor de la guayabaBarcelona, 1 98), p 36, where he agrees ha he raonalism' o ropeanreaders ends o preven hem acceping ha magica realism is inspred in he c



gil ei n ine One Hundred Years

tht ydy if in tn Ami hw u tht ty i f tdinything Nthl h l b tht yu nnt innt imgnwht yu lk bu yu un th ik f tlng li En within wht

t b th utmt bitin th w Yu n dit yulf fth gf tnlity ng yu d nt l int h nt ttitinity ) Mquz hw h n liitly btdn th qutn f th ltnhi f th lw t hiti lty n thntin btwn th ntylmnt in mgl im nd th ik f tngli

6 F ntttin tht t th nl imiti tim Jm HiggnCen aos de soledad hiti dl hmb dnt' Cuadeos del Su ( 9 03- ; nd Ju Otg bl Mquz Cen aos de soledad n .ueveasedos a Gaca Mquez (Sntig d Chil 969) -88

7 Shw Cnning th Intttin fCen aos de soledad 2 bd thtn iti hd yt niningly nd wht i in t ly wng wthMnd.

8 I tntd int Englh l quttin m Cen aos de soledad (BunAi Editil Sudmn 967 Pg fn t th ditn h bnintd in th tt

9 S I m w ny Rbt nzlz Eh Cen aos de soledad thNl Myth nd Ahi Mode Lanuae .oes 99 ( 98) 58-80unqull th mythil t th hit lmnt n th nt

Hw th nluin h dw m thi d him t dng whih i ydint in tyl nd ntnt m my wnI O Mny ti h umd tht th nl i idntil t Mlqud hity F

nt intttin bd n thi umtin, Mih PniRth gmin d Auin Bund Revs a beoamecana 2- ( 98) 0- 7



5

Translation and genealogy: One Hundred Years

Solitde

AN B A L G O N Z L Z

The concept of the dnitive text belongs only to religion or toexhastion. (Borges, The Homeric Versions' 1932)

Cela [l'histoire du Babel] inscrit la scne de la traduction ans un espace quiest jutement celi de la gnalogie des noms propres de la mille del'endttement de la loi a l'interieur d'une scne dhrtage

(Derrida L'oreile de I'autre, 1982)

Oe he y e ue ree One Hnded ea Solide i h o rio, o rlo l wih he wrigo hi riulr ovel well wh he ovel gere Few rihve ile o oberve o oure, h he io One Hnded ea Solide i ierby e o he roe o eog equeroei ur, h uh eog volve ro bu he ierreo o h e o he ove h ee o

�evoe rou heore oreig ore geer queo bouhe ure o wrig, o h le eo h bee o helio o he o rio el e, oero owh rlio ie i he oe oOne Hnded ea Solide rove u o oy wh igh o h oeorry LAei l bu o io he role o ro erry hory he oiuio o he ove gere Srg o rher

e hei reg, y uroe he owig ge wl be ohow how, by regrouig he o o ro reg i ooher el o uh hoe o geelogy he erohbo, One Hnded ea Solide ugge h ro i he vry her o he robe o he ovel gere, h ioe o he ey eig hrei o h o uebe oery gere

Bee he wellow ee e ( o whh wil reur , h65



6 A N I B A L G O N Z L E Z

e oOne Hnded Yeas fSolitde bon wih cene o nlion eeence o ening n eing eign lngge Fo heoen I wo j ie o enee oe o he oe ineeing

innce o nlion n o ion o i in he novel exeving eile coen le he iec lion onion in he nove occ in he econ che when oAcio goe o be wih he gyy gil o Acio e hiei n ene in he i ow e o ehic iniionwee hi he b h wih n ooing o ene obceniieh enee he gil hogh he e n ce o o he oh

ne ino he lngge hoy ew we now oAcio eve wih he gyie In he hi che we len hAcio n An who wee bogh in he ce oVicin he Gjio Inin won who h coe o conoeing he lge o inoni ce o e he Gjio lnggebe Snih ( 39) n wen bo l y nching heInin clo bbon in hei eciion no o e Snih b

he Gjio lngge p .

When Rebec ive long wih heccing bone ohe en he oo e he Gjio lngge nwhen Ul ie o ge he o in oe eicine gin he vice oeing eh he eie wih nge hieogyhic h he inee wih he bie n iing n h ccoing o hecnlize Inin wee he vile obceniie h one col eveigine in hei ngge 43) howeve i w oon evele hhe oe Snih wih ch ency he Inin lngge( 44) Lngge lo n ngge ecqiiion occ oewhe on colecive cle o coe ing he lge oinoni ni cconying o o eoy 459) An even oe ignicneioe cloey ele o nion i h oeqe l ywhen ley in n vnce ge oeceie he wo nweqeion in colex hogeoge o ngge ( 67 ) Al hewhile he i wiing hi enigic liee ( 68) On one occion

Aeino hogh he neoo oehing owh eqe wying in hi going onooge n he i enion In eliyhe only hing h co be ioe in he ocy gh w heinien heing on he wo eqinox eqinox eqinox n hene o Alexne von Hbo ( 68) I i ing h eeioe h eqe e Aeino ien o evel ge ohiieneble wiing which o coe he i no nen b

which when e lo wee ie encyclicl being chne ( 68)



nlton n genelogy: One Hnded Yeas 67

Hee we hve the t o whoe equene o enounte o theBuen wth elque yt nton whh wl ulnte n the n eheent o the nut Anothe gnnteoe tht o Jo Ao Buen nnty n whh he noong e Snh but hghounng n uent but oletelynoehenble lnguge ( 74) tht lte tun out to be Ltn( 78) A tully gh o to e ntne o ultyo guge n the novel gven n the younge Jo Ao'enoou en whh w oletey ovee wth tttoo owo n eve lnguge ntetwne n bue n e ( 84) In

ontt Peto Ce ontbuton to the to o tnlton n thenove o oe ll ntue he woul tnte Pethonnt Ant ( 97) It nteetng tht the t ebe othe y who te to ehe eque e the eotAo (on oJo Ao the younge by Pl ene) who wee tl

never succeeded in communicaing with anyone better than he did with

Visitacin and Cataure in their language. Melquades was the only one whoreally was concerned with him as he made him listen to his incomprehensibletexts nd gave him lessons in the art of the daguerreotype. No one imaginedhow uch he wept in secret and the desperation with which he tried to reviveMelqades wih the useless study o his papers (p. o)

he eon ntene ut on eque nut tht oAueno Seguno who te eng boo tht obvouly the

Aabian Nights ( though the ttle neve entone; 1 6 1 ) et bouteheng the nut only to n tht t w oble helette ooe e lothe hung out to y on lne n they ooeoe le u notton thn wtng ( 1 6 1 ) eque thene to h n te to ne h wth h ol wo but hee to tnlte the nut "No one ut now theenng untl he h ehe one hune ye o ge heexne ( 1 6 1 ) Jo Ao Seguno the eon ebe o theBuen lnege to evote he to the nut n the onewho e the ot oge n eheng the bee AuelnoBbon nge to the oe It he who nge toy the yt lette o the hent He w etn tht theyoeone to n lhbet o ty-even to tythee htewhh when ete looe le thng n bblng nwhh n the ne hn oelque looe le ee o othng ut

out t y on lne' ( 296) Fny t Auelno who ove tht



68 A N I B A L G O N Z L E Z

t languag n hh Mluads has ttn hs tt s Sanskt(p 30 ) but that s stll nt nugh baus th tt n Spansh ddnt man anythng th lns n d' (p 307) thus dspt

hang land Englsh and nh and a lttl Latn and Gk' naddtn t Sanskt (p 322) Aulan stll laks th ky that llnabl hm t gn th tts manng That ky s nt t b und a tt but n smthng that lks lk a tt; th bdy hs gtld hld by Amaanta Usula a dy and blatd bag skn(p 349 n Spansh un pllj hnhad y s') nt unlkMluads's pahmnts

Th sns tanslatn and th allusns t gn languags Ia just td stngly suggst that st all th tp tanslatnms a thad that uns thugh th nl and ntbuts t tshn t s bus that th nls plt ms nably tadstat nstant hn Mluads's manuspts a at last tanslatd andt dand natu Mands hsty s ald ahstan tanslatn gn languag austn n th nl s

a stp tads that gal and a pguatn th nls ndngSndly an s that tanslatn uns paalll n th nl tgnalgy th task tanslatng th manuspts s handd dnm n gnatn t th nt t sltd mmbs ahgnatn n muh th sam ay as Mluads's ghst appas tts h a t t dal th th manuspts ngma Nthlsstus I ha mly suyd th ustn tanslatn n th nlm a thmat pnt ; shall n nsd hat s thanng tanslatn n th bad ntt th nl Why stanslatn gundd n One Hnded Yea Solitde? What makstanslatn s mptant? What s ts latnshp th gnalgy andt nst phbtn?

T ty t ans sm ths ustns t s nssay st taddss usls t th ntt th thy tanslatn andsally t th thtal pnunmnts hh a I thnk

lant t any adng One Hnded Yea f Solitde Th st ts pnunmnts (n hnlgal d) blngs t Waltnamn; n hs llknn ntdutn t hs tanslatn audla's Tableax paiien ttld Th Task th anslat 923) namn dlps n hs haatstally ndnsd stylsm smnal das abut tanslatn t s mptant t nt st al that njamn ps nt t spak tanslatn n an abstat

sns but ath abut th k th tanslat and hat t an



Translatin and gnalgy One Hunded Yeas 69

ra but translatin and languag r njamin th atiity translatin inls a sarh r in njamin's trms purlanguag' in thr rds languag hih n lngr mans rprsss anything but is as prssinlss and rati Wrd thathih is mant in all languags' njamin is th prss translatin as a ital mpnnt litrary ratiity translatin is sr rmd m bing th stril uatin t dad languagsthat ll litrary rms it is th n hargd ith th spial missin athing r th maturing prss th riginal languag and thbirth pangs its n' njamin's apprah t th prblmatis

translatin is n-Hglian mphasiing as it ds a italisti ntinlangag and art and an ida translatin as a mmnt tardstransndn njamin ss translatin as a prss histrial rt b mr pris phillgial rsarh int languag hihthrugh th study th ntral kinship languags arris at aisin th prdstind hithrt inassibl ralm rniliatinand lmnt languags' .8 Translatin as njamin puts it

ultimatly srs th purps prssing th ntral ripralrlatinship btn languags t annt pssibly ral r stablishthis hddn rlatinship itsl; but it an rprsnt it by raliing it inmbryni r intnsi rm' As njamin nts this ida thattranslain dmnstrats th kinship languags is a mmnpla traditinal thris translatin; but njamin as ill rall gsa bit rthr h prpss that translatin in t rtlls r annuns

th istn a pur languag' a kind mmuniati ssnd m th ntingnt ariatins impsd upn it by th ariustngu and by th authr's intntins n this pur languag hihn lngr mans r prsss anything but is as prssinlss andrati Wrd that hih is mant in all languags all inrmatinall sns and all intntin nally nuntr a stratum in hih thyar dstind t b tinguishd' n suh a transndntal andmssiani ida translatin rligius ntins als ha t m int

play and indd njamin lss his ssay ith an atin Sriptu sard tts as unnditinally translatabl' baus inthm h tt is idntial ith truth r dgma' Yt njamin is alsaar in his ssay that translatin's prmis th ultimat rniliatin languags and th disry pur languag' is simply thata prmis and that in prati translatin's linguisti transr

can nevr be tota . Even when a surce content has been extracted and

transmited the primary concern of the genuine transator remans eusve



A N I B A L G O N Z L E Z

Whie content and anguage rm a certain unity in the origina ike auit and its skin the anguage of the transation enveops its ontent ike aroya robe with ampe ds. For it signies a more exated anguage than its

wn and thus remains unsuited to its content overpowering and aien hisdisjunction prevents transation and at the same time makes it superuous. 12

Thus th sard tt' th ts ttal hrn btn languag andntnt n hh n s nsparabl m th thr turns ut t b atth sam tm translatabl and untranslatabl aus ts dmanng th sard tt' sms t r ts n authrdtranslatn' btn th lns a translatn m th dsuntn

btn languag and ntnt that s prdud n thr tts by thunntrlld play manng; yt t s th ry ty th sardtt ts ttal hrn hh maks t mpssbl t translatbaus t s nt pssbl t pl llng namns mtaphr th ut th skn ts languag t gt at ts manng Wth tspt and suggst mtaphrs drd m phlsphal talsmand rlgn namn's mdtatn n translatn gs pgnant

prssn t th ssntal dubl bnd n hh th at translatn snsrbd As Jaus Drrda has pntd ut n glssng ths samssay by namn translatn n gnral (nt nly that sardtts') s aught n th parad ts smultanus pssblty anmpssblty Tts r thmsls up t b translatd t btransrmd nt thr tts hl at th sam tm thr ssntalprprty th systm ruls and nntns hh grns thrns btn languags plas nsurmuntabl barrrs ttranslatns ttal llmnt Drrda's ry rnt statmnts abuttranslatn hh ar basd n a dnstrut radng namns ssay mprs th snd thrtal prnunmnt rlantt ur radng One Hnded Yeas f Solitde Harkng bak t thblal myth abl Drrda shs h translatn s lnkd n thWstrn ultural tradtn t th prblmats th prpr nunTh myth abl tlls th stry th attmpt by th trb Shm

hs nam mans n t Nam') t mps thr n nam thrn languag n th hl unrs thrugh th rtn a trthat uld arry thm t th hans nly t nd thmsls hangt sur th mpstn by Gd a n prpr nun hh nshrnsrn and nsn (abl) Translatn may b sn as atransgrss struggl btn prpr nuns r n mr gnraltrms btn t ually prpr languags n hh trs t

ny th thrs spty Th nam abl (hh as th



Tanslatn and gnalgy One Hnded Yeas 7

Hb nam abyln, manng Gat Gd , adng t mstdtnas) maks th lmts mpsd n th myth by a tansndntal, sad authty upn th dssmnatn manng hhtansatn ams t bng abut; yt abl s th gat that tanslatnn ts sah gns and gnalty, alays ams t ss, n atth sk bngng abut nsn and th dspsn manng. nths sns, Dda s m adal n hs thughts abut tanslatnthan njamn Dda, th ntn tanslatn tnds t dny thsadnss any tt, and ass th ustn h t s that ttsb sad . Tanslatn and th sadnss tts s th man

ustn addssd by Jg Lus gs n hs ssay n Th HmVsns ( 93 ) , th thd and last thtal dsus I sh tan. gs s th mst mptant su Gaa Mustay dlgy, and hs thughts n tanslatn, hh paalll thsnjamn and Dda, sm t b md (as shall s) n OneHnded Yeas Soltde us th tp tanslatn n hs ssayn h Hm Vsns, gs dlas that n pblm s as

ntatly nntd th ltatu and ts mdst mysty as thatppsd by a tanslatn . . Tanslatn . sms dstnd t s asan llustatn astht dsussn . Phaps m pltly thannjamn n Th Task th Tanslat, gs mnds us h, ash ds als n hs sht sty P Mnad, Auth th Qxote that th ntn tanslatn s ntmatly lnkd t th natu ltatu, and that tanslatn an s as an nstumnt tal

nuy nt th kngs ltatu. n hs mmnts n saldnt sns Hms Ilad gs stsss tanslatns psmh t puy u undstandng a tt by lttng us s hhlmnts th gnal tt a supuus and hh a pat tsbas undlyng stutu

The cts of the Iliad and the 04 suvive in l but Achiles and Ulysseshave disappeaed, as well as what Home was tying to epesent when henamed hem, and what he eally hought about hem. The pesent state ohis

wok esembles a complex equation which sets down pecise elaionshipsbetwen unknown quantities8

Thugh an analyss th aus Englsh sns Hms Iladgs ppss, n hs typally blu and allus ay, a ntn tansatn as adal as Ddas. gs, as Dda,tansatn mpls a at bah lngust ppty hhlads t a ustnng th ltay tts ntgty and authty

Th plasus and th pls tanslatng Hm, gs pnts




ut ars m th mpssblty f sparatng hat blngs t thrtr and hat blngs t languag' Ery attmpt at translatnn f rks abut hch mr cnttual nrmatn s knn

than Hmr's Iliad lads t an rasur a knd f ttual razng arturn t th basc buldng blcks flanguag and manng rmths zr dgr' fsgncatn th n rsn must ars as ft ranthr yt nt altgthr drnt rk anthr yt th sam' asrgs says n n f hs urt phrass. r translatn t rkthn t mus b transgrss t must hld nthng sacrd last f allth tt As rgs rmarks n Th Hmrc Vrsns' T

prsupps that ry rcmbnatn f lmnts [f a tt] sncssarly nfrr t ts rgnal s t prsupps that draft numbrn s rcbly nfrr t draft numbr H snc thr can nr banythng but drafts. Th cncpt f th dnitive text blngs nly trlgn r t haustn.'

t s asy t s hr ths thrtcal dscurss abut translatnand One Hnded Yea f Solitde' mplct mdtatns n th sam

sbjct ntrsct. Th plt f Garca Mruz's nl nt nly dalsplctly th th undas task f translatg Mluads's manuscrpts t als rnscrbs that task translats' t n a bradr snsnt th languag f knshp (th all that t mpls n trms f thncst tab and th mprtanc f prpr nams) hch cngursth thr haf f th actn n th nl n a spcular mmnt that slk a pardy f Hglan dalctcs and hch lads nt t synthssbu t th nl's cllaps nt ts lngustc rgns. Th tt f thnl tslf nacts th sam prcss f gnalgcal rsarch that thtranslatrs n th unda mly ha t prrm n rdr t dcdth manuscrpts rsarch nt th gnalgy flanguag and nt thgnalgy f th unda mly ar bth smlar and cmplmntaryndaurs. Th asscatn f crtan charactrs n th nl thscc languags alrady suggsts ths. As ha sn n hsnsanty Js Arcad unda th undr f th ln rrts t

atn th languag that ga brth t Spansh and h rmans td ta tr that s bth a gnalgcal and a phllgcal mblm but thrar als n addtns n branchs s t spak addd t thundas' lngustc/gnalgcal tr as th yars g by. Thr armmbrs f th mly as ha sn h spak ndan languagsand thrs h larn Englsh (lk Aurlan ablna and Mmp. 235) plus Papamnt rnch Grk atn and f curs

Sanskrt. talan s als rprsntd nt nly n Ptr Crsp but als



Translatn and gnalgy One Hnded Yeas 73

n th asts Arad h rturns t Mand m aly Last bun lst thr s th ntrbutn s Arad th yung hrturns m hs martm adnturs spakng a Spansh hat aslardd th salrs slang (p. 83) but prhaps mr mprtantyh hs hl bdy (nludng hs unusual masulny) rdth ultlngual tatts (p. 84) . s Arads bdy-bm slk a mblm th mlys lngust smplansm and prgurs urs th dry and blatd bag skn rd thants h las unda Als knshp sl bms anhr thslangugs that must b mastrd and ddd br th manusrps

hmsls an b undrsd and hs s prsly ha happnsards th nd h nl hn Aurlan ablnas rlatnshpth Amarana Ursula lads hm t sk u hs mly rgns(p. 344).

L us n tak a lsr lk at Aurlan ablnas ask as atransltr at h h gs abut ranslatg th manusrps. Th rsthng h ds s t rad and larn as muh as h an abu h rld

(Mluads s as alays prsn lk h maralatn ammy t hlp; p. 30 1 ) . Th manusrpt s stll n rgss rmsltl r than a mpl uatn hh ss dn prsrlatnshps bn unknn uants; s Arad Sgundhad hlpd dn th uatn s t spak by untng andlassng h lttrs th alphab n hh th manusrps rr bu t s Aurlan h dsrs hat th languag that

alpha s Sanskr (p 30 ) and hus h bgns ll n thunknns n th uan Sanskr s urs th Upache Spanh and Aurlans dsry has ld hm th rgns thlngu gnalgy Spansh Aurlans task translatn bgnsas h ry translan (as njamn rmnds us) h a rurn tth rgns h sur but h n has th lngust sur th th rgnal languag (n ry sns) h tt h stll has nda a t ha ts ntn mght b. Tha s hy Aurlans radngsar s d-rangng s nylpad and a th sam tm sanuaran; h busly assums that an annt manusrpt rtnn a ad languag an nly dal h pas nts Lar hnAurlan manags transltrat (nt t translat hugh)Mladss tt nt h Spansh alphab h dsrs hat hr santhr barrr t translan Th t s n d that s say n stllanthr languag and th ll translatn th manusrpts dpnds

n Aulan bng abl gur ut h rlatnshp th knshp s




spea, beeen Spansh and Meluadess see de. hs shee, nally, he appaenly paallel lnes enealy and_anslan n he nel nee Meluadess de, as e lean n

he las paes he nel and as he manusps epaph suess, she lanuae nshp sel Thest fthe lne s ted to a tee and the lasts beng eaten b the ants (p 349 Ye, e ee ean pns henel, e shall see ha he lanuae enealy, nshp, and henlede lanuaes ha maes anslan pssble had beenndn all aln he e. Thee ae a numbe asns n hee hen anslan, lanuae leann, and seual elans ae

ned Le us emembe Js Aad he yunes seual enuneh he ypsy l, n hh anslan ued s busly (p 36 A he ppse eeme, e nd Pe Cesps enle ushp,hh s als medaed n pa by hs anslans Peah (p 97 When Meme uenda bemes nled h Mau ablna, s beause he endshp h he Ameans, hh led he leannlsh (p. 235 le us als eall Auelan ablnas elanshp

h Papamenspean Nmana n hh Auelan uldpend hs mnns dephen pahmens and a sesa me heuld he bedm hee Nmana as an hm, eah hm s h d le eahms, hen le snals andnally le abs . (p 326 u peaps he emblem hs lnbeeen enealy, n, and anslan n he e s, as haead bee, Js Aads aed male membe hee he aheaneyed eudan symblsm he n mplemen as phallusbemes lealed, and he ds n seeal lanuaes nenedn blue and ed (p 84 n Js Aads pens ee he nsn anuaes a abel and he Shemes phall e And he bndbeeen enealy and anslan an be eended sll he n abade sense he d, s n anslan ne he nseuenes he maae Js Aad and Usula, hen hey ae ed mae m haha ae Js Aad lls Puden Aula?

Ae n Clnel Auelan uendas seeneen sns enendeed nhe mah, s spea? Des n Pla enea subsue (anslae?ana Sa de la Pedad hesel n he shads Aads m ad mmn nes? And, lean he uendas enealyasde, ae n he ypses hemseles anslas a s, mnabu m hee hee ass he samp and, ndeed, ass held, bnn Mand he esn he usde ld? s n

eluades hmsel he ansla a en nlede n Spansh



Translaion and genealogy One Hnded Yea 75

and f he ure hisory of Macondo ino Sanskri? Clearly, whenransaion is undersood in such a broad manner, he conceps oflanguage, wriing, genealogy, and ranslaion all collapse ino asingl, chaoic vorex of disseminaion ha is reminiscen of hebiblial hurricane' ha erases Macondo om he ce of he earh

The meaphoric equivalen of such a disseminaion of he ermranlaion' in he novel's plo is, of course, Aureliano Babilonia's andAmarana Ursula's violaion of he inces prohibiion. Translaionand inces boh share a ransgressive naure, boh are improper' acsha mply breaching he barriers beween members of he same

mil or beween wo languages As Borges and Derrida poin ou,ransaion is a criical, disseminaing aciviy ha arises om hequesoning of he propery' or appropriaeness of nouns n hisconex, we can undersand he anxiey wih which Aureliano seeksou he origin ofhis name in he parish archives, no only o make surehe is no Amarana Ursula's broher bu also o ascerain hepropiey' of his name, of his origins We can undersand his

conion and his ourage when he becomes los in he labyrnhs ofkinshp' and he pries, aer hearing his name, ells him no o wearhimself ou searching, since many years ago here used o be a sreehere ih ha name and in hose days people had he cusom ofnaming heir children aer srees' (p . 344) Ye Aureliano's name iseven ore appropriae' han he could have ever imagined, since i isno, as he ells i o he pries, Aureliano Buenda', bu Aureliano

Babilnia' : Aureliano Babel, Aureliano he Gae of God, AurelianoConsion, Aureliano TranslaionHowever, we should recall here Derrida's observaion abou

ranslaion's conradicory, aporeic naure, is being a he same imepossible and impossible; somehing always escapes he ranslaor InAurelano's case, i is no only hose eleven pages (or more, p 350) hahe skips in order o anicipae he ending of he manuscrip, bu also,quie simply, he manuscrip's end iself Translaion is an endless

aciviy, and appropriaely, Aureliano, in his reading of he manuscrip is caugh in a exual version of Zeno's paradox he canapproach he manuscrip's end, bu he can never reach or read i,because he ex reells his ure and is always one sep ahead ofhim; in order o reach he conclusion, he is rced, inelucably, o crossa previous span of ime and ofex) and no maer how much he skips,he wil always have o read again and hus be chained o he ex's

yrannical emporaliy22 In much he same way, Aureliano's incesu



A NI B A L G O N Z L E Z

ous union with Amaranta Ursula has chained him irrevocably to hisdoomed genealogy and, likeJos Arcadio Buenda, he too ends up tiedto a genealogical) tree, rooted to a spot that is like the eye of the

biblical hurricane' that razes Macondo If the biblical hurricane' isseen as a gure r interpretation, r criticism at its most etreme (as itis induced by translation), then it is signicant that the eye' of thatvorte, the centre which powers it, is Aureliano's tragic andimpossible search r trascendence in the manuscripts, r a principleof perfect and coherent communication akin to Benjamin's purelangage' Translation, like incest, leads back to selfreeiveness, to a

cyclonic turning upon one's self which erases all illusions of solidity, allntasies of a pure language', all mirages of propriety', andunderscores instead language's dependence on the very notion ofotherness', of dierence, in order to signify something', as well as thenovel's similar dependence on other' discourses (those ofscience, law,and religion, r eample) to constitute itself The novels proverbialgeneric indenition may well be an indication that, of all the literary

genres yet invented, it is the one which most closely mimics therootlessness of language (and the complementary desire to nd itsroots that it engenders) as it was conceived aer modern philology, atthe end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenthcenturies, nally debunked the myth of the divine origins oflanguage The myth of Babel may be one of the unding myths oftransation, and indirectly, of the novel, but i t is precisely in the novelwhere that myth is most visibly and consistently denied Moreconcretely, Aureliano's task as a translator in One Hunded Yea fSolitude reveals the sterility to which a notion of literature based onliterature's own selfsuciency, on literature's solitude' , leads Likeraces condemned to one hundred years of solitude', a literaryendeavour that does not take cogniance ofits need r otherness' andr links with other discourses does not have a second opportunity onearth' (p 3 )

One Hunded Yeas <Solitude regrounding of translation as a vitalconstitutive element of the novel can thus be seen as a Cervantinegesture which tends to unmask the humble origins of the genre; likethe Quxote and the popular romances of chivalry that the Quixoteparodies, Garca Mrquez's novel represents its own origins astranslation, as that mildly illegal, somewhat treasonous act whichviolates the propriety oflanguage and the laws of poetics and makes of

the novel, metaphorically, a wandering orphan like the cao cut o



Translation and genealogy On Hundrd Yars 77

o orat odds with its other tongue always seeing a new asteralwas seeing to aster itself.2 But perhaps it is not necessary toreturn to Spain to see out the origins ofOn Hundrd Yars fSotudselfreexive use of translation. snt this after all already a part of theprobeatics of writing in Aerica a probleatic that arose with thediscovery and conuest of the New World lie a literalied version ofthe old Medieval topic of transato mr?5 t ay be enough toreeber the exaple of the Colonial mstzo author Garcilaso ncawho by the way translated Leone Hebreos Daogh d amor intoSpanish o the talian and wose onuental Roya Commntars

were to a great extent an attept to translate the eleents ofQuehua culture into the sphere of European huanistic culture.6Translation is also present in the wors of the unding gures ofodrn Latin Aerican culture o Bello the philologist throughSariento the politician and teacher and Mart the revolutionaryleader and one of the unders of modsmo In the conteporaryLatin Aerican novel translation recurs constantly We need only

recal wors such as Carpentiers Exoson n a Cathdra ( 1 962) inwhic one of the protagonists Esteban translates the Declaration ofthe Rights of Man and other docuents ofthe French Revolution intoSpansh. The characters constant wordplay in Guillero Cabreranntes hr rad grs ( 1 964) also involves translation andtranslation is explicitly discussed in any of the characters dialogues.Julio Cortars Hosoth ( 1 964) , with its international cast of

characters and their constant shuttling bac and rth betweenFrane and Argentina also incorporates translation visibly into itsaeup. But it is Garca Mrue in On Hundrd Yars oSotudwhohas ore clearly than anyone bere hi even Borges pointed outtransations ey role in the constitution of Latin Aerican literatureand culture. The topic of translation in On Hundrd Yars Sotud is areider of atin Aerican literatures ipure and conictiveorigis. However Aureliano Babilonias tragic discovery that he too

is a translation r o being an assertion of Latin Aericasperptual dependence on soe reign original or sacred text isGarca Mrues way of calling attention instead to a literaturesorigis in translation in the transport - through violence or exchange of eaning o other texts and other languages into the literarytext.



AN I B A L G O N Z L E Z

otes

l

I shoul inict hr tht I uch inbt, in y unrstnin of th wyth qustion ofwritin is trt in One Hundred Years oSoliude to rcnt ssy byRobrto Gonzlz chvrr, Cien aos de soledad: th Novl s Myth nArchiv, MN99:2 1 984), 358-80 I hv lso bnt o n ssy by irRoruz Monl, One Hundred Years oSoliude th Lst Thr Ps, BooksAbroad 43 1973) , 485-9 Trnsltion, s will point out ltr n ths ssy, s niportnt topic throuhout th history of Ltn Aricn ltrtur, but it isworth notin tht it hs bco n spclly visibl on in rt nycontporry Ltin Arcn novls; t pprs with prticulr pronnc nworks by such vrs uthors s Aljo Crpntr, Julio Cortzr, Guillro

Cbrr nnt, Svro Sruy, Mnul Pu, n, of cours, Bors of whoor will b s n ths ps)

2 Whn sy trnsltion hr, I rfrrin to th orinry us of th tr sntrlnuistic trnsltion', to us Jkobsons rulton, n not to nytyoloicl or broly concv nin thr will b onts ltr in thisssy whn I wll k us ofn xpn nin of th tr) J kobsons wllknown trprtit nition of trnsltion s intrlinuistic trnsltion, orprphrs; s intrlnuistic trnslton, or trnsltion btwn lnus nintrsiotc trnsltion, or trnslton btwn irnt sin systs) is un in

his ssy On Linuistic Aspcts of Trnsltion, in R A Browr ), OnTranslaion Cbri, Mss, 959), pp. 232-93 Gbril Grc Mrquz, Cien aos de soledad Bunos Airs torl

Suricn, 97 3), p 36 All quots will b o ths ition Th trnsltionin ll css is in, lthouh I hv consult, of cours, Grory Rbsssstrl vrsion, One Hundred Years Soliude Nw York Avon Books, 970)

4 S Gonzlz chvrrs conts on this scn in Cien aos de soledad thNovl s Myth n Archiv, 377-8.

5 In so wys, One Hundred Years Soliude coul b sn s proy of thBildungsroman or, prhps or prcisly, s proy of ny nubr of Ronticn PostRontic works of litrtur n philosophy, o Hls Phenomen-olo he Spiri to Vsconcloss La raa csmica in which th lrnin procss issn not only n iniviul trs but s collctiv, rcl ntrpris s thccuultion of collctiv ory, or, s Gonzlz chvrr susts n thrticl cit bov, n Archiv

6 Wltr Bnjin, Th Tsk of th Trnsltor, in Iluminaions it n with nintrouction by Hnnh Arnt Nw York, 969), p 80

7 Ibid p. 738 Ibid p 75

9 Ibid p 72IO Ibid p 80I Ibid p 822 Ibid p 75 3 Jcqus Drri e al. Loreille de laure oobiogaphies raners raduions

Montrl, 1982), pp 137-8 n e seq 4 Ibid pp 135-75 Ibid pp 94-7 I usin th tr ssintion hr in th sns propos by

Jcqus Drri in La disseminaion Pris, 97 2) or Drri ssntion is noprtion prr by crtin txts or vn inivul wors, such s



Translation and genealogy: One Hundred Years 79

sulemet arerg r traslati itse which csists i maig meaigciruate ideite thrugh seera dieret dmais (sciece mathematicsregi chaasis etc uti the budaries which dee meaig i the

rt ace are erased16 Se Rdrguez Megal, One Hundred Years oSolitude the Last Three Pages alsRbert zez Echearra, With Brges i Macd, Diacritics 1 ( 9 5 60

1 Jrge Luis Brges Las ersies hmricas i Discusi6n (Bues Airs, 95 105 M traslati

1 Ibid, 1019 Ibid, 100 Ibid, 05-6 1 O ishi as a laguage see the cmmets b the mst distiguished et

f uch a ti, Claude LiStrauss i The Scope oAnthropolo trasated mth Frech b Sherr Orter Pau ad Rbert A Paul (Ld 96 , 3 1-4There is als a er e stud f ishi sstems as aguages i One Hundred Yearsolitude, de b a critic wh is as a athrgist Mercedes LezBarat'Cien aos de soledad cultura e histria latiamericaas reateadas e e idimade! aretesc, Revista de Estudios Hispnicos (Saua de Puert Ric 6 ( 199 ,15-5

Se zez Echearras ertiet remars abut temrait adMuadess mauscrits i Cien aos de soledad: the Nel as Mth ad Archie

36.3 Edward W Said, Orientalism (New Yr Vitage Bs 99 3 I haeud er elighteig Rah Freedmas reectis the thereticadiculties raised b the el as a gere, i The Pssibilit f a Ther f theNel i The Disciplines Criticism Essays in Litera Theo, Interpretation andHito, edited Peter Demetz, Thmas reee ad Lwr Nels Jr (NewHae, 196, 5-

4 A mre histricall rieted stud fthe relatishi betwee traslati ad thergis f the mder el wuld rbab hae t begi t with the icaresuebut with a csiderati f the tic f trasati i the rmaces f chiar Asis w, these were a rm f uar iterature i siteethcetur Sai;iterest i them was eed b the stalgia r chialr which eraded the curtf Charles V Ceratess ard f the rmaces f chialr wet s r as ticude smethig that was a tic f eer chialric rmace the claim that thetet was a trasati it Saish m a mauscrit ud r awa ad writtei a reig smetimes archaic, laguage (urite reig laguages icudedEgish, erma Arabic, Hugaria Phrgia as wel as ree ad LatiSice the Quixote writig was mtiated, i art b Ceratess desire t criticizeth rmaces f chiar, it is t ujustied, I thi, t regard these as imrtat

rcursrs f the mder el A gd schlar itrducti t the rmaces fchialr is rided i Daiel Eisebergs Romances f Chival in the Spansh GoldenAg (Newar 19

5 O the tic f traslatio i the Lati Midde Ages see Erst Rbert CurtiusEuopean Literature and the Latin Middle Ages, traslated b Wilard R Tras(Picet NJ, 193 -30

6 Eriue PuWaer Historia creaci6ny prfeca en los textos del Inca Garcilaso de laVea (Madrid, 9 1 -0; see as Rbert zlez Echearra,Humaism retrica las cricas de la cuista, i Isla a su vuelo jugitivaEnayos cr(icos de literatura hispanoamericana (Madrid 93 9-5



6

The humour of

One Hundred Years Solitude

C L I V E G R I F F I N

I t s e te o ne comc wrters o be taken serosy. Masers oentertanment ke Cerantes and More ae been woeymsed by tose wo consder mor and te spnnng oa good aeto b worty o a dsngsed artst ony wen a ece rsomeng ese. Reapprasas o ese two wrers ae oweerepd to resce tem om crtcs nten on extractng compex

psopes or terary teores om ter comc works. Screapprasas sggest tat Garca Mrqe mgt smary be examned wt prot rst and remost as a morst r tere are areadycear sgns tat e s no to escape te te o s predecessors. OneHundred ears ofSolitude, te noe wc brogt m me and onwc s reptaton st argey rests as been caed a work o deeppessmsm' an nterpreae medtaton pon e eratre o esbontnent or an anayss o te re o LanAmercanstoy Isoated passages o te noe cod at a pnc be made tospport sc assertons bt ese nterpretatons w not ep s tonderstand t as a woe nor to accont r ts remarkabe popartyamog a eterogeneos readersp wc as scant knowedge o estoy o Coomba or o e recent terary prodcon o SpansAmeca. Hmor oweer can ct across cra and eenngstc bondares appeang to te east and most sopstcated

and knowedgeabe readers.To assert om e otset tat One Hundred ears s nny s peraps

to beg te qeston. Neerteess ere s ampe edence n e noetat e caracters temsees nd eac oter's antcs and statementscomca as tey roar w agter' or coke back gaws'ncdenay te ator aso appears to ae nd te noe'scomoston a sorce o consderabe amsement. To cam tat On

Hundred ears s moros s not o se te noe sort nor s t to deny8 1



82 C L I V E G R I F F I N

hat i may conain passags which ar no nny; indd on ofGarca Mruz's strnghs is his ability to capur th poignant orvn snimnal momn. Rahr i is to rcogniz tha as Crvans

himslf maintaind comic writing can b as dicult to accomplishnd as worthwhil o rad as any ohr and o oblig th litrary criico xamin th author's skill as a humorist

would mainain that h novl's appal is largly du to th widang of dirn typs of humour mployd by its auhor At on ndof h spctrum w hav h rnal comic situaions batingsdisguiss misakn idnity wi buoonry indcncy' apprciad

by radrs rgardlss of hir cultural background and litraryxprinc; 4 thn thr ar ohr kinds of humour which nd an choonly among thos with paricular knowldg of Colombia or of hiratur of h subconinn; and at th othr nd of th spctrumw ar rad o h Shandyism and novlistic slfawarnss soblovd of modrn critics Nvrhlss howvr obsrvan hadr h will invitably miss at h vry nd of his rang h in

oks' which h auhor claims wr insrtd r th bn of a fwinds. Europans and hos obligd o rad h work in translationwill of cours miss vn mor. n this ssay shall giv an account ofhis broad spctrum of subjcts and chnius which provoklaughtr

Som thorticians of humour concntrat on th sort of subjcswhich ar inhrntly comical' mainaining r xampl hat onnivrsal sourc of laughtr in Wsrn socitis is h violaion ofaboos Th commonst of ths subcts concrn sxual or othrbodily ncions. One Hundred ear abounds with such scns JosArcadios Hrculan srngh and statur may b nny nough insl but vn mor so is his minutly dscrbd and incrdiblmbr covrd wih a maz of blu and rd taoos writn invral languags' (p . 84) a ting rbar of Aurliano Babilonia'sually asonishing appndag on which at h nd of th novl h

balancs a botl of br as h cavors drunknly round on ofacondos brothls. Scns of sxual intrcours caus us o smilihr bcaus of thir xubrant roticism lik th sismic orgasmsnjoyd by Jos Arcadio and Rbca or bcaus of som of th fmalharactrs ridiculous prudry Ursula is rluctan o rmov hrhastiy bl and consumma hr marriag and Frnanda obys aalndar of prohibitd days' on which sh rss to grant th

husband whom sh latr dscribs as hr righl dspoilr' vn th



The humour of One Hundred ears

igi sumission which characterizes their physical relationship.Deviation provides even more n Jos Arcadio Segundo and thelocal verger have a penchant r sheasses Amaranta is a maiden auntwho even when od is the oject of incestuous ntasies rgeneations ofBuendas; not ony is the eete Pietro Crespi thought toe a homoseual ut Catarino is known to e one; there is even a dogin th zoologica rothe which is descried as a gente pederast whonevetheless serviced itches to earn his keep' (p 333) SimilarlyGara Mrquez employs lavatorial jokes descriing the compleitiesof entertaining sityeight schoolgirls and ur nuns in a house with

only one toiet or the pungency of Jos Arcadio's atuence whichmaks owers wither on the spot

Toos are not imited to odily nctions Death and religion are asoure ofjokes in most societies the latter eing even more piquant inas conservatively Catholic a country as Colomia n One Hundredear most of the characters either de away in old age (Jos ArcadioBuenda the Colonel Ursua Reeca and Mequades) or ese their

deats are treated with ack humour Jos Arcadios corpse emitssuch an evil stench that his mourners decide in desperation to seasonit wih pepper cumin and aure eaves and oil it over a gentle heatr a whole day' (p l 8 ) the ody ofFernanda's distinguished ther- appropriately enough a Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepuchre spen so ong on its journey to Macondo that when the con wasopened the skin had erupted in stinking elches and was simmering in

a uling othy stew' (p 86) ; a drunken nera party uries thetwin Jos Arcadio Segundo and Aureliano Segundo in each other'sgravs thus putting the nal touch to the running joke aout theirmudled identities.

Fernanda's stuy reigiosity makes her the utt of numerous comicscens ut more sutly and with nice irony the narrator caims thatthe ideie cross worn y al of the Coonels campaign sons wilguarantee their safety yet in the end their murderers recognize them

precisely y this sacred sign A statue of St Joseph revered y Ursuaturn out to e merely a hiding pace r the god which enales areneade apprentice Pope to indulge in orgies with his potentialcatamites while osessed y incestuous desires r his greatgreat aunt

The nal taoo is a linguistic one r the dialogue of One Hundredear is a convincing representation of the epression of unculturedcharcters r whom epletives are part of everyday speech. These are

equently used comically to deate scenes which are in danger of



C L V E G R I F F N

becoing oversenienal For eape he aiable GerineldoMuezs grief a being rejeced by Aarana is reeced by asypaheic Naure; he sends his corade he Colone a poignan

essage Aureiano i is raining in Macondo ony o receive herepy Don be a prick Gerinedo Of course is raining; is Augus(p 144)

The vioaion of hese aboos is never prurien The auhor rasse deah reigion and anguage wih a ighheared candour ndeed as Aureiano egundo observes when he sees Fernandas prinighdress which covers her o head o o bu has a arge round

deicaey ried hoe over her ower soach (p 82 ) i isprudishness which is realy obscene iiary eupheis leads onyo pain and ridicue Fernanda seeks a cure r her edical condiionbu as she canno bring herself o describe he ebarrassingsypos openy he invisibe docors are unabe o diagnose heropain and she is condened o a ife of suering

Renaissance heoriss of coedy undersandably enough did no

idenify he conravenion of such aboos as a source of huour;raher hey conjecured ore absracy ha i was he provocaion ofwonderen and surprise in he reader or specaor which causedmirh uch wonderen ies a he hear of uch of he augher ofne Hundred Years where Garca Mruez has euen recourse oaggeraion nasy and he ridicuous Whie we are wiing oaccep ha os Arcadio reurns o his raves a grown an heaggeraion wih which his epois and appeies are recounediher eads he reader o rejec he nove as nonsense or as Forser hasi o pay he era sipence a he ir and reve in nasy andyperbole Jus as he laughs a he reacion of he naive inhabians ofMacondo whose descripion of he rs rain o be seen in he own is ofa errifying objec like a kichen puling a vilage (p 1 92 ) so hereader is invied o laugh a his own reacion when his epecaions ofhe narraive are chalenged and he has o suspend his noral

jdgeen abou wha is possible in reaiy and cion and wha is no is wih wonderen ha he earns of a nasic characer ikeMeuades who eueny reurns o he and of he dead bu whorows od here jus as people do in he and of he ving of heppearance of he Duke of Marlborough (he Mabr of heradiiona panish nursery rhye) a he Colonels side in he civiwar or of oher eualy nasic siuaions ofen described in

bsurdy precise deail such as he oveaking of Pera Coes andureliano egundo which increases he nubers of heir ivesock



The humour of One Hundred Years

oerngt. Although the ntay oen an extenon o or ametaphr r realty uch wonderment prooke laughter. A tuaton an eent or a character may tart out a entrely credble but bya logca deelopment ad absurdum they become comcal. Thu weundertnd that Fernanda and Urua llowng a welletablhedtradton among uppercrut Colomban me hould wh JoArcado ther only legtmate on and greatgreatgrandon to enterthe church ther ambton ony become humorou becaue they aredetermned that he hould not be jut any ort of pret and et aboutgroomng hm om chldhood r the job of Pope On other occaon

howeer the comedy rede n atonhng u by gratutou detal Jo Arcado Buenda can ncreae h weght at wll - or by achalenge to our noton of caue and eect ether through the eent ofthe nol or the llogcalty of the character reaonng thu rntance Franc Drake come to Rohacha excluely to et nmoton he eent of the noel whch wl eentually ead to the brth ofa baby wth a pg tal when Melquade breath begn to mel he

gen a bath.Garca Mrquez urpre the reader by a contant wtchng of

tone whch lke the explete mentoned aboe ere humorouy todeate carely contructed mood of eroune or rebodng.Petro rep decrbed a the perfect utor r Amaranta: he ntuatd n a way t mpled that only romantc Italan can beloe make h bune proper he loed n turn by the whole

mly. All augur well r ther marrage and happne. Yet afterth long buldup h paonate propoal met wth her Dont be aol Crp d rather de than marry you (p . 98) . Smlary theauthor arelly create upene about the Colone reacton to thegnng f the Treaty ofNeerlanda. We hae all the tradtonal cluethat Aureano wl do the honourabe thng aer urrenderng to thegoernent: the Colone enure that he ha a ngle bulet n hpto h ak h doctor wth apparent caualne n what part of hchet h heart ocated he detroy all h paper and h mother bdhm rewell makng hm prome that h at thought wl be of her.A we had feared he doe ndeed hoot hmelf and the narratoraure u Urua realze wth her extraordnary power of ntutonthat Aurelano ha been kled. It then tranpre that he not dead atall but rather conumed wth anger: the doctor had trcked hm andthe bult med h heart n a trce he plannng to ead a new

rebello agant the goernment.Here t the unexpected and th often mean the ncongruou




whch causes wonderent and therere huour I t has aread beenobserved that ognant scenes are euent underned b anncongruous eetve an narorate stateent or a bathetc

concuson to an esode In other was surrse s created beaggeraton b the narrators ngenuous throwawa coent orb bzarre reactons to events. he ower of the Banana Coan todecree that t shoud ran n Macondo r ur ears eeven nthsand two das s nn because t s an eaggerated and absurdrecse etenson of the rea ower of the utnatonas n the hrdWord. he narrator's coent cong aer hs detaed account of

Jos Arcado's ouart wth Macondos whores hs seua rowessrotous vng and barbarous anners that he ddn t anage to settedown n the ' . 84) s coca because t s a aconcunderstateent of the dsart between fe andJos Arcado'sbehavour. he deta that Fernandas on concern aer Reedosthe Beaut had been assued nto the heavens whe hangng outthe washng was that her sheets had dsaeared s huorous because

t s such an narorate undane reacton to a suernaturaevent wth Chrstan undertonesJust as ngustc taboos are voated so the author causes

wonderent n the reader b hs use of anguage hs s often theresut of concrete and aost oetc etahors whch are eoed todescrbe abstract oods n an eressve but decded okeshon such as the angroveswa of deru 63) theeggantatch of her eores' . 236) the ered and woreaten guavagrove ofove . 2 37 ) a uagre ofangush . 246) and a bog of concuscence' . 3 ) , or the teng zeuga kePatrca Browns nghts of ntoerance and cked cucubers nPrattve Aabaa . 340) . In a derent wa narorate wordsare used r coc eect when he resees Jos Arcado Buenda'sdeath Cataure an uneducated Indan servant returns to Macondor as he uts t the kng's eeues 25) . he reader s rther

surrsed b the wa n whch cchs are treated tera and haveunreseen resuts Ursua reses to be hotograhed because sheddnt want to becoe a aughngstock r her grandchdren'. 49) et ater she becoes ute tera a athng r her greatgreatgrandchdren We are used at east n cton to hearngntuated en rotest to ther sweethearts that the w de f therove s not reuted: Reedos the Beaut rea does have etha

owers and deas an deaths to her adrers; and Ursua gves u



The hmr f One Hundred Years

ryig dmesicae Remedis rsig ha ser r laer smemirace wld happe (p. 204 i he shape fa sir wh wld ridhe ily f her ly r a real miracle slve he prblem wheRemedis is assmed i heave

Hwever all he y elemes i he vel ca be ealyacced r by beig caegrized as ab sbjecs r as he case fhe wderme Reaissace wriers believed lie a he rs flagher Iry is allpervasive ad Garca Mrqez mixes i wihsraighrward cmedy f siai characer ad lagage. JsArcadi Beda srips dw ad rebilds a piala i sch a way ha

he lgawaied pary celebrae he exesi f he mily hme isaccpaied i a scee f high rce by Pier Crespi'smeldis walzes b by a msical cacphy The radiialexpsre f hypcrisy prvides cmedy f characer especially whehe b is smebdy as pleasa as Ferada Her rs reaci he ws f he birh f her illegiimae grads is hik fmrdrig he ice wh brgh he baby he mily

hme she sbseqely lies ab his rigis sacrilegisly rehearsig he sry f Mses d amg he blrshes. I is a ice iryha i is his grads wh will decipher he prphesies ab hehisry f his peple. Lagage is iself a srce f hmr m hesimpl play wrds by Js Arcadi Beda we eed jdge[orregidor: lierally crrecr'] i Macd becase here is higi ed f crreci here' (p 55) ad he csa repeii f

epihs il hey becme absrd he rieal raders are alwaysreferrd as he Arabs wh exchage rikes r parrs (pp 6928 r , ec - he iversi f a sephrase - he ahriies cme Macd esablish disrder' (p. 55) - ad he playl allierai fgbbldegk sch as qi iba a saber q pedej mejje dejaraplliss geis jerslimias [lierally Gd kew whabld ccci fsyrpy Hierslymia geises'] ' (p. r 93 . As isradial i he heare acce r verbal pmpsiy are sed

cmic eec s Ferada speaks a ravesy f he lagage f heClmbia highlads which is ridicled as a imiai f peislarSpaish ad crass markedly wih he earhy ad lacic Caribbea speech f he arrar ad he her ihabias fMacd. Iis icidece ha w f Feradas srames are Arge adCarpi r her aral' Spaish as well as her aachrisicedcai aspirais ad religisiy ideify her as a desceda f

w Spai's greaes Glde Age praciiers f elabrae lierary




ye Lui de Ggora y Argote ad Lope de Vega Carpio Heraguage i equety icopreheibe to the other character adit i ipied oribud - her chidhood occupatio i her cod

acera hoe wa appropriatey eough the aucture ofera wreath O oe occaio he decribe heref agoddaughter to the Duke of Aba ad a getewoa of uch purepedigee that he caued preidet wive greate evy a obe adie ofte boode etited to ig herefe with the eeve urae whichgraced her Spaih rbear (p 2 74)

Thee eeet of huour woud appea to ot reader of One

undred ears. However ay of the ove cee deped r a fuerapreciatio of their darker ad ore iroic huour upo a broadaquaitace with the Lati Aerica pat ad preet ad a orepecic kowedge of Coobia with it vioet hitory of iteratugge ad the extraordiary ioatio of it viage couitierich i kore Character o thi kore uch a Fracico eobre are auigy icorporated ito the ove whie true

eiode o Coobia hitory are ed with the ctioa arratie deed the tory of the trike of baaa worker ad theirbequet aacre i paradoxicay e y to a reader whoraize how coe it i to the rea evet which took pace i Ciaga iI 28 ad 1 929 ad who recogize the ae ofrea participat ithoe evet tha it woud be r a reader who ee it erey aaother exaggerated cee o a typica epiode i Lati Aericahitory Yet the epoyet of a redutio ad absurdum ofoca poiticaiue i eewhere ore coica. t i true that Coobi ibera hadught at the tur of the cetury r aog other thig thercogitio of civi arriage but i One Hundred ears a ibera odiercai that were wagig thi war agait the priet o that we caarry our ow other (p. 32 ) . Moe idirect are the iroicreferece to the Cuba Revoutio which wa ti the otiportat poitica evet i the ubcotiet whe One Hundred ears

w writte The choice of a character caed Geera Mocada towho Urua tak after receivig a eage o Satiago de Cuba it rtuitou r the Revoutio coud reaoaby be aid to havetrted with Fide Catro uucce attack o the Mocadabrrak i Satiago de Cuba i 1 953 Subequet evet i the oveed to Geera Mocada' iight that o uch ghtig agait theitary ha ade Cooe Aureiao Bueda iditiguihabe o

the. The iroy of thi coet woud ot be ied by reader



he humour of ne Hundred Years 89

accusomed to seeing Castro the erstwhie guerrilla dressed inmiitary unirm and constanty reviewing one of the mos powerlarmies in the subcontinen. Neither would he miss Moncadasdeaion ofa typica example of Casros rhetoric in the scene in whichthe Coonel visits the Genera in his cel on the eve of his execution

Remmber, Moncada it is not I who is having you shot but theRevolution.'General Moncada did not even bother to get up fom his bed when he saw theCoonl come inFuck o, Buenda he replied

her is also much in ne Hundred Years r he more experiencedreade of novels wih whom Garca Mrquez pays constantyundemining his expecaions. he rs sentence of the book is anexamle of this payness:

Many years later, as he fced the ring squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendawould recall that distant aternoon on which his ther took him to see whatce ws. (p g)

Apar om the readers surprise that one can be taken o discoversomething as commonplace as ice, his inroducory sentence conainswo important implications abou the subsequen story First, theCoonel will be executed by ring squad and second, as is traditionalin noes where a condemned or drowning mans ife rushes bere hiseyes at the moment of deah, the Coone reives he experiences of hisinny. he novel is, hen going to be the lifestory of his character

beginning in eary chidhood and ending wih his execuion. hisassuption is carely reinrced by the author throughou the rsfew captrs of the novel. We read, r example ha many yearsater, a second bere the regular army ocer gave he ring squad heorder to shoot, Colone Buenda relived tha warm March afternoon(p. 2 1 [see also pp 50, 75 and 87] . A measure of doub is ater cast onhe assumption hat he is o die in this manner when we hear ha heived o old age by making litle god shes which he manucured in

his wrkshop in Macondo (p. 9 and ha he survived a least onering squad but, as his is accompanied by he staemen ha he neveralowd himsef to be photographed and we already know this to beuntrue (p 50 , we have learn by his point in he novel to reat suchdeail with healthy scepicism Our expecaions are rher conrme by the te of his nephew Arcadio. We are od ha Yearsater when he was cing he ring squad, Arcadio woud recal

. . ' (p. 68; She was he last person Arcadio hought of, a few years



90 C E G R F F N

laer wen e ce e ring sqa (p 82 ) ; an Afew ons laerwen e ce e ring sqa Arcaio wol reive . . (p o ) Asin is case e resaowing rns o o e accrae an Arcaio

oes inee ee is en in sc an execion e reaers eief ae Colonel wil o so also is conre. I is en wi no a ieconsernaion a wen e Coones eqenly annonce execion oes occr - no a e en of e nove as expece lessan afway rog - e reaer iscovers a e is no even kilen a orosy aeic scene e Coone is resce a e eevenor c o e relief of e sqa wo ieiaey join i in a

new reelion Te rs senence of e novel an is ecepiveipicaions s eac e reaer a e narraor is no o erse Soeies e (or possily Garca Mrqe iself) iserey le wen Areiano Segno is sai o rea ofying ina nig of passion wi Fernana e srey eans Pera Coes; wene says a e Coonels seveneen capaign sons are a rere ina single evening (p. 9) e overooks Areiano Aaor wo escapes

only o e so in Macono any years aer (p 3 7) wen ecasaly enons a Arcaio an is isress Sana Soa e laPiea ransfer eir loveaking o e roo a e ack of er sopafer e scoo were Arcaio a live nil en was sore y egovernen soiers (p 02 ) e iseas e reaer ye again r eovers never ee afer e roops ener Macono; an wen epreces is sories wi e prase any years laer or a few onsearlier' e ois o give any cle wic wo elp e reaer oiscover ere or afer exacly wa ese evens are ean o aveoccrre ese exaples co e arie o e rgeness ofanarraor wo is caracerie as a spinner of yarns on oeroccasions as as een seen in e rs senence of e nove i is ceara e reaer is e vici of ore will ecepion.

In Dn Quixte Cervanes a invene a cerain Cie HaeeBenengei wo e payly o e reaer was e aor of e

work e original version of wic was wrien in Araic; in OneHundred Years Garca Mrqe eqaes is nove wi e anscripswrien in Sanskri y one of is caracers Meqaes. Js as CieHaee is a e sae ie o a os r isorian an a lyingMoor so Melqaes is sai o e an ones an (p. 9) as werealie o e very rs page is a gypsy an a caraan e ereexplains o e vilagers wo are asonise y e eecs of agnes

pon ea a ojecs ave a life of eir own; is js a qesion of



The hmor of One Hundred ears g r

arosing their spirit Garca Mrez like Cervantes ere himdeliertely lays lse trails For example the experienced reader willpick p small details aot the Colonels only srviving son like hisrothers his te to e killed ere he is thirtyve years old and heears an indelile cross on his rehead not only do his age and thecross sggest Christian symolism t he is called Areliano Amador( Lover ) and he is y profession a carpenter He retrns to his thershose only to e rejected in his hor of need y those who claim not torecognize him one of whom is ironically enogh the apprenticePope that sprios descendant of Peter the denier of Christ The

experienced reader of ction then spots a symol his expectationsare raised and then Amador is killed and the carpet is plled omnder the readers feet as the character in estion simply disappearsom the novel never to e mentioned again Garca Mrez is awareof his readers and sets ot to dpe them jst as he later claimedpossily with some measre of trthlness to have planted ananaskins in One Hundred ears r the critics whom he so despises to slip

onNot nly are the readers expectations dashed t the athor alsoproves willing to poke n at himself and his own devices One Hundredears is ilt pon predictions of what will happen to the characters inthe tre indeed the phrase haa de ( he was to) is one of the mosteent in the ook This is a convention often encontered in novelsor stories t in One Hundred ears the narrators predictions are no

more rliale than is Pilar Terneras c

artomancy Ths the Coloneldoes not ser the te which according to the rst sentence of thenovel waited him while Arelianoos whose destiny was to haveseven children y Carmelita Montiel and to die as an old man in herarms is mrdered even ere he can meet her Like an oral spinner ofa good yarn the narrator ofOne Hundred ears is digressive we do nothave a linear narrative of the history ofMacondo let alone of the life ofa singl character One may react with anger and stration to this

mockery of the novels conventions and of the readers good ith asthe narator tells what amonts to a shaggydog story yet thepoplaity of the novel is clear proof of the capacity of readers to treatsch inventiveness and mockery with wonderment and laghter

At the other end of the spectrm of hmor om the sexal andlavatorial jokes are the sly references to other Spanish Americanwriters These wold of corse e appreciated only y a minority of

readers miliar with the works concerned Critics have drawn or



92 C L I V E G R F F N

aenion o he auho's pedilecion eeing o chaacesinvened by ohe wies: hee ae Vico Hugues om he CubanAlejo Capenie Aemio Cuz om he Mexican Calos uenes

and Rocamadou om he Agenine Julio Coza The MamGande is even boowed om anohe o Gaca Mquez's ownwoks Moe impoan han his mee is o names is he auho'sknowing wink o he iniiaed and he eec his has on his own nve.o exampe Colone Loenzo Gaviln who comes om uenes'sThe Death f Artemi Cruz, says in One Hundred ears ha he winessedCuz's heoism duing he Mexican Revoluion. Ye he eade

milia wih uenes's nove knows ha Gavin was duped by Cuzwho deseed duing an engagemen and hen conived o pu a goodce on his disappeaance om he baleeld. Gaca Mquez iscael o sess ha Gaviln ony laimed o have seen Cuz's baveyhis hen is an injoke' he eade o moden Spanish Ameicancion Gaca Mquez evenualy kils o Gavin duing hesaughe o banana wokes bu even in he appaenly gim episode

in which os Acadio Segundo idenies comades in a ain l ocopses speeding away om he scene o he massace GacaMquez canno esis liing anohe deai saigh om uenes'snovel he bel wih a silve buckle which was won by he unnamedcomade whom Cuz could possiby have saved om deah bu whomhe seshy abandoned a a ciical momen o he soy n hesecond pa o Dn Quixte, eal' chaaces ub shouldes wih seconessed invenions leading o a humoous i bewildeing pay oeves o cion. This same game is played by Gaca Mquez whoinses wih deaing comic ambiguiy an episode which some haveingenuously egaded as a saighwad denunciaion o heUnied ui Company's machinaions in he Coombia o he 1 920sand 90s

Simila ambiguiy esuling om lieay games can be seen in heeamen o wha we migh expec o be ohe seious episodes in he

novel such as he deah o one o is cenal chaaces CoonelAueiano Buenda Jus as we saw ealie ha an inconguoussaemen o an expleive migh be inoduced o puncue asenimena mood so hee he deah scene is undemined by heauho's decision o naae i in a sye which is a cose paody o haempoyed in a soy enied The Aleph' by he inuenial Ageninewie oge Luis Boges Similaly he had aleady deaed he

execuion oAcadio by a cea lieay ausion his ime o anohe o



The humour of One Hundred Years 93

Borge' tore The Secret Mracle' Th practce not aytematc medtaton upon' Spanh Amercan lterature a omewould aert Rather t ha the mportant conequence of undermnng ay erou nvolvement wth character or tuaton whch thenovel mght otherwe have poeed One Hundred Years thu becomea coucopa of adventure and laughter on many level but onewhch lke all great comc work ret and rdcule any attempt toextrat om t a clear meage or meanng and we are tempted a areult to take at ce value the author' tatement that 'One HundredYears f Soitude completely devod of eroune'

Reader ofBorge or of the nouvee critique wll have apprecated thepang reference to the novel' elfawarene a a ctonal work nthe cure of contructon when Jo Arcado Buenda lookedthrouh the wndow and aw two bareoted chldren n the unnygarden and had the mpreon that they had come nto extence atjut that ntant' p 20 he of coure correct r th the rt tmethat te chldren are cued upon by the narrator The nal joke n

One Hndred Years, however comcally deate not jut an epode or acharacter but the whole novel At the end of the lat chapterAurelano Bablona dcover that Melquade' manucrpt are anaccount of the htory of Macondo ncludng the moment at whchAurelano Bablona dcover th ct I t uggeted that the novel n ome way merely a trancrpt of Melquade' predctonalthough typcally enough Garca Mrquez doe not attempt to

wretle wth the logcal problem preented by the author' beng acharater n h own work The mplcaton that the reader houldak hmelfhow erou a work can be whch wrtten by a lar whch a elconfeed pece of cton - Macondo contructed ofmrroror relecton ' p 35 and t character upect that they are unrealp 345 - and whoe rghtl detny to be tored away lke themanucrpt among dued chamberpot In the end Macondo detroyed by a lterary wnd whch recall that n Strong Wind, a novel

by the Guatemalan wrter Mguel Angel Atura Mrquez'noveltc world doe not ext after the reader ha nhed the bookThe novel a way of pang tme t the pnnng out of a yarn aproce already een n mnature n the cyclcal tale of the caponwhch the vllager tell each other to whle away nght of nomnap 46 One Hundred Years an entertanment whch doe nottrancend the enjoyment of readng t and t doe not poe erou

queton upon whch the reader nvted to medtate at length On




the contay t s a aledoscope o spectum of comc naaton nwhch the oeeanest eade o ctc s the nal but of he authoses as Auelano Bablona dscoes lteaue was the best toy

whch had ee been nented to pull peoples legs (p . 327) To tae tall too seously would be abou as utl as a dscusson of theaous medaeal technues llng cocoaches (p. 327) .

Notes

O= Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza El olor de la guayaba (Barcelona 982)

For example W. G Moore Molire: A New Criticism (Oxrd 1949), P E RussellDon Quixote as a Funny Book Mode Language Review, 64 ( 969) 3 2-26 andthe latter's Cervantes (Oxrd and New York, 1985), passim.

Donald L Shaw, Nueva narrativa hispanoamericana (Madrd, 198) p 15; DavidGallagher, Mode Latin American Literature (London, 193), pp 4 and 162

3 EO p I I .

4 Moore, Molire, p 995 EO p. 104.6 All page references are to the Edtorial Sudamericana 95 editon. The

translations are my own7 Pietro Crespi is also given a comcally inapproprate name: it recalls Pedro

Crespo, one of the bestknown gures om Spanish drama of the seventeenthcentury where he s the major character in Pedro Caldern de la Barcas El alcaldede alamea; Crespo, r om being an eete Italian was a rce and cunningSpanish peasant.

8 Russell Don Quixote p. 32 1 9 E M Forster, Aspects f the Novel (Harmondsworth, 19), pp. 103-4

1 o Mario Vargas Llosa, Garca Mrque: historia de un deicidio (Barcelona, 1 97 1 , pp

1 6-20. Regina Janes, Gabriel Garca Mrque Revolutions in Wonderland (Columbiaand London, 1 981 ) , pp. 1 1 21 1 P 1 66 the English translation, One Hundred Years oSolitude translated by Gregory

Rabassa (London 198), p 59, corrects this slpI EO p. 04 3 Gallagher, Mode Latin American Literature p 1464 Carlos Fuentes, La muerte de Artemio Cruz (Mexico City, 193), pp. 3-9

Orgnally published in 962. Compare Cien aos de soledad p. 29, withJorge Luis Borges, El aleph, in El aleph

(Buenos Aires 952), pp. 151- compare Cien aos pp. 10-8 with Borges El

milagro secreto' in Ficciones (Buenos Aires, 1 97 1 ) , pp. 65-6 EO, p 4



7

O agical' ad social realism in Garca Mrquez

G E R A L D M A RT N

Although you have every right ot to believe me after puttig up r so ogwith m sly tricks ad�lsicatios 'we r

to you by the boes of my motherthat what I am ow a out to show yo

l

.i is o illusio but the plai ad simpletruth . ' (Garca Mrquez Blcam the Good miracle-salesma)

What iterested me i my ove was above all to tell the story of a miyobsessed by icest ad which i spite of every precautio take r severalgeeratios eds up havig a child with a strage pigs tail

(Garca Mrquez o One Hundred ears Solitude, 1 968)

The tre history ofLati America is as yet a almost totally blak book saver a few phrases recorded i such equivocal erms that o oe troubles to tryad uderstad them . . Through misiterpretig their past LatiAmerias costruct lse projects r the ture ad every step they take ithe prset i accordace with those projects, vitiated by that iitiallsenes oly serves to sik them deeper i their sickess, as i a circle omwhich here is o way out. (H A Murea The Original Sin of America)

They wated othig to do with that series of coicts, revots, alteratiosbetwee dictatorship ad aarchy. past history they ud othigcostrctive othig they aspired to be Ad yet i spite of everythig theLati merica was makig history ot the history he would have wishedr, bt his ow history A very special history with o egatios ordialectical assimilatios A history ll of cotradictios that ever came tosyheis. But history r all that. The history that we Lati Americas hafway trough the twetieth cetury must egate dialectically that isassimilte. (Leopoldo Zea The Latin American Min

Bey this geeral collapse of Reaso ad Faith, God ad Utopia there areo itellectual systems old or ew to be erected, capabe of appeasig ouraguish or relievig our dismay there is othig bere us We are allyaloe. ike all me . . Out there i the ope soitude trascedece alsoawaits us: the hads of other solitary beigs. We are, r the rst time i ourhistory the cotemporaries of all me.

(Octavio Paz The Labyrinth of Solitude)

95



9 G E R A L D M A R T I N

A fe ong eeks ago aeady in the ion gip of disenchanten andwaves ofd vu (this is iten o Posouth a yea afte the a inthe South Atanic hich has ekinded he dying ebes of so any

nationa yths) chanced again on soe eaie editations ondsant South Aeica ecoded by Lod Byon in 1809 Euope'sdecepiude he aented is inceasing; eveybody hee is the saeeeyhing epeas isef. Thee he peope ae as esh as hei NeWod and as vioen as thei eathquakes' We Euopeans oneecs have aays vieed Latin Aeica ike Aica though athe tists and tuns of a ong hisoica eationship (it i soon be

992 ) as atenatey the eathy paadise o he hea of daknessthei inhabitans as nobe o ignobe savages accoding o theopotune equieents of the oent Athough aaeness of thesaages invoved has inceased akedy since the appeaance ofwoks by Fanon Mei Csaie and Fenndez Retaa (Calban),ad especiay no ha Said has studied Oientais and Todoovhe conquest of Aeica o the standpoint of Oheness a

ajoity of eades of ction in his couny eain cuiousy andcnvenienty innocen of he. Bu i is ony such ideoogica sefaaeness hich in y opinion can povide the aok essentia any seious investigation into the deceptivey anspaent itingo Coobias Gabie Gaca Mquez.

The 982 Nobe Pize inne has epeaedy decaed tha nothingof ipoance happened o hi afte he deah of his beovedgandthe he Coone hen he as eight yeas od so tha hisnoves ae suused ith the eotions and eoies of hose eayyas and theee one igh add by a nostagic ques - any yeasae - hat ost tie. t as a a siia age hat aost a cenuyad a haf ae Byon inn inhabian of a gey posa Londons began on the basis of to o thee postage staps of vocanoesand cactuses the Wondr Book fth Amazon Jungl and he Hoyoodtai don Mexico ay o inven a od ysef the

uticooued ne od of Latin Aeica My nostagia as aaity had neve knon and hat invened as soething aheike the exotic iteay phenoenon citics no ca agica eais.Needess o say kne nohing of the buous iaginings of heSpanish conqustadors the innocen piitive engendeed by heEightenen o the Volksgst conceived by the Roantics; no ofthe eaophoses invoved as such concepts ived on ino he

Sueaist 920s ndeed as a disincy euctan if beused



On mgl nd sol relsm n Gr Mrquez 97

wtness to the ge o deolonzton, shortl ere the next nowThrd World - ntvst tde egn to ow n the 960s, wth tsgrotesque reetons n Western hppedom nd pshedel. Yet,when egn to stud Ltn Amer t unverst n those erlsxtes, t seemed tht ll hd nvented ws rell true here ndeedws om oper world o nts nd mg, generls nd dotors,eggs on golden stools. rell the mpt upon me of one o therst txts red, Srmento's rhetpl Facund Czatn andBarbarsm n whh lerned - nd wnted to eleve t tht nr 833, n provne of 400,000 nhtnts, onl three hd voted

gns the trnt Ross or tht the sme Rosss mother hd nssted, to the end of her ds, on the ml servnts mnsterng toher on ther knees (prt , 2) dd not suspet tht mg hdturned to relt r Ross, tht he hd esed to e olourlwhen, t the end o hs lfe long go, he me to de n rwHmphre.

n 965, the er n whh rr reported on the lost Seorne

Empre, ought the now mous Ltn Amer numer ofEncuntr(ndd the CA) , nd, n hlluntor rtle on a nca Mlolm Des, ws persuded tht Colomns were ever t szrre nd hperol n relt s Gr Mrquez, two ers lter,would show them to e n hs tonl On Hundrd ars f Stud.Lke tn Amerns themselves, though wthout the sme tterontrdtons, we ror wth lughter t the rdulous egoentrt of

these tonl hrters, these South Amerns ut our ownethnoentrt s no lughng mtter. Lter tht er too nlltrvelled to Ltn Amer s hd done so oen n m mgntonnd slwl, nredulousl, egn to relze tht dd not, fter ll,elev n res, nd tht even nts nd mg hve ther ownhstos, ther own seret motvton.

On Hundrd ars f Stud despte the osonl relessness ndrepetveness o some o ts wrtng, n ustl l lm to eng,

perhs, the gretest of ll Ltn Amern novels, pproprtelenough, sne the stor of the Buend ml s ovousl metphorr th hstor o the ontnent sne ndependene, tht s, r theneoolonl perod. More thn tht, though, t s lso, eleve, nrrtve out the mythsofLtn Amern hstor. f ths s where tstrue portne les, t s lso the reson wh so mn reders hveeome lost n ts shmmerng hll of mrrors. And eh reder

nevtl nterprets the novel ordng to hs or her own deologl




preconcepions, one must be sceptical o some o the unconsciousmoives behind its astonishing success in he still imperialisic Engishspeaking world, where, aer a, very ew Latin American noves have

gone bere is instructive in this, as in other ways, to compare and conras

Grca Mrquez wih Borges However Argenine Borges may ormy no be and one woud no wish o reopen this largey autoogicadebae , he wen ino producion, to pu i crudey, wih a opquaityluury product aimed impicitly at he European consumer It proveda highly markeable nished commodity, albei a minority one

Grca Mrquezs work shows every sign o having been manuctued r the home market, Latin America, and ye i has been jus asacceptable o European and North American which is to say,uiversal ase He became he rs ruly inernational bestseler inLatin American pubishing hisory I, as I beieve, part ohe novesachievement s a socialist hough no a social reais reading oLain American hisory, the mos ikely explanaion r is sensaiona

sucess in, say, Britain and he United States is tha its subleabiguities make it as possibe r readers to despise or sympahizewih is Latin American characters as it woud be in lie outside henove None o this is so surprising Amost ur hundred years aterCrvantes wroe Don Quxot criics coninue to assure us hat i isabou some eterna or ozen distinction between reaity and ilusion,raher than as seems evident to me abou a nosalgia deeply elt byis author bu al the more strongly sairized r tha in is characters)r a mythoogized aristocraic wordview in an age o mercantiistrelations On Hundrd Yars Sotud it is arguabe, was born o anosagic onging r cerain precapitaist rural reations in an age oraid urbanizaion and the impanation o industria capitaismPehaps the mos impid and transparent works are, in reaity, hemst opaque

This is why, ahough it is emping to write in an abstract and

sohisticaed manner abou the works o Garca Mrquez, i t is no heapproach ha I intend to take Certainly he is a maser o magic andmysery, and is wriing is so consistenty njab hat one equenlyrgets hat o beieve, even emporariy, in ilusions is to settle r aword hat is undecipherabe and unknowabe But this is surey noh ob o critiism My view is tha the essenia poin odeparure rany comprehensive analysis oOn Hundrd Yars f Sotud must be an

exmination o its percepion o he relaion between ideoogy andcosciousness and between lived realiy, historiography and iera



On magical' and social realism in Garca Mrquez 99

ure More precisely whils a number o he novels cenral hemesand chievemens are no in doub (hough we shall be rced oreieae hem) I believe ha Garca Mrquez criicism as a wholehas sered om hree basic errors paricularly wih reerence osudies o On Hundrd Yars f Sotud:

( 1 Criics have iled o perceive ha hisory is no only devouredby mh as is so equenly claimed bu ha every myh also has ishisoy. This novel is no abou hisoryandmyh' bu abou hemyhs o hisory and heir demysicaion

2)They il o diereniae correcly beween he perspecive o henoveis and ha o his characers an elemenary disincion wih

innely complex ramicaions in his mos suble ye apparenlysraihrward ex.

(3 They largely ignore he conex hisorical and lierary inwhic he novel was wrien and published.

An approach based on hese hree percepions can guide us o a

more saiscory reading o he novel in paricular o a convincinginerpreaion o is ending and can explain o us Garca Mrquez'ssandpoin on ime' and magic hisory and sociey. I can also helpo deysiy criical erminology isel and perhaps dispel he opicalillusins o such pernicious - even racis - ideologies as hose whichundepin he concep o magical realism'.

Donald Shaw in a n invaluable review o responses o On Hundrd

Yars fSotud, indicaes wha r him is is basic criical problem: hec ha he novel appears o ncion on hree dieren levels omeaning: one relaed o he naure orealiy a second concerned wiunivrsal human desiny and a hird conneced wih he problems oai America.5 He laer argues: Wha is imporan however is hasuch pahways owards he undersanding o he novel should no bellowed separaely as has mainly been he case hihero bu exploredsimuaneously wih he lles recogniion o heir implicaions r

one anoher '6 I agree wih Shaw ha he hree dimensions ( onological eisemological hisorical) are each o comparable imporance inhis as in all grea works o arisic cion Where I would dier is in mybelie ha Garca Mrquezs apparen underlying ragic vision is noncssar in conradicion wih a revoluionary sandpoin on ainAmeican developmen Indeed he view ha I would propose is hain On Hundrd Yars fSotud, Garca Mrquez momenarily und a

means oreconciling his raher eviden philosophical pessimism ( oaeoardian maerialis variey o echo Timpanaro) wih his



10 E R A L D M A R T I N

deterinedy optiistic conception of the arch of history. t isperhaps through this tension that the nove has attained its undeniabe cassic status. Ceary though as Shaw argues everything

tiatey rests on one's interpretation of the apocayptic concusionand sha return to this probe beow

A though the topic under discussion here - how agica and howreaist is Garca Mrquez? - is reevant to a his ctiona producton(no excuding soe of his journais) 8 On Hundrd Yars oSotud( 1967) reains the pivota wor and by r the ost copex natorm ( 1955) , In Ev Hour ( 1962 ) , or quintessentiay No On

rts to th Coon ( 958), the basic narrative conventions are those ofcritica reais with ipicit but perfecty straightrward econoicsocia and poitica (that is historica) expanations r the psychogica otivations of each of the characters (Ange Raa speas ofapronounced socia deterinis ) Any picturesqueness in the is noore than eccentricity born of excentricity. n the uch ater Thutumn o th Patrarch ( 1 97 5) , on the other hand the weaness r

hyperboe - what J Meja Duque has caed the crisis of disproporton' - and the teptation of the tour dorc between the sweepost a grasp on historica reaity away and it is worth recaingtat the nove was written in Spain where Garca Mrquez was ivingduring the ast seven years of the ranco regie. n this nove heappears - doubtess it is the price of paying to the gaery - to becoest n the sae ideoogica and inguistic abyrinths into which he hadnintentionay ured so any other unsuspecting writers with thegittering success ofOn Hundrd Yars fSotud. hat wor it sees toe reains the ony text of his in which the ix ofrea and ntasyeeents is both perfecty sed and anayticay as interpret it perfecty separabe.

Duaiss even anichaeiss of every ind whie entreypicabe in ters of Latin Aerica's coonia experience areequenty the bane of its iterature and criticis. Ange Raa in his

ary artice on Garca Mrquez noted an osciation in the authorhisef with regard to the pane on which any given expanationsoud rest: whether on the socia or the etaphysica eve ' . By thete of On Hundrd Yars f Sotud however the technica seight ofhand had becoe aost invisibe and ost critics began tophasize the bend of yth and history ction and reaity and toview with approva the apparent ipossibiity of distinguishing

between the Juio rtega insisted that the pay of reaity and



On magical' and ocial realim in Garca Mrquez 0 1

ntay i never dual i n hi novel' Jo Miguel Oviedo decared thatthe novelit had mixed the real and the ntatic in o perfect andinexticable a hion tha no one can el where the ontier betweenhem ay lie' and Ernt Vlkening commented admiringy thatGarca Mrquez wa beed with the uncommon gift of eeing bothide of the moon a one and he ame time'

hi, then, i the novel which, perhap more than any other, habeen ken to conrm the hitorica demie of ocia realim in LainAmerican ction and to herald he arriva of the linguitic, experimena or potModernit novel Such ocial realim, a mot critic

now aree, dominated the period om about 1915 , the moment ofMariano Azuela' Lo d abajo ( Th Undrdog and other nove of heMexicn Revolution, o about 945, when wrier like Aturia,Borge and Carpentier came into view But to ee thing thi wayeem o me an overimplication of atin American literary hitoryand a mireading ofOn Hundrd Yar Sotud itelf, which contain agreae variety of carely encoded material reating to the

poitivic order of oc pychology, politica economy and thehitory of idea than almot any other Latin American novel thacome to mind Angel Rama' verdict on Garca Mrquez' earlywork, already diconcering to mot reader, eem to me to beequaly applicabe o On Hundrd Yar f Sotud itef: do notbeliev any oher novelit ha o acutely, o ruthly een theintimae relationhip between the ociopoitical tructure of a givencounry and the behaviour of hi characer ' he main reaon whyo may reader have mied thee oherwie obviou ct i thaGarca Mrquez preent mot apec ofreality om he tandpointof hi haracer, whie he himel a narrator, adopt a perpectivebaed largey but no entirely ironicaly, in which ie much of thedicuy - on the mainly meaphyical view of he pnador( hinker' ) , thoe ideologit who dominaed Latin America' inerpretation of it own hiory until after he Second Word War.

Sarminto' truggle between civilization and barbarim, Rod'exaltaton of Arie againt Caliban, he ick coninent diagnoed byBunge and Argueda, Keyerling' wamplike dawn of creation andtrtza roa (creoe adne), Marnez Erada' view of LatinAmerian a vctm of a hitorical mirage, Mallea'incommunicability, and - above al - Murena' origina in theithee nd many other weird and wonderl theorie of American

hiory ole r upremacy hroughout he nove, only o nd




heselves crcuscred a he las y a concepon whch concdesclsey wh he raher ore lucd knds ofperspecve ha eerged nMeco afer 94 naely Pas asseron ha Lan Aercans were

now he coneporares of a en and ea's hess ha was e along las o reak ou of he ayrnh of solude and asslae hehory of he connen Seen lke hs here s perhaps ore o Garca rques work han he echoes of Faulkner Borges and oher suchlerary nuences so wdely deaed y soe crcs

f hs concepon ofOn Hundrd Yars Sotud s acceped al hehallowed references o Vco Hegel and roce all alk of crculares

and eernal reurns ecoe redundan s r hs reason ha r ehe os convncng nerpreaons of he novels apparen dualshave coe o crcs wh a socologcal approach aove all Agusnueva who argues ha Garca Mrque s no seekng o puward an rraonas phlosophy u erely o recreae a represenaon of a world ha he knows s over and done wh ueva showsha he work s a synhess of eleens elongng o wo deren

genres he epc and he novel a ne laer lowed y Todorov wholkewse rngs ou he clash eween an ndvduals and a collecvevew of he world Slarly Sergo Benvenuo n a rlan shorsudy ars ha lvng conradcon s he only appropraelanguage r hs ncredle nersecon of unversal culure and localunculure'

To hose who know Lan Aerca he cuure ras n he e areunsakale hough each s alos possle o ercae o sanecdoc aeraly o hose who do no know he connen henovel s ore asrac and he ncdens are recognae as vehclesof unversal eperences or ruhs dsored y Lan Aercaneccenrcy Thus alos everyhng s a once lar uundenale nsde hs lerary aleph we see he world o genesso apocalypse o Renassance o Baroque o ndependence onocolonals or o use vaues o echange values ransparence

o opaqueness chdhood nnocence o adul gul nes and crcles oayrnhs The resul has een caled agcal reals The prole sha he sae er s used conscousy or unconscously as andeologcal sraage o colapse any deren knds of wrng andany deren pocal perspecves no one sngle usualy escapsconcep Lke he Surreas oveen o whch ulaelydrves agcal reals gh n par e seen as an unconscous

rny of rones! conspracy eween European or Norh Aercan



On magical and scial realism in Garca Mrquez 103

critis eager t get away in their imaginatin t the cur wrd Latin America and certain Latin American writers desperate t takerege in their writing m the injustice and brutality theircntnent's unacceptabe reality This makes detaied analysis every case particularly imprtant There is a wrd dierencebetween the view that tacitly assumes that reaity itse is r may bentastic r that the imaginatin is autnmus Brges LezamaLim smetimes Crtzar and a perspective which takes seriusythe religius beies r myths the ntasies r ilusins the ctinacharcters whether by reprducing them anthrplgicay' r by

critially demystiying them Asturias Carpentier Ru Ra Bastsand in this but nt all cases - Garca Mrquez . the term must beused it is best cnned t the latter kind writing in whichessentialy there is a dialectic between prescientic and scienticvisins reality seen mst clearly in wrks which cmbine themythlgica r lk beies the characters with the cnsciusness a twentiethcentury bserver Athugh Garca Mrquez is by n

meas always clear abut the distinctin in al his ctin beievethat n Hundrd Yars Sotud at east is entirey cherent in thisregard and that it is t this in arge measure that it wes theunparaleed breadth and depth its critical and ppuar successOur diculty is that the tw levels are reay separabe nly n theabstract plane anaysis s seriusy des the mniscient narratrtake the belies his characters Garca Mrquez uses a battery cmplementary iterary techniques abve al caricature hyperble baths and cndensatin every kind - t unite the tw eves ineach and every anecdte his narrative

The ct remains that a majrity critics and genera readersappear t admire the nvel precisey because in their view it cnjuresup a magical reality. Let us therere examine this n rder tdemnstrate such a view - and herein lies the cntradictin - ne hast knw what reaity is S herewith an elementary hypthesis

whatever cntemprary reaity may be it is determined and denedby the metrpitan centres cuture in Eurpe and abve al nwthe United States. As Marx and Engels nted The ruling ideas each age have ever been the ideas i ts ruling class . . La tin Americacan therere be viewed by denitin as a hme irreaity wherepepe are larger r smaller than lie there r my entertainmentspecimens in the natinagegraphical catague panetary

shwbiz saris in shrt ess than human Critics accrdingy praise



04 G E R A L D M A R I N

he nove r s rher conraon ha fe s a drea whereas so sa he ea ase ha wha he nove s sang s ha LatnAmran s a drea - he nrea and nahenc osed

os ve hndred ears of coonas - and ha when a dreaecoes a eranen vng nghare s roa e o wake The oca hsor whch Eroe has rojeced s ha ofraonas caas rogressve deveoen and near chronog. However conradcor and reressve hs hsor a seeo an Eroean s r he ca Lan Aercan organc andcoheren denon whereas hs own hsor s agened

dsonnos asrd ( e sefnderwen jos and accdens andh cod sner and eave an eernazed nsan n a roo ) shs e aca o e one of he dessed nhaans of a ananarec vc of a cocoera rege or a no jna He s ac an Or so we wod have h hnk

On Hundrd Yars f Sotud nohng ever rns o as eoeexec everhng srrses he a of he a are sraed

few acheve conon wh ohers r ore han a eeng oenand he ajor no a a Mos of her acons - a rs sgh ke hesrcre of he nove as a whoe - are crcar har para dshar:dong n order o ndo ) Poghers of he sea he are nae oake her ves rosve acheve rodcveness reak o of hevcos crce of her e In shor he o ecoe agens ofhsor r heseves ke he characers of Rs Pdro Pramo( 95) he are he echoes ofsoeone eses hsor he as nk n hecenreerher chan The on exanaon osse s ha heare vng o her ves n he nae of soeone eses vaes Hencehe sode cenra hee (ogeher wh he qes) of LanAercan hsor s her aandonen n an e connen avas cra vac arooned hosands of es awa o herr hoe Conceved San n he sxeenh cenr ( he srandedgaon he red s of aror) he characers awaken n he ae

egheenhcenr Enghenen (agne and eescoe as sosof e wo ars of Newonan hscs) are enre nae org heseves no cs n a word he have no ade nenceso osde he gses) are soradc eceea hrogho henoona hndred ears of he nove whch s he san o heIndendence era o he ear 6os when was eng wren

Ofcorse he characers are sosed - heseves a eas - o

e vng n or word Tes of he da das of he week sascs of



On magical' and social realism in Garca Mrquez 105

every kind are to be und everywhere in the novel, but are no morehelpl or meaningl than the more obviously illusory temporalrefereces such as many years later which appear with equalequecy, om its very rst sentence The characters all believe thattheir actions are purposive, but whenever they llow their logicalchain to its conclusion they nd that they have come in a circle Yet,despi the historical immobility which lies at its heart, the narrativeliterally teems with actions (part of its revival of the rgotten art ofstorytelling', to use Gulln's phrase .25

On Hundd Yas fSoltud is the domain of the verb The actions of

which the verbs tell are individualistic, usually to the point of anextraodinary egotism - at least on the part of the male characters -and such individualism, given its relation to liberal ideology, mightseem to suggest that they were genuinely historical, occurring onlyonce in time and contributing more or less consciously to themovement of human history But, once the reader is immersed in thenarratve, each action begins to remind him of many other actions,

since teir inner meanings, like the names of the characters constantlyrecur and refer, giving such apparently Borgesian concepts as thelabyrnth and the mirror an inescapably material reading Thus thevery individualism and selfcentredness of the characters is anobsessively repeated ritual The untainhead of this rm ofunrealty is the rst Jos Arcadio Buenda t is he, progenitor of thenovel, who, soon aer the start, initiates the pattern of bemused

contemplation, selfabsorption and withdrawal The Aurelianos, bycontrast, are actively selsh and individualistic, seekers of powerrathe than kowledge rsula, who has been much studied, is theparadigm of the commonsensical mother gure, symbol of an entireepoch of mily relations, but herself comes to believe that everythingis circlar (that the present is subordinate to the past), a convictionwhich brings her death and prompts the death of many othersCuriosly enough, she makes her discovery, as we shall see, at

precisly the moment when history and the consciousness of modernity, has nally broken through to Macondo

At tis point, then, the Buenda line is doomed take this to meanthat neocolonialism is at an end, remembering that the novel waswritten during the early years of the Cuban Revolution. There seemslittle doubt that the morbid fear of the birth of a child cursed with apigs tail is a condensed metaphor r the combined ideologies of

originl sin and biological determinism (so that again, esoteric or



106 G E R A M A R T I N

esentiaist arguments about the nature an meaning of the incesttheme seem to me besie the point, an appear to have given GarcaMrquez amost eness amusement) The rmer circumscribe the

woe ofife in the coonia perio, an was overain by the atter afterInepenence, as an epanation of Latin America's continuingbackwarness an a positivist ustication of the rue of Europeanizemnorities. If we take the term etipe - stock, ineage - iteray, wehave merey been ure into the same ieoogica misreaing as thecharacters themseves it is a historica era that is over, not a bioogicai ) . The impact of Darwin an Spencer prouce the ieoogies of

Bnge an Argueas in the eary twentieth century, at a time whenthe European powers an the Unite States were sti etening theircoonia possessions. The reection of these overapping reigious,phiosophica an scientic theories in the sefimage of the charactersbrings about an immensey subte tragicomic sion of taism aniniviuaism Most of the characters are aware that others havewaknesses an are oome to iure, yet none of them know this

about themseves. The secret ast anaysis of every situation reverts toracia or metaphysica epanations If you ca a chi Aureiano, hew turn out ike an Aureiano' There is no escape an no seconchance Probems of unereveopment, epenency or imperiaismnver occur to these characters ( they have occurre to the author, but,ike Borgess Pierre Menar, his genius ies in having apparentymanage to rget them) They are bissy unaware of historicareaity an know nothing of the wor which has etermine theirstiny Their ony thoughts or memories are about things whichreate to the structure of the nove; which is therere the very bric oftheir perceive socia history This epains the eoticism, r them, ofphenomena which to us are quite norma - it is to our iscreit if wecan sti n this surprising or amusing - as it aso epains the oftencie reamike quaity of the Banana Company massacre narrate inthe ater part of the tet.

Seen in this ight, the nove seems ess concerne with any magicareaity than with the genera eect of a coonia history uponiniviua reationships hence the themes of circuarity, irrationaity,aism, isoation, superstition, naticism, corruption an vioence.Teugement as to whether these traits are inherent or prouce byhitory is as much a poitica as a phiosophica or scientictermination.

Even among critics who wou ow me this r in the argument,



On agcal and ocal real n Garca Mrqez 1 7

ere lle agreeen abo e eanng o e conclon. Wlno wng o overply I beleve a oo oreragrward an o reader ave agned. An oldonedbogracal approac a llowed by Varga Lloa n pabreang crcal dy can gve e r cle. A nber ocrc ave recognzed e re agan e Banana Copany ande enng aacre a e cenral apng epode o e enre novelog ew ave realzed j ow c e cae. I e eeo prolaran rggle owever wc e ecre read a cangde o no e lg a e end o e labyrn. Garca Mrqez

wa bo n 1 92 e very year n wc e orc aacre ooplace I a abo e ae e a Mee Benda' on ellegae Arelano born n e novel H oer ad beenrbdden o ee Marco er becae a an apprenceecanc n e copany worop and onee eployee oArelano Tre e wa o an neror cla Marco rnae Bablona concevably becae e proleara wc e repreen

wll brg abo e orcal dercon oMacondo' wc le aplace an e nae Garca Mrqez gve o an era InerenglyMarco loo le a gypy p. 242 wc gge a a a grananal worer a eber o e hojaraa ra o deped byGarca Mrqez' own ly wen e wa a cld e a vecle oe ae nd o nernaonal concone and pac wa eMexcan governen now call exoc nence a e real gype

led by Melqade n e earler econ o e novel Marco peranenly crppled n an accden a e end o caper l 4 orlvaer ee becoe pregnan and appear no ore B a ebegnnng o caper l 5, e arrval o llegae on ade oconcd explcly w e aor own propey o doo rMacondo: Te even wc were o deal Macondo oral blowwere aleady on e orzon wen ey brog Mee Benda onoe p. 249

Te apocalypc even are hsora one. I o coreArelao Bablona el wo wll evenally decperMelqde parcen on e nal page All e daer o coead n c already been preaged by a prevo exal oen ae end o caper l , rog a lar age o progre ennocen yellow ran a wa o brng o any necre andncerane o any joy and rne o any cange

calae and noalga o Macondo p l 9 . Te decon o brng




e yellow rain inagraing he nal sage in he peneraion oMacondos inroversion and selcenredness was aken by ArelianoTrise e man who rned he magical ice ino a commodiy whic

we can consrue as represenaive o he embryonic local borgeoisiehey remembered im well becase in a maer o ors he hadmanaged o esroy every breakable obec ha passed hrogh hisands p. 9 The rain in is rn brings he mlinaional BananaCompany nied Saes imperialism and evenal disaser aperecly logical seence o evens carelly explained by he ahorimsel all o which has lile o do wi pigs ails

Te Banana Company brings emporary prosperiy arond heme o he Fis World War b as pros are hreaened in he lae 920s he workers begin srike acion os Arcadio Segndo greancle o he baby Areliano Babilonia and a rs a reman in heompany becomes a rade nion leader and plays a leading role in heonic. He is one o e ew srvivors o he massacre and insiss onrepeaing his eyewiness accon o e dea o more han hree

osand demonsraors nil e day he dies. ndeed his las words - none oher an Areliano Babilonia in Meladess old bgeless room are Always remember ha here were more hanree hosand and ha hey hrew em in e sea' p 300 A whichhe narraor commens Then he collapsed over e parchmens anddied wih his eyes open The massacre had been denied boh by elcals and by e ahoriies n Macondo nohing has happened nori anyhing appening now nor will i ever' p . 263 . Then all hisoryand all memory were comprehensively bloed o by he rain wichlsed r years eleven monhs and wo days and whic recalls heprevios plage o insomnia' in chaper 3 provoked on ha occasionby he sppression ondian isory ow prolearian isory was obe erased n is insance however despie assidos eors byolombias ocial isorians o make even he memory o herdered srikers disappear i was no o be so easy. Te massacre

as perperaed by roops nder General Carlos Cors Vargas a heiaga Magdalena railway saion on 5 December 928 in direccnnivance wih he Unied Fri Company. More han iryosand workers were on srike in he zone and i appears ha a leasr hosand were a e Cinaga demonsraion wen e roopsopened re The conservaive governmen o Migel Abada Mndez 926-30 repored a a mere nine srikers were killed and like all

scceeding regimes se abo sppressing he re sory Aer some



On magica and socia reaism in Garca Mrquez 0

temestuous ariamentary debates in Setember , amostnothing oimortance concerning these events aeared in Coombiain the rty years u to the ubication oOne Hundred Years Stude21The rest is sience

Aer the inerminabe rain rsua's own one hundred torrentiayear come to an end and with it her moraity and her view o theword the cemet that has hed the miy together unti these nachaters When she dies Macondos decine acceerates and thedoom o the entire Buenda miy raidy aroaches Nevertheessas Garca Mrquez reveas a is not rgotten First os Arcadio

Segundo then Aureiano Babionia ee the memory o the worersstrugges and their suression aive at the same time as theythemseves strive to deciher the broader historica anoramaencoded in the archments in Mequadess room. os Arcadio's rstmemory was oseeing a man executed by ring squad as a chid and aswe decode his own ie we erceive ceary that he is one o the ewcharcters who has strugged in any way sincerey against injustice

He it is then who eads the strie; who begins to deciher thearchments or true history' o the Buenda miy; and who as hisegay educates young Aureiano Babionia

In reality although everyone took hm r a madmanJos Arcadio Segundowas at ths time the most lucid member of the household He taught littleAureliano to read and wrte, ntated him in the study of the parchmentsand stiled in him so personal an interpretaton of the meaning of theBanaa Company r Macondo that many years later, when Aurelanonally went out nto the world, people would think that he was telling somehalluinatory story because it was so radically opposed to the lse versionaccepted by the historans and conrmed in the school textbooks. (p 296)

Nothing sure y coud be cearer Ateros Arcadio Segundos deathAureiano Babionia remains in Mequades's room continuing hisown educatio and the decihering o the archments sometimesaide by the ghost oMequades himse. The room needess to say is

that timeess sace o memory domain o history and iteratureGara Mrquez in his writer's soitude mared by the diahanousurity o its air its immunity against dust and destruction 64 unti that is Mequades himse dies and time ursues its wor in hisroom aso Aureiano meanwhie obsessed by the archmens taesno interest in what is going on around him and maes ony occasionaexcusions to buy reerence wors at the od Cataans boosho the

oitica atermath o the Sanish Civi War and its imact in Latin



I I0 G E R A L D M A R T I N

Amerca). At length havng deduced that the manuscrpts arewrtten n Sanskrt he manages to translate the rst page only todscover that they are poems and stll n code Fnaly rmly rted

wthn wrtten realty, he emerges nto the rea world and makes urnw ends at the ookshop thereafter dvdng hs tme etweenooks and rothels Only then dd t occur to hm that lterature wasthe est game ever devsed r pullng the wool over peoples eyes(p. 327)

One of hs new ends Garel s none other than the author, andhs ance, Mercedes, s none other than the authors wfe Garel

leves r Europe to ecome a wrter after wnnng a competton.hs would e n 954, n the mdst ofa vena, when Cooma as awhole was ndeed, lke Macondo, n an advanced stage of socaldcomposton. It s to Gare that Aurelano now eft ehnd, hadfet closest, r a very mportant reason Both knew the story of thestke Aureano and Gare were lnked y a sort of complctyunded on real events n whch no one else eleved and whch had so

aected ther lves that oth were adrft n the wake of a world that wasgone and of whch ony ther own nostalgc ongngs remaned'(p. 329). Once agan, could anythng e clearer? Garca Mrueleves the nove r Pars ut he also remans through the medum ofAureano, who s so closely lnked to hm and to Jos ArcadoSgundo through ther shared nterpretaton of the hstory ofacondo and of the Buenda mly Moreover, Aureano s thecharacter who eventualy decphers the parchments (the nove, hsown lfe Latn Amercan hstory) on the very last page.

n that hypnotc na secton we have the mous metaphor ofdalectca decne whch s the Buenda mlys hstorca spral asunderstood y Par ern era . . the hstory of the mly was a systemof rreparale repettons a turnng whee whch would have gone onspinnng unt eternty were t not r the progre

ssve and rremedale

warng of the axe (p. 334) Needless to say the my memers

themselves had perceved no spral only cycles of tty I knowthis o y heart", shreked Ursula. ts as thoug tme were gonground n crcles and we'd come ack to the egnnng agan" (p 69 ) Once more she shvered at the realaton that tme dd notpss as she had ust acknowledged ut merely went round and roundn crces' (p. 284) hen on the penutmate page, Garca Mrueexplans not so much the nature of the mly hstory as the nner

theory of hs novel Meluades had not arranged events n the order



On magica and scia reaism in Garca Mrquez r r r

mans cnventina time, but had cncentrated a whe century fdaiy episdes in such a way that they cexisted in a singe instantp. 350). Again, the statement is nt a phisphica specuatin n thenatue f time r the prbems iterature, but a histricainterretatin reaity in terms what Cueva cas the greatstrucura hetergeneity f Latin American scia rmatins . Thissuddn cusing f the iterarystructura prbems invved incnvying uneven devepment thrugh the cassic burgeis vehicef the nve brings us at ast t the centra questin f authrship andreadership with which the nve ends.

It s the yunger generatin, that Garca Mrquez himsef(Aurian Babinia and Gabrie), which nay cmes t read andwrite the rea histry f the cntinent They d s precisey bydeciphering the magica reaity and abyrinthine ntasies f theprevius ne hundred years f situde, this very nve, which is theirwrd, and in which s many ther characters have been bewitchedand bewidered Hence the mirrr /mirage (espejos/espsmos) ambigu

ity the ast page There we nd Aureian Babinia - and theauthr reminds us his surname deciphering the instant he wasiving, deciphering it as he ived it , r, as Zea wud n dubt argue,negating the past diaecticay in rder t becme, in Pazs phrase,cntmprary with a men ' Thus he breaks ut se circuarities,meaningess repetitins, the prehistry bere the dawn f pretariancnscusness Aureian's reading iteray puts an end t ne

hunded years situde, t One Hundred Years Sotude, and turnsthe reader wh is reading abut him back ut int the histry utsidethe txt. The ny remaining questin is whether this is a gicautcme t the structura cnceptin the nve as a whe, rwhether Garca Mrquez has merey impsed it in a mment finspiratin, in rder t escape, Hudiniike, m the impicatins fhis wn pessimistic phisphy I think nt, precisey because, as hasbeen aid, this is nt s much a iterary narratin Latin American

histry as a decnstructinist' reading f that histry. Once thecharacters becme abe t interpret their wn past, the authr is abet en n an ptimistic nte. The apcaypse the Buendas is nt hw cud it be? - the end f Latin America but the end necniaism and its cnscius r uncnscius cabratrs

T thse wh cmpain that the nve des nt say this, we can nyask What ther signicance is there in the chain memry m the

Banaa massacre thrugh s Arcadi Segund, Aureian



G E R A L D M A R T I N

Bbon, t cton nd th r Gbr Grc Mrqu, nd thrdr hs Yt, f ths rdng s rdy rvntn nough( o d Ht Bnng to Mquds t gypsy , thr s

thr dnson to und For th nw novsts of th 960s, thtwo ky sgns of th pndng trnsrton of Ltn Arc wrt ubn vouton nd th boom of th Ltn Arcn novts° ub ws prcvd by Ltn Arcn socsts nd vn, t, by brs s th tr convrson of th workrsstrugg nto hstorc rty Lookng bck o ths vntg pont,ny yrs tr, ts ss obvous tht th boom, whch ws

nnouncd by Juo ortrs Rayuea (Hopscotch n 963, rchdts pothoss wth One Hundred Year f Sotude n 967; nd tht thnov s tt s prfcty wr of ts own trry-hstorc sgncnc, on whos pct c s tht th boom tsf s proof of tnd of nocoons nd th bgnnng of tru brton Tcbrtd ntrttu rrncs to Ao rpn trs E go de auce (Expoon n a Cathedra, 962, ros Funtss La muerte de

Aremo Cruz ( The Death Artemo Cruz, 962 , Rayuea tsf nd MroVrgs Loss La caa verde ( The Green Houe 966 , r cr sgns ofths (s coprd wth, sy Borgs, whos ttu rfrncs rovrwngy to trturs outsd Ltn Arc Th sns ofuphor n th nov, nd prtcury n ts n pgs - on cnost r Grc Mrqu shout Eureka! - s ppb It councs to us th ctnt of wrtr who hs t ong st sovd hsrtstc probs by dcphrng hs own f hstory, who s wr thtn th procss h hs wrttn cssc, nd, not ony tht, s socoscous tht hs work w ppr t th prfct cuntng ontn th potc nd trry hstory ofs contnnt, ncpsutng ththstory nd hs own bogrphy t on nd th s t

To ths tnt on shoud prhps rvs th prsson of novwhos two vs, gc nd rst, ythc nd hstorc, rnry nsprb, snc ftr th sscr nd th dth of Ursu

thy sowy but sury bgn to co prt Th opnng of th nov -dphnous , rcnt , bthd n ght - s n vocton not ony ofLtn Arcs ythc nnocnc ftr ndpndnc but of thgc chdhood word Grc Mrqu nhbtd n Arctcwh hs grndthr, th coon Th ndss cv wrs n th novbwn brs nd consrvtvs brng no nghtnnt, onydsuson nd dspr Nvrthss, s th nov wrs on nd Grc

M{rqu hsf s nrrtor grduy torphoss o chd



On magical and social realism in Garca Mrque I I 3

ino adul (nally becoming lly imself only on e las page of eboo) e caracers slowy relucanly come o undersand amongor ings wa i is a Lain American colonels are generalypai o do and innocence comes o an end Wereas a e sar of ee e caracers are mainly opimisic and rwardlooking by eim e narraive is afway roug ey begin o ear e musicno of ope and desiny bu ofnosalgia r e pas and r innocenceiself. Once Ursula loses er residual i in e purpose andcoerence of e presen se dies and once se as died e soid uniy- or mysicaion - of my and isory is broken. Te res of e nove

condenses e decipermen of Colombian isory wic GarcaMquez and is generaion (especialy e Grupo de Barranquilla)carried ou in e wake of e 94 Bogoazo (e was weny years old ae ime) wen e workers' movemen was again denied is pace innaiona life and on roug e dark years ofla violencia33 I seemsclear a e was abe o do is precisey by aving disanced imsefom ese realiies escaping a las om Coombia Aracaaca is

mly demons' ( o quoe Vargas Llosa) Tis is one more illusraonof e ru a Lain American auors can bes acieve greanessno roug a naional sill less a cosmopoian perspecive bu oma coninenal sandpoin: by conceiving emseves as LainAmericans

Seen in is muliple ig ne Hunre ears Soliue is clearly ademysicaion oug appareny one so labyrinine in isef a

mos readers ave managed o ge emselves as los in is windingcorridors and spiraling sairways as mos Lain Americans includinge Buendas in e esperpenic' isory wic i reconsrucs Mybelief is a e maor works of e boom were largey misread bycriics and a e wriers emselves were misled by criical reaciono eir es ino misinerpreing em and ereaer - om abou 96 - ino giving e pubic wa ey misakenly oug i wanedNo misreading coud be more serious r Lain American ierary

isry an e myreading' of is mos celebraed work neHunre ears Soliue.

Noes

1 L Zea El pensamiento latinoameiano Mexico, 965 p. 36, uotes Hegs silarvew Aeca is the land of the ture . . It is a country longed r by hose whoae weary of Euopes historica useu.

M. Deas Potcs and ioence: Aspects ofla violena n Colobia Enuntr 25 3



G E R A L D M A R T I N

( 965) 1 1 0 1 4. The arice is invaluable r readers f One Hunded Yeas fSlitude.

arca Mruezs samp is aready cearly visibe in her Third Wrld' nvessuch as Salman Rushdie's Midnights Childen whse ending is an eviden saue One Hunded Yeas fSolitude: because i is he privilege and he curse f midnigh'scidren be bh masers and vicims f heir imes rsake privacy and bescked in he annihiaing whirlp f he muiudes and be unabe ive die in peace' (ndn 98 p 46)

4 A Drfman Imaginaci6ny violencia en Amica atina (nd ed Barcelna 97)ses in One Hunded Yeas f Solitude an immense expanse f ime i n which heidividua is swallwed up by hisry and hisry is swalwed up in urn by myh' 1 5 )

5 D Shaw Cncerning he Inerpreain f Cien aos de soledad beo

Ameikanisches Achiv :4 (1977) 18-9 (p 19).6 Iid p . 77 I his sense One Hunded Yeas oSolitude reminds me f Carpeniers os pasos

pdidos ( The ost Steps 195) in which he auhr draws srengh m his wnweakness he cenra heme becmes his wn penchan r rheric which as iimmbilizes realiy reveas he inadeuacy bh f ain American hisrigaphy and ierary anguage in heir aemp capure his new cninen'sraliy ikewise Garca Mruez is able ransfer his characers his wnweakness r hyperble and bulain in rder subec i a criiue m he

sandpin f his mre cnscius scialis perspecive8 ar f he prblem wih Garca Mruez - irnically enugh in view f myierpreain fOne Hunded Yeas oSolitude- ha he realy des appear havere diculy han ms men in elling lieraure m realiy cin m ruhis jurnaism is ll f wha I wuld cal Blacamanismos and he can even urn aSalvadr Allende in a penial characer m ne f his wn nvels . . eculd nly gran him ha rare and ragic greaness f dying in armed defence fe anachrnisic bby fburgeis law' (New Statesman 1 5 March 974 p 58) .

9 A. Rama Un nvelisa de a vilencia americana in . S Marnez (ed ) copilaci6n de textos sobe Gabiel Gaca Mquez (Havana 1969) pp 58-71

(p. 6 ) 10 J Meja Duue 'El otoo del patiaca o la cisis de la desmesua (Bg 1975).1 1 My iniial impressin fChonicle f a Death Foetold ( 1 98 ) is ha we are back in he

ralm fNo One Wites to the Colonel alhugh he pessimism is mre pined hewnsk hemselves nw share a cllecive guil which used be bamed n heusiders'

1 ama Un nvelisa' p 61 J Orega a contemplaci6ny laesta (Caracas 969) p 1 5.14 J M Ovied Macnd un erriri mgic y american in Nueve asedios a

Gaca Mquez (rd ed Saniag de Chile 197) pp 89-105 (p 97).15 E Vlkening Anad al margen de Cien aos de soledad in Nueva novelalatinoameicana ed. J. argue (Buens Aires 1 969) vl. 1 p. 1 68

16 Rama Un nveisa p 641 7 I feel ha Murena's negleced wrk Elpecado oiginal de Amica rs published in

1 954 has had an immense impac upn Garca Mruez's visin in One Hundedas f Solitude Even if his hyphesis is incrrec a cmparaive sudy f he wxs wuld be iluminaing Anher similarly suggesive wrk by GarcaMruez's cmpari Germn Arciniegas shws ha culura hisrians alscn believe in heir cninen's magical realiy: see he na chaper Appin

en wih Necrmancy' f his atin Ameica a Cultual Histo (ndn 1969).



On magical' and social reasm in Garca Mrquez

1 8 A Cueva ara una inerpreacin scilgica de Cien aos de soledad, evistaMeicana de Sociologa 6 ( 1974) 5976 (p. 67) N reader f One Hundred Years fSoltude can verlk his brllian sudy

19 T drv Macnd a ars inJ eenhard (ed) Littrature latinoamricainedaourdhui (aris 980) pp. 16-4.20 S envenu Esca cm hsria' n ecopilaci6n de textos pp. 167-75 (p 169)2 One fhe prncipal sudens fhe phenmenn E. Andersn Imber perceves

he dangers f his cnsn and hen lls in he rap himself. See hs El realismomico y otros ensayos (Caracas 1 976) als A Flres Magical Realism in SpanshAerican Ficin Hispania, 8 (May 955 ); and abve all an nvaluable recensudy J Weisgerber e ralisme magique la lcun e le cncep' ivista diLeterature Modee e Comparate 5: 1 ( 982) 27-5

22 Ths n he whle s he view aken by Rama Benvenu and Cueva n he wrks

alrady rerred and byJean Franc in varius sudes: signcanly r leraryhsry i is als he view aken n he 1960s by Carls Fuenes n his Macndsededel iemp (n ecopilaci6n pp. 1 92 2 ) and by Mari Vargas lsa in his ElAads en Amrca' (ecopilaci6n pp - 8 ) .

2 On Hundred Years oSolitude p 296. All references are he 2nd ediin BuensAires Sudamercana 1968

24 C lanc Agunaga's excellen aricle n his pc Realdad y esil de JuanRul in J. argue (ed) Nueva novela latinoamericana (Buens Aires 1969)pp 851 1 is well knwn; is all he mre curius hen ha n his sudy Sre la

lluva y la hsra en las ccnes de Garca Mrquez in hs De mit6logosy novelistas(Madrd 975) he cmpleely misreads he cnclusn f One Hundred Years fSoltude iling see ha Garca Mrquez has reaed exacly he samephnmenn as Rulf n alms exacly he same wayJuan Maslver Ls cenenas de Garca Mrquez' Bulletin the Socie or Latin American Studies 1(Ober 1979) 22-7 akes a mre udiciusly crical bu equally sringenvew

25 R. Gulln Garca Mrquez o el olvidado arte de contar (Madrid 1970)26 M. Vargas Llsa Garca Mrquez historia de un deicidio (Barcelna Barra! 1971)

Ths remans he ndamenal surce wrk n Garca Mrquez27 A recen dcumenary anhlgy 1928 La masacre en las Bananeras (Bg nd)

reprins he parliamenary debaes f 1929 and in paricular he press f wplicans Jrge Elicer Gn and Gabriel Turbay geher wih a number feywiness accuns including he vial cnribuin f nne her han hepaish pries f Aracaaca Faher Francisc Angaria (in a leer daed 1 6 July199) In he inrducin he edirs claim like Garca Mrquez in hs nvelha he cal versn f Clmban hisry has red by every means m rdisr his bldy epsde (p 5 ) . Turbay himself had underlned he plicy fcesrshp in a speech n Sepember 1929 when he referred he ragc and

hrfyng secre f he endless chan f ignminius acs cmmied durng heapcalypc march f he milary hrugh he banana zne'. Fify years laer HRdrguez Acsa n hs Elementos cricos para una nueva interpretaci6n de la historiacolmbiana (Bg 979) wuld sll be making he same pn This episde fCmbian hisry has been repeaedly ignred by ur hisrans because reeal wuld damage he repuan f he rulng class' (p 20 )

28 Cueva ara una inerpreacin scilgica p . 59. Cueva's brllan sudy lsin my pinn recgnize ha Garca Mrquezs crique f mperialism salways r mre radical han his criique fcapialsm self This is a feaure f heenre nueva novela as a hsrcal phenmenn.

29 G. Brhersn indicaes his eec in The Emergence f the Latin merican Novel



I 6 G E R A L D M A R T N

Cambrdge 1 97 7) nng ha "pens he nvel nclude and nvlve heeader as Umber Ec has dened ha prcess' (p. 1 35 ) .

3 0 hus Mar Vargas Llsa Ths seems me a sympm he sgn f greasrcal changes cme n Lan Ameica . All he grea eras f he nvel haveaken place jus bere sme scal apcalypse' ued n H Calca VargasLlsa: Eurpa y el escrr lanamercan' El Escarabajo de Oro 33 (March 967 ) 0-3

3 1 n hs regard ne culd draw llumnang cmparsns beween Cie aos deoledadand Asuras's Hombres de maz See my crcal edn f he laer Hombrese ma; (Edcn Crca de las Obras Cmpleas de Mguel Angel Asuras vl 4Klnckseck ars and F nd de Culura Ecnmca Mexc 1 98 1 ) . OeHudred Years o Soliude n c appeared n he year n whch Asuras waswarded he Nbel rze The w wrers, wh prbably had mre n cmmn

wh ne anher han wh any her Lan Amercan auhrs excep perhapsRulf and Gumares Rsa evdenly recgnzed her mplc lan andgaged n a brief and raher vulgar plemc whch dd neher much credsuras elaedly crwned feared he yung preender and Garca Mruezewly acclamed was ben n parrcde (Speccally he vwed ha wh hs newrjecEl ooo de! pariarca he wuld each' he auhr fEl seor Presidee hw wre a real dcar nvel')

3 Vargas Llsa Garca Mruez de Aracaaca a Macnd' n Nueve asediosp 1 6-46 Aracaaca was lvng n s memres when he was brn: hs cns

n urn wuld lve hs memries f Aracaaca' (p 1 8 ) 33 hs hsrcal hread n c cncdes wh ha f he lfe and deah fJrgelcer Gan wh n 1 99 was he prncpal crc f he gvernmens rle n heanana massacres (We knw ur srrw ha n hs cunry he gvernmenns s murderus machne guns a he herland's wn sns and s remblngnees he grund n he ce f yankee gld) and whse assassnan asresdenal canddae r he Lberal pary led he 1948 Bogoazo and herrc perd f general vlence ha llwed ver he nex w decades fwhch Garca Mruez's nvels No Oe Wries o he Coloel ( 1958) and I Evil Hour 196) shw nly he bldchllng cy p.

34 Vallencln's erm r hs gresue and dsrng dramac vsn f Spanshsry.

35 here are many nvels n Lan Amerca afer 1 945 abu characers whse uess wheher cnscus r uncnscus shw he reader he way u f he hsrcallabyrinh and a he same me aer hm ue Brges n Herber Quanha he s mre perspcacus han he deecve' Examples are Asuras'sHombrese maz (Me o Maize 1949) Marechal's Ad Bueosayres (Adam Bueosaires 948) Carpen er's os pasos perdidos ( The os Seps 1 953) Rul's Pedro Pramo 1955) Fuenes's a muere de Aremio Cruz ( The Deah o Aremio Cruz 196)

zar's Rayuela (Hopscoch 1 963 ) Js Lezama Lma's Paradiso ( 1 966) andVargas Llsas a casa verde ( The Gree House 1 966) all f hem MdernsUlyssean' wrks cmpleed bere he nse f sMdernsm' n he Lanmercan 1970s. Fr rher cnsderan f hese ssues see my "Bm YesNew Nvel N Furher Reecns n he Opcal Illusns f he 1960s nan Amerca' Bullei f ai America Research 3: (1984) 53-63 Theeraure Musc and Ar f Lan Amerca m 1 870 1 930' Cambridge Hisofai America vl 4 ( 1986) pp. 44356 and ames Jyce and Lan

Amercan

cn' (Unversy f Calgary ress 1987).



8

Aspcts of narrative structure in The Incredible and

Sad Stoy the Innocent Erndira and her Heartless

Grandmother

M A R K M I L L N G O N

I am gng begn wh begnnngs Eah sry nISS1 begns wh anarrva a sae r a nsusness s nvaded by an unnwnresene Bu he naure he nvadng resene ders n CnsanDeah' and Baamn' s human (Onsm Snhez and Baamnresevey n Very Od Man s arhuman ( he brdman nDrwned Man was rmery human (Esebans rse n Seaand Inredbe Sry s a naura henmenn (he sme rsesand a wnd resevey and n Las Jurney' s an bje (heghs sh Bu n ur he sres he sure he nvadngresene s he same n ne way r anher, he sea s assaed whhe arrva n Very Od Man, Sea', Drwned Man and LasJurne , and n he rs w hese he nvadng resene reurns he sea a he end3 And n a he sres he arrva has he same

erardnary ee - bemes he us wesread, smemesaabsrbng, aenn and n eah ase he arrva reresens henen a seres evens ha w uy he remander hesry he ee he arrva s dsru nrdues nsabyn a eesen suan, and ha nsaby rdues neres andas memen he neres smuaed by he new arrva enres na mmn rean n severa sres: he need dsver he meanng

he dsrun Bu he nvadng resene as seems rdue areease energy n he haraers and s reae a new aern e.n bh reses he arrva s a begnnng - a n nen.

he ha n eran sres he haraers need nerre hearrva, esabsh he meanng he nvadng resene, s a sgn he desabzng haraer he even. he dversy henerreans and he nsn e s ms grahay aaren n

Very Od Man' Here he desre undersand s wer bu he 1 7



1 8 M A R K M I L L I N O N

apac o coprehend na he brdan s varous seen bhe vagers as a nghare a shpwreced saor an ange and arcus ana; and her conson s shared b he chan of

ccesasca nerpreers eendng up o he Vacan whch soabe r s ure o produce even a conjecura nerpreaonhe sae oveoadng of nerpreave ss s evden n DrownedMan where he desre o esabsh wheher Eseban s huan sp swep asde b unquesonng awe n he ce of hs eraordnar beau n boh of hese cases and n he oher sores whnanae nvasons) he new arrva ses up no daogue wh he

coun ha s nvaded - he brdan and Eseban sp arrveand are observed The provde no sefepanaon and haaccouns n par r he dspues ha arse as o her naure and evensence eapes of he aer are n Sea and Las Journe') neach case he nerpreaons are aeps o accoodae hennown whn everda aes of nowedge Gven he naure ofhe new arrvas he nerpreaons are no surprsng hough he

are ceran no denve eher. The aso provde a vauabe eansof assessng he worngs of characers nds ha s her capacr raona hough and hs cor s cruca r he readers responsen poena suang an ronc vew of characers

More poran han he queson of characers nerpreaons she new drecon ha her ves ae The change resus o hensab ha he new arrvas produce snce characers areuaed o underae acon and acon eans change s no

ha an specc response s deanded an nescapabe acon rcedpon he bu ha a ed of possb s opened up n he case ofBacan he arrva of Bacan n he narraors fe eecs aransraon eans eavng hoe rng o be a carvoaneeng o he US arnes suerng a he hands ofBacan andna dscoverng hs rea gfs r heang he sc and resurrecnghe dead n oher words a urous ed of new eperence n

Ver Od Man he brdans arrva nvoves Peao and Esendaw n n rng o cope wh he sheer phsca probe of crowdsof onooers and ha probe eads o her nanca ruph hebudng of a uurous house and a new job r Peao fe sransred n Lasourne' he srengh of he genera dsbeef nhe narraors sor abou he shp provdes he ove r hs provnghsef and achevng aur - he shps nruson no hs

conscousness aone a rs) suaes hs resourceness and eads



nnocen Ernra arrave srucure l 19

to act ecsvey Aga a ew recto s ake Eve e essobvous case o Costa Dea' a sar sructure o ewovee s appare s case e pot o vew s partay we ew arrva Oso Scez wereas ost stores s wtose true upo but tere s aso a pror ruso o Scezscoscousess bere te sart o te story aey te rato tae s about o e. Te cojucto o e two ew arrvas s wacout r Scez s presece Rosa e Vrrey brgs coact wLaura but te presece o te awareess o ea suaes o act a way tat s argey cotrary to s past beavour. So te trug

preseces aga ea to partcuar rs o ovatory aco.T structure so r soate erere voves varous ks o

vaso or arrva wc soetes stuate terpreato buwc above a estabze a preeset suato a ea o tecepo o ew ovee ew courses o acto. A erearkabe eaure o e ew ovee /SS s at e vuasvove wo rst perceve e trug presece are equety

joe by te woe couty a broa epaso takes pacewc akes te sequbru a sare a estve evet Tere s autpcato o terest wc ote etes beyo te bous ote oca popuato Te r o s cetra o ts epaso Very O a' te bra's arrva tay aects oy Peayoa Esea but overgt tere s a arge u o peope o eegbouroo pp. 12-13) a subsequey o uge crows o

peop o r a we wo sretc a e over e orzo watgo see e progy (p 5) Ts u brgs wt t a varety orgru perrers o arou te Carbbea wo eporarytrasr te couty e uergoes a process ocarvazao A sar k o respose ows o te ews oEsteb's arrva Drowe a

Sme wmen wh h gne t feth wers in the neighbring twnsretrne with ther wmen wh in't beiee wht they h been tl nthese thers went r mre wers when they sw the e mn, n theybrght mre n mre, till there were s mny wers n s mny pepletht it ws lmst impssible t wlk. p. 55

A ikewse Sea' tree outsers go away a reur wt a greatcrow o peope wo brg wt te a varety o rgrou acts aesves ter arrva poses e sae probes as Drowe a'Te e a te woa wo cae o Cataros store wet away

oe Fay but tey cae back o te Sauray w a crow. ore



I 20 M A R K M I L L I N G T O N

came on the Sunday They swarmed eerywhere lookng rsomethng to eat and somewhere to sleep tll t was mpossble to walkalong the street p 32) .

These nues are eperenced om the standpont o the placeswhch are naded but a reerse perspecte ests n Blacamnwhere the protagonsts are the nadng rground perrmersIndeed Blacamn' opens by eplotng and etendng an archetypalrground ame Blacamn stands on a table sellng a patentmedcne and erbally and physcally perrms hs way to success Thenarrator jons hm n hs eplots and ultmately becomes a showman

whom the crowds ock to see - the r becomes a permanent way ole r hm Constant Death draws on the same ame n ths casethe r or carnal s Snche's electon campagn The trappngs othe campagn create the same rground atmosphere as nBlacamns perrmance. Standng on hs platrm Snche presentsh case to the people n a euphorc and hstronc erbal our efore,whe hs helpers buld an lluson o a secure tre - n eect a

promse that carnal wll take oer permanently[These phrses] were the rmls of his circs Whilst he spoke, his helpersthrew into the ir hndls of smll pper birds nd the pretend nimstok on life ttered over the wooden ptrm, nd went wy ot to se Atth sme time others took ot of the wgons thetricl trees with fet levesnd set them p behind the crowd on the grond ofstpetre. Finly they pttoether crdbord \de showing imittion redbrick hoses with gsswindows, nd with it blocked om view the sqid slms of re life.

(p. 6 1 )

Nlson Farna's descrpton n French makes the pont aboutBlacamns and Snches smlar technues ncsely Sht .hes the Blacamn o poltcs" p 63)

The same perspecte s apparent n Incredble Story; agan thewpont s wth the traellng perrmers - the arn al6 entertanmnt proded by Erndra - and agan there s a process o epanson

as Erndra and her grandmother gan eperence and money theybuy a crcus tent p I34), and as they are joned by lotterytcketsellers a photographer a band and odstalls Eentually therpresence n a town seems to conert t nto a sngle huge brothel andgamblng den the ueue watng r Erndra

. . comprising men of vried rce nd diverse condition, seemed like snkewith hmn vertebre tht ws dozing cross plots of lnd nd sqres

thogh mny-colored bzrs nd noisy mrkets, nd emerged om the



Innon Ernra narrativ strctr 1 2

stts that afnng ity f tas in tanst. Evy stt was a publgambln hus, vy strt a bar vy r a g r gitivs.

(p. 145)

T prcss o carnivaiation and t capacity r tnsion codscarcy b or vivid

Tis ov into pansion and carnivaiation apis tocaid cts o nw arrivas; it is a consistnt strctra otitrogout !SS but tr is no prcis rptition o dtai in acstory; it is a gnra ryt and dvopnta stratgy

It is appropriat to ov o tat gnra awork o

dvopnt to t spcics o t strctura rations btwn tvnts i t narrativ trad In so storis tr is not a strongsns o ncssary connction t is car tat t narrativ in aynot dpnd on strict rations o causaity T sqnc o narratdvnts an b iry contingnt, toug cronoogica ti sprdonant Tis is ost noticab in ncrdib tory and a ,wic ar iry pisodic, and wr t cas and ct rations

btw vnts ar trr ratr wak Wat narrativ cornctr is ay driv o otr ctors In a', spciay, tr arany dscrt pass and inor squncs itr invoving nwsitatios, or nw caractrs in rpatd sitations piying trr ar t tip and sowat apaard cts o rHrbrts piantropic activitis, and piying t attr tdirn rsponss o Tobas and Ptra to t arriva o t s o

ross addition, t ack oa constant protagonist in a rinrcst pisodic qaity T story is dpndnt r cornc on tstabiity o ti and pac rrnc, and on two gnra sitationacontt, wic appar in sccssion in t story bt av no casaconncton t rspons to t ros s, and t rvris o tcarniva

ncrdib tory acks t cornc providd by a sing stting,bt it dos av a iry constant trio o protagonists vn tog tspcics o sitation cang rapidy o on sction to t nt, otnwit no casa ink btwn t sctions si and svn bingcptions) , tr is an ipicit, undrying prob tat is constantwi rdira vr b o r grandotrs tyranny? Bt tis ayco tog as a car, cosiv trad ony at a at stag - it is notrgrondd nti t nd o sction si - and tat drracontribts to t pisodic caractr o t story iiary

Bacan' as no tigt narrativ in - on pisod is not inkd



I 2 2 M A R K M I L L I N G T O N

csey to the next - and that is ephasied by the suariingnarration in which a genera description of events bypasses thespecics of seuentia narrative.

Ceary the sheer deands of writing invove a certain ine onewhich reading inevitaby retraces at a basic eve of contact but theepisodic character of soe stories is ade yet ore apparent byconsidering two other ctors which conventionay provide cohsion The rst is that characters rarey have overt or identiabe goasor pans of acions and there is no inner discourse or onoogue toke any pain (Again the uaity of characters inds is ade

apparent negativey.) That particuar absence is obvious in Incredib tory' where as I have suggested the ongter probe WiErndira ever be ee?' is ceary auded to ony near the end. LastJorney' is rearkabe as an exception in that the narrator decareshi basic ai in the rst ine and the whoe story is buit aroundshowing how it is achieved. The second ctor is the ack of anystery or tension to resove; this kind of eeent woud provide a

strong sense of direction and a high eve of coherence that iscoerence wih cear reevance to the seantic core of a story asagainst the second order coherence of tie pace and characterMystery or tension ight provide tighter reations in the narrativeseuence but there is itte use of either

Given that soe of the stories do not rey heaviy on strong causainks to sustain rward oveent it is interesting to consider howendings are achieved If there is itte causa ephasis what reationcan an ending have with what precedes it? Is there any evidence tosugest that the endings in !SS act as points of cuination orreoution? And if not how does each story create a sense of anending? The key ctor here is departure Most of the stories rey ondeartures to provide a sense of an ending' that is to create anipression that a natura cyce has been copeted: the departureterinates what the arriva inaugurated which is soething that

readers can accept by drawing on cutura knowedge and withoutneding an expanation ofhow or why it cae about Very Od Man'ends with the growth of the birdans feathers which creates theposibiity of ight and departure The ending of ea' depends ondeartures too ipicit ones: the rose se sees to vanish rHrbert bids rewe and the crowd ofpeope which overwheed thetown goes away aso. But these departures are not cuinations they

ar no ore than an indication that the carniva is over Both



Innoen Ena: narrate tructure 23

Cntant Death' and Incredle Stry' end wth death - that ,dearture a rt ut n nether cae t a culmnatn rrelutn n Cntant Death' the death Snchez mly ll adctr rgn7 and n Incredle Stry' the grandmther'death rde n leratn r Erndra and Ule, at leat n nu way, nce Erndra daear and aandn Ule n thtre therere, the death/dearture a atctry termnatnwthut rdng a dente te rward r nght

Drwned Man' and Lat Jurney' er a derent, mre caualtructure Drwned Man', t true, de end wth a dearture

Etean thrwn ack nt the ea, he gen a ecnd ural - ut,a well a rereentng the end a cultural cycle ( the rearatn a dy r ural), t al mark a mment crucal nght rthe llager he whle try aed n the ngle tak rearngthe dy r ural th ge t a tghter ntegratn than mt thether re - and therere the endng, the ural, a culmnatn, a clma drectly related t the recedng eent and gen etra

weght y the cncdental relutn the llager t change therutlk n le Smlarly, Laturney' ha a clmactc endng ( thtme wth n dearture mt) whch the drect utcme aartcular relutn rught t utn By cntrat, the endng ery Old Man' (nt untycally) eem t e underdetermned t ntl t ak why the rdman' eather grw and why he eaway, nce there n caue ther than the need t rde a narrate

endngh tye endng leae u wth a glal tructure a a a rmt the tre: arral-reactn and eann-dearture Buthe ymmetry th tructure decetely attracte t deceteecaue t rde a neat rereentatn whch l t take ntaccunt an mrtant aect the tre: ther eluene It ntthat th tructure wrng, mly that t de nt tell u enughe all, th attern eem cled' , where the tre are teangly

en' that , they are thematcally retcent whle regrundngelemet a hghly magnate and rlematc rt here aneed, herere, t uetn any mle, cled rereentatn Oneway t mdy the neatne the rt rereentatn y lkng atthe reeral whch cntrute t the ntalty the tre and neway t egn tryng t make ene ther enne- wthut reducngthe tre t tatement what they are aut', whch wuld me

clur m utde' t eamne the r mt



I4 M A K M L L I N T O N

Th rvrsals in /SS onsist of transpositions ofa limitd numbr ofinitial idas into nw ongurations This is a onsistnt trnd andlaamn' will srv as a rst xampl ofit Th ruial rvrsal hr

nrns powr. laamns initial position of authority ovr thnrrator is invrtd by th nd of th story whr laamn wasstong and rul th narrator boms so And this is mphasizd byt rptition of rtain dtails: at th nd th narrator givs a pubiprrman by th sa at Santa Mara dl Darin (pp 923) ust asaamn dos at th vry start (pp 835) and h uss xatly thsm rms of words as laamn Clarly thr is a omprhnsiv

rvrsal hr and it is insparabl om rptition; thr is a rptitiono rms with variation of agnts or haratrs; in othr wordssbstantial rptition of dtail is aompanid by stratgi variationand both rptition and variation ar ruial to th xistn of thrvrsal r w nd som of th paradoxial omplxity of!SS thnrrativ lin dpnds on rms of rptition th rptition involvssratgi variation and stratgi variation hlps onstitut rvrsal

Last Journy' also dpnds on intrloking rptitions andrvrsals And this is not simply a mattr of popls bliving thnrrator at th nd whr thy do not do so r th bulk of th storylif/disblifs an important polarity but thr ar also othrs: notsing/sing dark/light siln/sound illusion/rality Now thsory is advand by annual rptitions of th sam vnts: th townand th narrator's mothr do not s th shipwrk but th narratords th narrator blivs that th silnt shipwrk is ral but othrsbliv it is an illusion. Ths polaritis ar rinrd by thunxptd ts ofdarknss and light: though it arrivs at night thsip shows no light as it passs th lightd buoys in th bay and it isvsibl to th narrator only whn th lighthous throws no light on it(p. 73) ut th nal rptition introdus multipl variations andrptitions: th positions oflight and darknss ar invrtd th lightso th ship suddnly blaz as th lights on th buoys go out; th ship

podus normal noiss (om ngins and passngrs) and th wholtwn ss th shipwrk it happns as a ral shard xprin. Soth xprin is rpatd again but only partially th shipwrk isboadly th sam r th narrator (only light and sound dir) but it isttally dirnt r othr popl in othr words it taks pla Thris a rvrsal and on whih abolishs th polaritis whih smd todn th initial onit thr is a rptition with major variations

t lmnts bing thrown into a nw onguration displad not



Innon Ernra narraiv ruur 1 25

nough o obur h rpiion of a gnra amwork, bu nougho rmaniiz i. Again hr i a lighly paradoxial ruurin h narraiv hrad rli on rpiion, and ha rpiion onribu o h xin ofrvra, and boh rpiion and rvram o run ounr o h noion of narraiv hrad, ugging apro of rurn or lding bak rahr han of rward movmn.

Th hr variy of h rvral/rpiion ruur wil bvidn by looking a a nal xampl A h ar ofConan Dah'h piion of h wo main harar ar a llow: OnimoSnhz, h naor king r-lion, i a man wih powr, an

inidr om h lgal poin of viw, a man wih a rain ur,namy imminn dah Nlon Farina i a man wih a guily pabau of dah h ha murdrd hi wif and hi mak him anouidr lgay paking, a man wih an unrain ur. Prdingh vn in h ory i a pa of inraion bwn Farina andSnhz Farina ha rpady piiond Snhz r a lidniy ard o pu him on h righ id of h law, and h ha bn

unul by onra, Snhz ha himlf rpady piiondh own' vor r hir uppor in lion and bn uThi parn of poarii in h pa i a ruial poin ofrfrn rh vn in h ory. Th vn rpa and vary ho of h pa.Thi im Snhz i doggd by rn nw of hi own impndingdah, i domina him a dah ha rmrly dominad Farina, andi ar h our ofhi day-o-day lif: hi diionmaking i ad

and alo hi aiud o ohr hi i a rvra of hi rmr poiion.u hr i ao rpiion hr in o r a Farina piion Snhzagain, mping him wih hi daughr, Laura, and hi im h iu in h aquir lgal, inidr au and a af ur, arvral of hi rmr poiion. Snhz aquir Laura, bu hirrlaionhip au anda hy ar oia ouidr a Farina wabr. So h poiion ar rvrd, hough h bai dail andpoin of rfrn dah, lgaliy, pa/ur) ar rpad Thnarraiv ha movd rward, bu i ha don o by going bak. n hiory and ohr h araivn of rvral r h ruur iurly ha hy obvia h nd o inrodu xrnal or nw orh u of a ory i ighly dlimid o a working ou or xpoiaionofgivn marial, and ha irumrib and minimiz h op of aory a r prinipl of h gnr. Morovr, rvral alo provid arong n ofbaan h pro of ronguraion ahiv a lar

imprion of ompn, of a movmn nihd, of an abolu



M A R K M N G N

ralignmnt not susptibl to rthr modiation. Clarly thisrinrs th sns of an nding in som storis as an addition to thdpartur moif disussd on pp 1 22-3.

Thr rmains th qustion ofs thmai rtin How mightsom thmati us b load? This is an spially aut qustion inso r as Big Mamas Funal shows a onsistnt us on humanonontation, on th natur o human rsourlnss and vnimpliily) on psyhology; with h ption of Big MamasFunral, tha olltion shows litl of th fstiv pansivnss of!,whih is narr th status of pur ion But to talk of rtin is

no anothr way of dsribing mptinss , that is a way of sayingths storis ar simpl dvtssmnts'. Th apparntly losd, linarpatrn arrivalration and pansiondpartur in is shrvisibility an suggst th nd to prob mor dply into th storis;that linar pattrn may b visibl in invrs proportion to thvisibility of maning in this as, to isolat struturs is larly notto hav haustd th storis Drrida stats this point with larity in

a arly ssay: th rlif and dsign ofstruturs appars mor larlywhn ontnt, whih is th living nrgy of maning, is nutralizd .Th word pansion whih hav usd might giv rthr paus rthought, suggsting as it dos an opnnss whih rmal analysis mayorlook Th ida ofopnnss is prisly what th ir motiftnds orground

Th ir moif is or aompanis, an inrusion into th narrativspa in !i onstitus or rinrs a radial disquilibrium in lif

pattrns; in this way i rprsns a potntial opning or ransrmation And in hat onntion th ir motif an b amind in hliht of what Bakhtin alls popular-fstiv rms or arnivalsBakhtins thoriation is usl

Carnva s a paean whou a sae and whou a dvson no perorersand specaors. In he cava everyone s an acve parcpan everyonecounes n he carnva ac. Carnva s no conepaed s srcy

speakn no even payed ou; s parcpanslive n hey ve accordn o aws as on as hose aws are n rce .e. hey ve a caivaltic le. Thecrnvasc e s e drawn ou o s usual rut, s o a deree e urnednsde ou' e he wron way round onde a envers).

The aws prohbons and resrcons whch deerne he syse andoder o nora .e. non-carnva e are r he perod o carnvasspended; above a he herarchca syse and a he conneced rs oar awe pey equee ec. are suspended .e. everyhn ha sdeerned by socaherarchca nequay aon peope or any oher

r o nequay ncudn ae. pp. oo



Innocen Ernra: narrativ strutur 27

Carna ceebraes chane se he ery process o repaceaby . . .

(p. 3 0

Th strss hr is on nwnss, on th potntial r hang, on living in aradially dirnt way o br, if only r th duration of thfstivity In that prsptiv th irs or arnivals of !SS arrogniabl as stiuli r hang Sa and Vry Old Man) or asways of lif Blaan and Inrdibl Story)

But th ky qustion is ow uh rally hangs or is transrdin !SS?' Th answr is that thr is so variation In Vry Old Manthr is ral transration; th ir builds on and xds tharbitrary arrival of th birdan and it hlps Playo and Elisnda togain w soial status by alowing th to arn ony o thuriosity th bird-an is r th hang outlasts th fstivitySnh in Constant Dath arrivs aopanid by th trappings ofa ir and again lifs norality is pushd asid and things artransrd; th spial, arnivalsqu irustans aid th rvrsalin rtuns of Farina and Snh But thr is also a passag in th

story showing anothr, tporary, transration, th rar ontatbtwn th an of powr and th popl Snh ostntatiouslyovs aong th dispnsing liitd largss in ordr to win thirsupport r is an iportant transration, as th popls powrthir vot is soliitd and a utopian tur is proisd Snh isbriy in nd and th popls nds ar satisd by his bstowinggifts This passag is ntirly in th spirit of th arnival dnd by

BakhtinIn Blaan th narrators lif is transrd by Blaans

arnivalsqu istn his talnt r rsurrtion is disovrd andthat brings hi walth and apparntly satistion too Th intrusionofEstban in Drownd Man stiulats arnivalsqu ativity whihlads to th long-tr transration of th villagrs attituds thybo industrious and produtiv as nvr br By ontrast, in

Inrdibl Story th haratrs ar th ir, but no lar transration is td; and in Sa th ir taks ovr popls livs but onlytporarily And this last as is prhaps th ost intrsting sin inso dtails it os losst to Bakhtins dsription; r in Sa thir ovrs a rtain priod of ti and thn disappars laving thingsas br, and this pattrn is larly that of th ral arnivals thatBakhtin dsribs In Bakhtins thory th prois ofsoial rorganiation, of nw turs, of hirarhis lvlld is not sustaind In !SSthr is no lar soial ipliation to th transrations td, but



M A R K M I L L I G O

ths transrations are sustaind in svral ass th ir/arnivalis no siply an institutionalid rlas of ustration, a irusrid, annual vnt; opnings ar rspondd to and th arnival

ipuls is not always lost And this ipuls dos alrt th radr to artan thati us and onsistny throughout without providing dnit propositions or onopoliing attntion

will nd y attpting to analys th strutur of th narrativ spaatd in want to suggst a way of undrstanding th kind ofnarrativ world that ists in ; that is y trying to stalish th

natur and onsistny of th rlations that hold twn th atualworld and th narrativ world, want to propos an anayialapproah to th oprhnsion of th storis narrativ spa

n disussing th way al disours is oprhndd, Tun van Dijkhas strssd th iportan ofknowdg as • dns ths aslows:

Fraes are knowlege representations about te worl' wic enable us to

peror suc basic cognitive acts as perception action an languagecopeension p. 1 9)

We propose tat aes ene units or cunks of concepts wic are notesentially, but tpical, relate. Soe intuitive exaples ay clarify tispoint Conceptually tere is no ieiate or essential relation between tecncept oftable' an te concep of cereal', nor between soap an water'nor between waitress' an enu' Tey are istinct an o not presupposeec oter Yet, tey are organize by te aes of breakst wasing'a restaurant' respectively. Tey usually enote certain normal courses ofevents or courses of actions involving several objects, persons properties,rlations an cts . . . It is in tis sense tat aes are igerleveloganzing principles Tey unify concepts of various types an at variouslvels of representation uner te constraint of typicality an norality.

(p 2 1 )

. . Fraes . . . are conventional an general. Most ebers of a sociey orculture ave approxiately te sae set of ames (p. 22)

an Dijk points ou hat hs as a as a ruia part of ourhorion of xptation and omprhnson n prossng al dsoursnuding litratur) , and it is lar tha thy opnt whatvronvntions ay hod within any sp dsours Th rlan ofdsours on knowdg as is vidnt n its apaty to boprhndd whout rours to otaiing xplanaton Disoursis int and onis; t an d inraton prisly baus i an

ry on triggring knowdg ams n ts audn t an rly on



Innoent Erndira: narrativ strutur 1 29

shard xprin. This is a basi assumption whih is oprativ indisours prossing by dult; that is, unlss thr is any indiationto th ontrary, it sms that normal knowldg ams ar oprativ.

This basi assumption is apparnt in innumrabl dtails ofSS: thradr an b rlid upon to attah th appropriat am to singlations that in global trms rm part of, r instan, havingbrakst, making lov, or attmpting murdr Similarly, globalation nd only b alludd to r a knowldg am to ll it out:playing draughts, slling a patnt mdiin, attmpting to orrupt apoliiian. Ths bits of knowldg ar trivial baus thy orrspond

to a possibl or atual world of xprin, and th input ofinrmation by th radr is, thrr, ortlss, vn unonsious,whatvr th spi dtail of th narrativ.

But th ky point is that muh of th r ofSS drivs om thdviation om knowldg ams f on dns a possibl world ason that is onstrutd and omprhndd in trms of knowldgams of th atual world (in spi ombination or prmutation ,

thn t is vidnt that SS onstruts only partially possibl worlds; itblur or subvrts th normal struturs of th atual world Somxampls of blurring or subvrsiv phnomna or ations whih art' within th storis will mak th point mor larly. n Vry OldMan th spidr-woman has an xplanation r hr ondition sh isnot a irground uriosity; hr ondition is ral ust as that of th birdman himslf is ral, and this blurs th normal distintion btwn th

irground and th ral world . n Sa' , Tobas gos swimming with Srrbrt, but what happns bnath th sur xds th limits ofth atual worl; it is not ust that thy spnd a larg amount of timundr watr without brathing quipmnt and that thy an holdsubaquati onvrsations too, but that thy s popl living thr andowers growing. Sr rbrt xplains ths things to Tobas, but thxplanation annot satisfy th radrs atual world knowldg. nVr Old Man', a ultural knowldg am is subvrtd whn it

boms obvious that th supposd angl displays only on faturharatristi of an angl h has wings. Othrwis h is physiallyunimprssiv, withdrawn, passiv, ils to undrstand Latin and isultimatly a domsti nuisan

Thr ar mor rmarkabl ass in whih physial laws within ourknowldg ams ar ovrriddn with no attmpt at xplanation.Whr th rst two xampls abov involv th iningmnt of

physal laws thr is an impliit rognition of this in so r as psudo



M A R K M L L I N G T O N

xplanations ar providd. This is not so with th papr buttrywhih knoks into th wall and boms part of th wallpapr inConstant Dath' (pp. 66 ; nor with th orangs that grow with

diamonds insid thm in nrdibl Story' (p 3 nor with thnarrator of laamn' who brings bak to lif a rabbit (p. o andhn laamn too rpatdly (p. 94; nor with Erndira's grandmothr who has grn blood (p. 6 and who ils to suumb o amassiv dos of ratpoison (pp. 8 .

Ths dtails hlp to dn th position of th storis rlativ to thtual world; oftn th knowldg ams of th atual world ar

indispnsabl in rading but thr ar also signiant dviations omr transgrssions of this nsmbl of struturd knowldg. So in partSS is alignd with and in part sits athwart atual knowldg amsnd th ara of disrpany dos somtims xtnd to th onsioustions and th minds of haratrs Not only is thr no rationalritiqu of vnts by haratrs om within th storis that is aviwpoint potntially quivalnt to that of th radr but th

haratrs quntly add to th numbr of dviations. So Tobas issatisd by Sr rbrt's dubious xplanations in Sa' (p. 42 ;laamn thinks that h an ur his bad luk by mortifying thnarrator of laamn' (pp. 8990 ; th army or in nrdiblStory' shoots at th louds to mak it rain (p. 22 ; in Constant Dath'nhz taks his analgsis br fling pain in ordr to fl rlifrst thus rvrsing rational prati (p 60 ; and prhaps abov allErndira ly dids to rturn to hr grandmothr in nrdibltory' having bn savd om hr xploiting grasp and havingnjoyd hr nw lif and with no guarant of bttr tratmnt in thtur (p 3o . r haratrs' minds thoughts ations andmotivations run ountr to ams of knowldg about or mods ofationality in th atual world.

n this way th narrativ spa sms rathr idiosynrati And so anal qustion must b posd onrning th position of narrators. Th

narrators' position ould thortially provid a gaug of vnts orbhaviour; it ould align th global point of viw with that of thadr and his/hr knowldg ams; it ould onstitut an intrnalfrn point of ritial distan. n t th qustion of thnarrators' position is quit omplx n th rst pla th authoritynd mdiation of th narrators in !SS is mor or lss unirm. This ish as rgardlss ofwhthr th narrator spaks with a rst or a third

prson voi though th lattr is mor ommon So thr is no lak of



Innocent Erndira narraiv srucur r 3 r

auoriaiv s-pics on characrs or con h narraor oConsan Dah knows Snchzs scr abou his imminn da(p 60) and as h knowldg o bgin h sory wih a summary oismain poins (p 9) ; h narraor oncrdibl Sory can idniy himporanc o wind in scion on an anicipa h disasr i willcr (pp 97 and 99) ; in scion ur o h sam sory narraorcan skch in h prinn dails o campaign o prsuadprosius o marry (p r 28); and in Sa h narraor can givinrmaion abou dad Pra, oaing in h ay o ngal,knowldg which no characr posssss (p 32) This auhoriy and

mdiaing powr plus h capaciy o nam and classiy and hconrol o chronological progrss doublss cra a crainconsisncy and clariy u h qusion is o s how ha auhoriyand mdiaion ar usd Do hy carry ou h ask o diancingcriqu mniond abov? T answr is ha hy do no Thnaraors auhoriy is parial; i is usd o rgisr scns and o ll incrain conual gaps, bu i is no usd o jusiy, plain or qusion

wh h characrs do or wha phnomna ar So, r ampl, innrdibl Sory h clos vigilanc o Uliss by his parns duringh orang picking (p r 3 r ) , h placing o pickd orangs in sa (p r 33) , and Ulisss nd o pick hr orangs br runningaway om hom (p 1 34) , ar no plaind by h narraor appns ha Uliss shows Erndira ha h orangs conaindiamonds (p r 3), bu whil his givs a crain rrospciv

claricaion, i acually adds mor consion o h siuaion Onoccasions such as his, narraors silnc, h lack o auoriaiv,raional discours, is an imporan aur T narraors do noraionaliz; hy do no analys; y rar prsn vns as i hywr simpl cs, vn i hs cs dvia subsanially om ourknowldg ams This is curious in so r as ir auoriy sms oimply a capaciy r raionalizing disanc; bu, in c, h narraorsviwpoin is closr o characrs han o h radr Vry on hsing y o narraion is ha o on alignd wih a characrsviwpoin or wi an amalgamaion o characrs viwpoins Andhis is hardly surprising sinc narraiv srucur, h rlaionsbwn narraiv world and acual world, would b inconsisn andsimplid i h narraors cu roug h compliis o h oraurs hav dscribd T gaps and uncrainis ar crucial andis in rms o h rlaion acual/narraiv worlds To av rcours

o such labls as iry soris or cilrns soris o dscrib !SS would



M A R K M I L L I N G T O N

b to sk surity and losur by rmoving th storis into anunworldly, purly litrary' am of rfrn (if suh a onpt isanything mor than wishl thinking) Th ssurs in our knowldg

ams that ar ratd, and th onsqunt unrtainty potntiallystimulatd in our rading ar surly onsistnt with th basi thrust ofth ir or arnival motif namly to opn up and transrm

Nots

1 Gabriel Garca Mrquez La inceley tiste histoia de la cndida Endiay de su abueladesalmada (Buenos Aires) Sudamericana 1976: (5h ed). Abbreviaions used

The Incedible and Sad Sto . : !SSA Very Old Man wih Enormous Wings' Very Old Man'The Sea of Los Time Sea'The World's Mos Beauil Drowned Man Drowned ManConsan Deah beyond Love' Consan DeahThe Las Journey of he Ghos Ship' Las JourneyBlacamn he Good Miracle Seller' BacamnThe Incredibe and Sad Sory ' Incredible Soy

2 In he case ofI ncredible Sory i migh be argued ha here is a second arrival ofequa signicance when Ulises appears in secion hree; i is no jus ha he hassuch sriking looks bu also ha he reaionship ha develops beween him andErndira is crucia o he sorys srucure.

3 I is also worh noing ha in he remaining hree sories he sea is no absen; inBlacamn' he opening and nal paragraphs are se by he sea; in IncredbleSory' here is gradual progress om secion ve ino secion sx owards he seaand moreover Uises promises Erndira he sea; and in Consan Deah hewhole sory is se in a coasal own

4 The reference o his new deep mans voice' (p 73) is an obvious sign of newlygained maury

5 See below pp. 6-8 r a more deaied reamen of his carnivalzaion process6 The eymoogy of he word carnival' seems o sugges ha derives om Lain carnem levare o pu away esh or carne vale rewell o esh he Romancarnival being celebraed jus bere he sing of Len. The word is now ooselyinerchangeable wh he word ir'.

7 This ending may be a piece of ironic pay wih Francisco de Quevedo's sonneAmor consane ms al de la muere ( Consan Love beyond Deah') no onlydoes Garca Mrquez inver Quevedos ie bu where he sonne ends wih adecaraion ha he poes love can survive even deah he sory ends by showinghe unavoidably desrucive eec a corrup poliician's deah has on hs love

8 The nerockng of posions is emphasized by he rerences o good and bad inhe sory. A an eary sage he narraor esablishes a dsincion beween himsefand Blacamn Tha's how he was Blacamn he bad because he good one isme (p 86) And ye he ie of he sory rers o Blacamn as he good whcheads one o ransr he bad' o he narraor as well especially as he s as much aorurer in he end as Blacamn was a he begnning

9 .acques Derrda Force and Signicaion' in Witing and Deence ransaed byAan Bass (London 98) p 5.

10 Mikhal Bakhin Poblems f Dostoevsky's Poetics ranslaed by R. W. Rosel (Ann

Arbor 1973).



Innocent Erndira: narraiv sruur 133

1 1 Te rnv motf s reurrent throughout the work of Gr Mrquez n thetmosphere nd poltl reperussons of the okght n No One Wites to theClonel; n the gypsy ntrusons n One Hundred Years oSolitude whh so trnsrm

Mondo nd the worldvew of Jos rdo Buend; n the soldrty ndoetve festvtes of the peope n Autumn othe Patiach; nd n the mrrgeeebrtons nd the oletve greetngs of the bshop n Chronicle f a DeathFetold.

1 2 Tun vn Dk, Semnt MroStrutures nd Knowledge Frmes n DsourseCmprehenson', n Cognitive Processes in Comprehension, ed M . Just nd P Crpenter (Hllsdle, NJ, 1977

1 The word shred' ones probemt stuton In delng wth Ltnern tet the Europen or North mern rt es the perenndulty of dedng how to lgn hm/herselfwth the Ltn mern ontet

T wht etent s there shred ontet, even n Ltn mer? nd who s theprobble udene r /SS, sne t s erly not people lke those n the storesTere re no smple nswers to these questons, but t remns of vtl mportne rts to be wre of these ssues nd so of the prerous nture of therenerprse

14 Only n Blmn s the rst person voe used throughout n Inredble Story rst person voe does emerge brey t the strt ofseton s (pp 1 5 nd 8 but the buk of the story s n the thrd person.

1 5 For the rul dstntons between nrrtve voe nd nrrtve vewpont se

G Genette, Dsours du rt, n Figues I (Prs, 1972, pp 20-6 Englshtrnslton, Narative Discouse, trnslted by Jne Lewn ( Ith, 1 980 .



9

Language and power in The Autumn o the Patriarch

J O L A AN Y

Languag and powr ar closly linkd W us languag o prsuad,ha s, o manipula ohrs ino acuiscnc W call a samnru ii has powr ovr us Th auhoriy olanguag drvs om hnoion o auhorship, h assumpion ha anguag is h dircxprssion o a cnral, unid voic. Th samn which dos nohav a clar rlaionship o h voic ha spaks i dos no havauhoriy Rpord spch s lss auhoriav han drc spchbcaus is rlaionship o s sourc has bcom adurad. Wringas Drrida has shown, is unly rgardd as an xrm rm orpord and hrr adulrad spch As a novl aboupowr, The Autumn o the Patriarch is invably concrnd wih hxprssion o powr via languag, and parcularly via h wrinword is a disconcring novl, bcaus i dpics a dicaor who s

no drcly rsponsibl r his commands, bu bcoms hir prisonr.Garca Mrus craion o a powrlss yran ooks, a rs sigh,polcally naiv Th novl can b rad, howvr, no as an amp oxonra dicaors o hir crms, bu as an xploraon o hrlaonship bwn powr and languag This rlaonshp is showno work in wo drcons On h on hand, languag is h pariarch'sprncipal insrumn o powr On h ohr, i is his ncrasng

dlgaion o powr o languag ha brngs abou his downl.Garca Mru shows ha languag can undrmin powr as wll asnrc

Th powr o spch is rrrd o a h bgnnng oh novl Wdid no hav o rc an nry, as w had hough, bcaus h mandoor md o yid o h mr rc o h human voic' p. 7 Thpararch's auhoriy rsids in his voic: h spa ou a lha blas o

auhoriy wih hs words' p 73 u, r mos o h novl, h35



J O L A B A N Y I

patriarch rciss his powr via rportd spch. is voic is nothrd dirctly, ut his commands ar rlayd at scond hand om aninisil cntr of powr. is a dictator in th litral sns of th

word, somon who dictats his words to othrs. To mor prcis,th autumn of his rign is inauguratd y th transition om dirctto portd spch. Dcadnc sts in whn h cass to a prsncand coms a lgnd hard ut not sn. Th dpndnc of thpatriarch's authority on harsay is undrlind y th rpatd ironicus in th novl of th phras w saw, whn what is mant is that thppl s only what lgnd has told thm Thy s th dad

patriarch not as h actually did ut as th prophcy had said hwould Thy hav no way of chcking th authntic idntity of thcops, caus thy can masur what thy s only against a rmotchin of vral accounts

Only when we turned him over to see his fce did we realize there was no wayorecognizing him because none o us had ever seen him and athough hisprole was on both sides oall the coins . . . we knew they were copies ocopiesoportraits which were deemed unfithfl at the time o the comet, when ourpaents knew who he was because they had been told by their parents as theyhad been told by theirs. (p 8)

Sing has n rplacd y haring.Th patriarchs rlianc on rportd spch strngthns his powr

in th sns that his istnc via scond-hand vral rptitions ladsto th attriution to him ofa suprhuman uiuity. What this rallymans is that h is nowhr, cpt in th rm ofwords In ct, thrplacmnt of th patriarchs prsnc y harsay adultrats hisauthority, inasmuch as it lads to a usurpation ofhis voic On manyocasions it was hld that h had lost his voic om so much spakingand had vntrilouists postd hind th curtains prtnding h wasspaking p. 49) Th rst chaptr of th novl spcis that thpatriarchs autumn gins with his rcours to a doul, whorplacs him on most of his pulic apparancs Garca Mruz

points out that th on ara whr th doul is not al to provid anct rplica ofth original is that ofspch Thats m damn it", hsaid, caus it was, indd, as ifit wr h, cpt r th authority ofhis voic, which th doul had nvr larnt to imitat proprly p 4 Th linguistic natur ofth usurpation is mphasizd y th ctthat th doul has a nam Patricio Aragons) , whil th patriarchhas non. Th patriarchs voic has passd to a sustitut; languag

has com indpndnt of its sourc.



Languag and powr in The Autumn the Patriarch 3 7

Th pariarch's rcours o rpord spch cras a powrvacuum as auhoriy coms o rsid incrasingly in h wordshmslvs rahr han in h voic om which hy origina Thmor concals his prsnc h mor absoluly his commands arobyd o h xn ha hy bgin o b obyd wihou him vnvoicin hm: all in accord wih an ordr h had no givn bu whicwas an ordr of his byond any doub my gnral bcaus i had himprurbabl rmnss of his voic and h inconrovribl syl ofhis auhoriy' p 1 78 . Th mr hough ha i would b prfrablr his wif and son o b dad rahr han liv daily wih h far of

hir dah lads o hir murdr was lik a hundrous commandno y ariculad whn his aids burs ino his oc wih h ghaslynws a Licia Naarno and h child had bn orn o pics anddvoud by h dogs' p. 99) . Languag having bcom indpndn o is masr has urnd agains him

Fro his poin on h pariarch's rol as h absn cnr ofcommnd maks him incrasingly dpndn on h rpors of h

ousid world ha h rcivs om his inrmrs. Sinc s rporsrc back a him h commands h had prviously issud hbcoms rappd in a sris of mirror-rcions: a capiv monarch drgging his havy f hroug h dark mirrors' pp. 2 16) n h sam way h coms o rly on inrmaion xracd undrorur which again rcs back a him wha h wans o s Thironic imoif w saw' is parallld by h ually ironic h saw'

Lik popl h pariarch dos no s raliy bu hars his ownlgnd H had sn his and many ohr hings in ha rmo worldalhouh no vn h could b sur whhr hy rally wr mmorisor al h had hard' p 1 73) . By h nd of h novl h pariarchhas bcom symbolically daf o h ousid world daf lik amirror p 1 3 ) abl o har only h nois of h silnc insid hisown had

Th ironic consion of sing wih haring is a is mos amusingwhn h pariarch noics ousid his window h hr caravls ofChrisophr Columbus which his inrmrs hav old him abou nhis scn somhing mporan has happnd h hr caravls ardriv indircly om a wrin x Columbus's diary omwhich arca Mru uos o rinrc h poin Sing hr hasbcom consd no jus wih haring bu also wih rading. Thpariarch is rcd o rly on scondhand oral rpors bcaus a his

sag i h novl h is sill illira. Th absurd logic of his scn



J O L A B A N Y I

mpls that, f th wrttn word has th authort wth whch thpatrarch crdts t, thn h has bn vng al ths tm n anundscovrd ndd non-xstnt world. Th patrarchs nvn

ton' of th naton n hs patrotc spchs Th thrland s th bstthng that's vr bn nvntd, mothr p 22 - pals ntonsgncanc n comparson wth th ablt of th wrttn word tonvnt th whol contnnt of Amrca, hmslf ncludd hpatrarch s, of cours, roncall unawar that h s ndd thraton of a wrttn txt, that hs nvnton b arca Mruzmans that h xsts onl n words

A k pont n th novl, whn th patrarch s r th rst tmonontd drctl wth th powr of th wrttn word, s th rctavn b th pot Rubn Daro. Th rctal maks such a strongmpact bcaus th wrttn word s combnd wth th spakng vocof th author Daro's radng of hs pom Marcha trun omwhch arca Mruz agan uots) rvas to th patrarch a vrbapowr whch transcnds that of an mortal rulr and whos authort

s absolutHe saw the heroic athletes he saw the ranks ofwarlike youths [ghting rthe eternal splendour of an immortal therland greater and more goriousthan any he had ever imagined . . he fet impoverished and diminished dazzled by the revelation of written beauty (pp 1 94-5)

What attracts th patrarch n Daros potr s hs attmpt to cratan trnal, unvrsal potc languag that transcnds th lmtatonsof human xstnc. For th patrarch, wrtng has th vau ofmor t s an attmpt to prptuat through rptton that whchothrws s condmnd to oblvon. Ar th rctal, h taks towrtng th vrss on th lavator wals, trng to rct th wholpom om mmor' p. 1 9) . s scond-hand rpttons nvtabl to rproduc th powr of th author's orgnal rndton Thtlt of th attmpt to mmortalz ralt va th wrttn word sundrlnd b arca Mruzs ronc applcaton to th dcang

paac of th uphmsms and mthologca rfrncs whch characterz Daros potc languag: n th cald Ompus of th cowsht nth dar' p 1 9) . Th choc of Daro as th patrarchs ltrarmntor s approprat, not on bcaus ofhs rputaton as th dono Spansh Amrcan ttrs, but also bcaus a maor thm of hsltr potr s th far of dath.

Th arl part of chaptr , whr Daro's rctal s narratd,

dscrbs th orts of Ltca Nazarno to tach th patrarch to rad



Languag and powr in Th Autumn th Patriarch 1 39

and wit. Evn at th bginning of his autumn , whil still illitrat,th vau attachd b th patriarch to th abilit ofwriting to prsrvhuma lif could b sn in his choic of two ministrs, his privatdoctor and anothr who was th nations bst calligraphr p 37) .Th adultration of authorit that bgan with th transition omdirct to rportd spch is compltd with th patriarchs initiation,in th atr part of th novl, into writing Th dlgation ofhis powrto th writtn word lads to his mthication, in th sns that thmanistations ofhis xistnc bcom incrasingl rmot om thirsourc An imag of th mthical prstig of th writtn word, as th

trac of an absnt voic, can b sn in th dscription, in that chaptrin whih th patriarch discovrs writing, of th patriarchs otprintn that imprint/trac [Sp. hu/a] w saw powr, w flt th contact ofits mstr with a gratr sns ofrvlation than whn on of us waschosn to s him in prson p. 87 ) Th rligious trminolog usdhr is no accidnt Th discovr of writing allows th patriarch topla od rss to admit God to his prsnc lt no on into

th hous, com what ma, h ordrd . . not vn God, ifh turnsup" p 264) bcaus h has larnt his scrt, that omnipotncdpnds on absnc Onl if th spakr is invisibl do his words attainth status of Scriptur From now on, th patriarch stops apparing inpublic altogthr. t is not r nothing that h rcognizs in th churchhis main rival r powr At th sam tim, h is bound to b anagnostic, sinc h knows that God is all powrl bcaus h dos not

xist cpt in trms of writtn txtsTh patriarchs scpticism about th xistnc of God, howvr,logicall lads him to hav doubts about his own idntit as thmthial product of words: On night h had writtn m nam isZacaras, had rrad it b th ting glar ofth lighthous, had radit ovr and ovr again, and with so man rptitions th nam nddup looking rmot and alin p 1 32 ) Th writtn word, as thrptiion of an absnt original, dos srv as a rm of mmor, but

th mmor bcoms dtachd om its sourc Th patriarchs lastars ar spnt rcording his own powr in grati in th palaclavatois and hiding awa writtn rmindrs to himslf which hcanno rmmbr writing Th writtn word dos not giv him trnallif, bt condmns him to living in trms of mmoris of th past isactivit as had of stat bcoms limitd to th commmoration of

. .anvrsas

Th patriarch looks to th writtn word not onl to immortaliz



J O L A B A N YI

hmsf but also to prsr hs nks wth th outsd word At thattm hs only contacts wth th raty of ths world wr a fw loosagmnts of hs most mportant mmors , wrttn appropratly n

th margns of th olums of ocal rcords p 1 32) r agan,wrtng ls hm Th wrttn word dos not connct hm wth thoutsd world, but bcoms a substtut r t: chckd th truthssatd n th documnts aganst th msadng truths of ral lfp 6) Wrtng myths not only ts author but aso ts subjctmattr, nasmuch as t suppants, and ultmaty supprsss, thorgnal t rprsnts By th nd of th nol th patrarch s rlyng

r nrmaton ntry on hs own cnsord nwspaprs s wrttnrmndrs to hmslf ar rndrd worthss, dspt thr prmann, by th ct that h rgts what thy rfr to s ast act brdyng s to rturn to ts hdng plac th not h had wrttn rcordngsom annrsary or othr of th llustrous pot Rubn Daro, whosdntty h has now rgottn p 267 ) Wrtng prptuats nthr tsauthor nor th outsd world, but only tslf Th patrarchs

obssson, n hs latr yars, wth wrtng traps hm n an unra worldbyond th lookng gass, whr th lght of th mrrors has bnturnd nsd out p 234) In th tral of yllow las of hs autumnh bcam conncd that h woud nr b mastr of al hs powr,that h was condmnd to know f th wrong way round/om thothr sd [Sp por el revs] ' p 2 70) . Th wrttn word dos not hold amrror up to ralty, but turns ralty nto a mrrormag

Th mag of th trac th tral of yllow las of hs autumn s

an apt mtaphor r wrtng Th dspacmnt of th patrarchspowr om spch to wrtng conrts t nto a tral of words rfrrngback to an absnt sourc Th mpcaton s that, lk myth, wrtngsparats man om a sourc wth whch at th sam tm t sks to rtablsh contact. Wrtng s a crcular, countrproduct procss, nthat t causs th probm t sts out to sol Th patrarchs rcourst wrttn prssons of hs authorty aggraats th powr acuum

h s tryng to orcom attmpts to scur a papal dctgoundng hs powr n hs gnalogca orgns by canonzng hsmothr, but th papal noys orts to trac hs ancstry ra onlythat h s th son of an unknown thr and a mothr of uncrtannam and rputaton, who usd to mak a lng by pantng brdssfyng natur ) . Th popl also attmpt to stabsh an authortat account of th patrarchs lf by pcng togthr stgs of a past

that bcoms mor lus th mor thy nqur t would ha bn



Languag and powr in The Autumn the Patriarh 1 4 1

all too asy to lt onslf b convincd by th immdiat signs'nithr in that room could w nd any clu' vry trac ofhis originshad disappard om th txtbooks' pp 4850) Th patriarch'spowr bcoms rducd to th priphral trac of a rmot andintrmittnt cntral sourc of light th urry of dust of th trail ofstars of th gold spur in th ting dawn of th grn ashs of thshafts oflight of th turns of th lighthous' p 69) . At th nd of thnovl with th sal of th sa to th Unitd Stats th patriarch ordrsth lighthous his mtaphorical cntr of powr to b put out ofaction. With this symbolic act dsignd to concal th powr vacuum

lft by th absnc of th sa h dstroys th last rmaining vstigs ofhis powr and dis Th loss of h sa can b sn not only as anallgoy ofimprialism but also as a mtaphor r th loss by th shipof stat' of its undations Prior to th sal of th sa th palac isdscribd as a ship that has brokn ofits anchor and is oating inth air Th hous of powr [ ] lookd lik a stamboat sailing in thsky' p 1 85 ) A similar imag is usd to dscrib th ct on th

patriach of his discovry at Daro's rcital of th writtn word: [it]liftd him clan out of his plac and tim and lft him oating'p 1 94) . Th patriarch dis drownd in his own orts to immortalihimslf in words a solitary corps oating c down in th lunarwatrs of his drams' p I 3

Th imag of th trac which has lost touch with its sourcrpadly applid to th patriarch invits comparison with th

dscription ofth comt which rturns vry hundrd yars as a trailofradiant dust of astral rsidus and dawns prolongd by tar moonsand ahs of cratrs of ocans prior to th origins of tim on arth'pp 84) Th implication is that th comt as part of natur is intouch with a sourc to which it can rturn in ordr to rnw itslf Thpatriach by contrast loss contact with his origins through hisdlgation of powr to words and his attmpts at rptition againthrough words lad to xhaustion Whn h ordrs a rpat of th

comt h gts an clips Th transition om spch to writing cutshim o om natur Th loss of th sa provids an appropriat imagof th nal phas of this procss of alination

Th notion that writing is th trac of an absnt sourc is rinrcdby Gaca Mru's us of narrativ prspctiv t is important thatth novl should start with th nd th patriarch's dath Thpatriach is thus an absnc throughout th novl t is also important

that Garca Mru should within th ashback that is th whol



JO ABAN

novl, narrat chronologically only th vnts o th patriarch'sautumn' Th hyday o his powr, whn h was still a prsnc,bcoms a ashback within a ashback, narratd via a doubl chain o

hasay By making it clar that th tt o th novl rrs back to anabsnt sourc, Garca Mruz shows how writing is untrustworthybcus it mythis rality. Th distanc o th writtn word om itssourc undrmins its authority. Th patriarch's most authoritativacts ar narratd in th last authoritativ way.

Convrsly, th momnts in th novl which appar to giv a dirct,authoritativ insight into th patriarch's mind, unmdiatd by

hasay, ar thos which rval his innr doubts Whn w ar givn adsription o th thoughts h silntly addrsss to his mothr thinking darst mothr Bndicin Alvarado, i only you knw thatthis world is too much r m, that I want to run away but I don'tknow whr to, mothr, away om all this misry, but h didn't vnshow his privat sighs to his mothr' p. 2 w assum that thomniscint author is spaking, sinc no charactr can s insid th

patriarch's had. W again assum th omniscint author is rsponsibl r th narration o th patriarch's dram o Manula Snchzpp. 701 ) and o his ncountr with dath pp. 2689) , particularlysinc h is lockd alon in his bdroom at th tim. In ths last twoinstncs, th illusion o objctivity is hightnd by th ct that thpatriarch's mntal stats ar narratd as i thy wr vnts But, inct all th apparntly omniscint insights into th patriarch's mindar ontaind in a narrativ which, in ach chaptr, clarly starts asth uninrmd collctiv voic o th popl who discovr thpatriarch's corps. What looks at rst sight lik an authoritativ/authorial account o what th patriarch is rally lik is, it sms,hypothtical spculation on th part o th uninrmd collctivnarrator, in othr words, anothr part o th lgnd. By tricking thradr into thinking that what h is rading is th work o anomniscint author, and subsuntly making him raliz it is th

product o an unrliabl intrmdiary narrator, Garca Mruz callsinto ustion th authority o th writtn word. Just as th patriarchdiscovrs that h is not in control o th words that ar dsignd toprtuat his powr, so th radr discovrs that thr is noomiscint author in control o th tt h is rading.

What is mor, th tt is th product not o on unrliablintmdiary narrator, but o a bwildring prosion ointrmdiary

narrators, all o thm unrliabl. It is impossibl to know at how many



Languag and powr in The Autumn f the Patrarch r 43

rmovs w ar om th original vrsion; all w know r sur is thatth vrsion w hav is adultratd Th collctiv voic that arratsth bginning of ach chaptr and which w thrr prsum is

rsponsibl r th whol txt contains within it a multiplicity ofindividual voics which rport vnts at scond hand and in turn arrpotd at scond hand Whnvr w hav somthing that looks lika ctual account w suddnly com across a trm of addrss whichshows that it is a story told by on charactr to anothr Thintralation my gnral appars throughout rvalig that whatw hv bn rading is a scond-hand rport mad to th patriarch

n th sam way th intrcalation Sir rvals that what looks likobjctiv narration is spokn by th patriarchs mothr whoconstantly uss this trm of addrss To add to th consion it is notalwas clar whthr sh is spaking to an intrviwr or to God sincth Spanish Seor could also b translatd as Lord Th untintruption of th narrativ by th xpltiv damn it (Sp carajo) , orth intrjctions mothr or poor man likwis indicats that th

patriarch is spaking dspit th absnc of any othr indication tothat ct Th army chifis always rfrrd to as my old pal GnralRodrigo d Aguilar raising th possibility that th patriarch may bspaking vn whn this sms unlikly Thr ar svral momntswhn w ar mad awar that what w ar rading is spokn by acharactr without bing sur who th spakr is Th nd ofchaptr 4is addrssd to th patriarch as gnral dspit th ct that h is alsorfrrd to in th third prson and yt h rgot hr h was lft alonin th dark sarching r himslfin th salty watr of his tars gnral(p 168) but it sms unlikly that this is spokn by Lticia Nazarnowho is th only prson prsnt (and who is also rfrrd to in th thirdprson Th pisod with th thr caravls of Columbus againprovids th most amusing xampl ofthis ambiguous us ofnarrativvoic with th patriarchs inrmrs slipping anachronistically intoth languag of Columbuss diary that ought to b rsrvd r th

nwly arrivd conuistadors p 4 This kind of narrativ iconsistnc maks it impossibl to attribut th txt to anyon in particular.

Not only do all th apparntly ctual accounts in th novl turn outto b rportd spch but so do all th passags which appar to bnarratd as dirct spch Th rst-prson narrativ voic whichcharactrizs dirct spch is usually takn dspit its partiality togiv n authoritativ account of vnts scond only to that of th

omnicint author inasmuch as it givs an ywitnss dscription



44 J O L A B A N Y I

unmdiad y an xrnal narraor n The Autumn the Patiach,nohing can rgardd as auhoriaiv, caus vryhing ismdiad Th asnc of any puncuaion indicaing spch in h

pasags narrad in h rs prson is a clu o h c ha wha whav is a disguisd rm of rpord spch Th rs im in h novlh dirc spch appars, i is mad ui clar ha i is rallyrord spch Somon had old how saw h sad ys' p ) . nsubsun xampls, w hav o wai r som im r discovrin ha wha w hav n rading is no gnuin dirc spch Thr-prson accoun y Francisca Linro ofhr rap y h pariarch

nds wih h snnc, Thy wr imags ofhis powr which rachdhim om ar' p 1oo , implying h whol sory is a dramaizaion oflgnd. W unly nd an inconsisn mixur of dirc andrord spch, suggsing ha nohing is unconaminad yhrsay Th pariarch issus ordrs o his srvans in wha sars asdic spch u lapss ino rpord spch Tak ha door away rm and pu i ovr hr h ly clock was no o srik wlv a

wlv u a wo' p 2 Th rs and hird prsons ha corrspondo dirc and rpord spch rspcivly occur in h sam snnc:Ty had inimidad hm wih all mannr o hras and ha waswhy w did i' p 39 ndicin Alvarado spurnd h crown jwlswhich mak m fl lik h Pop's wif' p 2 This chniu is usdmos civly in h pariarch's rpad invocaions of his mohrof my lif', his mohr of my soul', his mohr of my dah' pp 379) implying ha wha looks lik a dirc rndring of h pariarch'swords is in c rlayd o us indircly Th pariarch's voic is asnvn whn i appars o prsn Convrsly, h popl's voic isprsn vn whn i appars o asn, inasmuch as all hinividual voics in h novl ar prsnd indircly via popularlgnd

Th mos xrm cas of his consion of dirc and rpordspch occurs, approprialy, in h pisod in which h pariarch's

inrmrs rconsruc h ors of h papal nvoy o rconsruc hpariarch's origins Wihin h illusion of dirc spch ha is hinrmrs' rpor o h pariarch w hav h illusion ofdirc spchof h inrmrs' arlir convrsaions wih h nvoy

. y gna ifyou coud ony hi n th dt of th huan dbi ofth wathbatn oop . . . pacd wth thi cago of tnag who

th ga hot of Cua�ao bound Guantnao th b



Language and power n The utumn the Patrarch 14

ho sange e el hen he boa had le he disan drms, li, he,his gd-al lie, bos becase he alks lke s m geneal. (. 1 49)

Te conson ofdstnct conversatons takng place at derent tmesand paces leaves te reader unsure were e stands. A smlar eect sproduced by te use of a number of anonymous rst-person-sngularvoce an e-dctator pp 2 1 , 42) , a rtune-teer pp 96) , terevoltonary p. 107 ) , a scoogrl pp 2203) , a prosttutepp 267) , a palace decorator p. 227 ) , a eper p. 2 1 ) wosedentty cannot be establsed wt any precson It s of coursemportant tat te major ndvdual voce n te novel tat of tepatrarc soud beong to ts category of anonymous narrators.On several occasons, tese rst-personsngular voces de nto teanonmous rst-person-pura voce of te colectve narrator, so tatwe ben to tnk tat te colectve narrator peraps comprses tesum of te ndvdual voces rater tan beng a separate group opeopl recordng ter stores at a remove.

T reader s reuctant to abandon s assumpton tat te rst

persoplura narrator wo reats te begnnng of eac capter sresposble r te woe nove because te estence of a amenarraor gves at east some coerence to te tet, by locatng t wtnte amework ofa sngle perspectve But te colectve narrator turnsout o nspecton, to be even more nconsstent tan te ndvdualvoces t appears to contan. Te very estence of a rstpersonpuralnarraor cononts us wt a dsconcertng mture of te apparent

autoty of te rst-person voce and te pluralty and probabedverence of a collectve voce Te autorty of ts rstpersonplural narrator s undermned n te openng pages, wc sow tatte e wo s speakng s supersttous and gnorant. Te ntampreson tat te tet emanates om a ed source, gven by tect tat at te begnnng of eac capter te colectve narrator sclearl dented as te people wo nd te patrarc's corpse s

ucky dspeled as te we tat narrates te subseuent passagesstarts, lke te patrarc's paace, to drft ee of ts ancor. t s nottat e cannot attrbute te tet to a source, but tat ts sourceconstntly sfts. Te mpresson tat te tet s oatng, ungroundedn a ed source, s renrced by te ct tat ts sftng rstpersonplural narrator s aways anonymous Frst of a we nd tat te we'euntly refers to te patrarc's subjects at te tme of events, sucas te andng of te Marnes p. 1 ) or te appearance of te comet

p. 84 wc te we of te openng pages as told us took place



J O L A B A N Y I

many yars br thir birth. Thn th w bgins to pass atincrasing spd om on group of charactrs to anothr Thsccssiv idntitis assumd by th rst-prson-plural narrator

includ th llowing in ordr of apparanc th national basballtam p 40 th xdictators of othr Latin Amrican countrisp 42 th witnsss of Columbuss landing pp 44 succssivgnrations ofarmy gnrals pp 60 267 967 207 maraudingprats p 9 various army ocrs pp 091 248 govrnmntadvisrs p 70 mrchants p 1 88 th audinc at Daros rcital(p. 1 934 schoolgirls p. 202 conomists p. 224 scurity guards

p 226 cadts p 240 lprs and crippls p 2 th policlooking r Columbus p 28 palac srvants p 264 To add to thcnsion th patriarch somtims uss th royal w.

Our rst raction is to xplain this prolifration of rst-prsonpural narrators in th sam way as w had initially xplaind th rstprsonsingular narrators as bing voics containd within thnrrativ of th w who at th bginning of ach chaptr nd th

ptriarchs corps. But th viw that th popl who nd th corpsprovid a narrativ am to th novl appars to b contradictd byth ct that on two occasions at th bginning and nd of th novlth popl who nd th corps ar rfrrd to in th third prson Thrst tim this can b xplaind by th ct that th rfrnc includsth dirnt group of popl who prviously und th corps of thptriarchs doubl vn though w plus thy normally adds up tow : but not vn thn did w dar bliv in his dath bcaus it wasth scond tim thy had und him in that oc p 20 But whn atth nd ofth novl w rad although thos who und th body wrto say that it was on th oc oor p 269 no such xplanation isavailabl Eithr thr is no amnarrator or ls th popl whond th corps ar charactrs in somon lss story f thr is am-narrator it can only b th w who narrats th last two pagso th novl This nal w appars to rprsnt a dirnt group of

popl om th w that starts ach chaptr bcaus th popl whond th corps ar uninrmd and submissiv whras th rstprson-plural narrator of th closing pags uttrs a clar rjction ofvrything th patriarch stands r This is th on authoritativsttmnt in th novl All w know about this nal w is that thyliv on this sid ofrality in th world of th poor p 2 70 f thy arrsponsibl r rporting th storis of all th othr narrators in th



Languag and powr in The Autumn f the Patriarch 1 47

nov, th ct that thy ar ntirly asnt until th last two pagsmas that thy do not provid th cohrnc of a gnuin amnarrtor, lik Schhrzad in th Arabian Nights, whos prsnc ismad clar at th vry ginning in ordr to ground th nsuingprolifration of narrativ voics in a singl prspctiv Thr is, inct, no vidnc to suggst that th narrator of th nd of th novl isrsponsil r th rst of th txt Th radr has to c thdisuiting ct that th story h has n rading is, lik an Eschrdrawing, dpictd om an ntirly inconsistnt, indd impossil,prspctiv Th ct that th collctiv narrator can idntid

oly as th sum of all th individual points ofviw cononts th radrwith th optical illusion of a narrator that is th voics it appars torpot Th impossil natur of th narrativ voic is undrlind atth nd of th novl, whn th patriarchs dad mothr and dath itslfspa in th rst prson Th implausiility of th voic that spaksdstroys th authority of what is said

Th criticJulio Ortga has suggstd that Garca Mruzs us of

a colctiv narrativ voic rprsnts a vindication of dmocracy,sinc th dictator is placd in th powr of th masss who narrat hisstory This is an attractiv intrprtation, ut it prsnts prolms.Th most notical fatur of th collctiv narrativ voic is that,with th xcption of th last two pags, it shows rmarkaly littlpolitcal awarnss ndd, it is oftn highly hagiographic in tonGarca Mruz is not suggsting that th patriarchs tyranny is

justid y popular support, r th point is that th collctiv voic ofth popl is unrlial Th ct that it is anonymous, uninrmdand inconsistnt mans that it cannot sn as an altrnativ sourcof authority would suggst that Garca Mruzs us of narrativprspctiv dos not rprsnt a vindication of popular powr, ut anattmpt to suvrt th concpt oflanguag as an instrumnt ofpowr.Th snc in th novl of a cntral, cohrnt narrativ voic is awarning to th radr that h should not look to th txt r an

authritativ account of vnts. Garca Mruzs writing is suvrsiv caus it is unashamdly ctitious. is not mythifyingdictatorship, ut using languag ironically in ordr to xpos th waysin wich it mythis rality y using languag to undrmin its ownmythications, h dmonstrats that th unrliaility of ction, whnusd critically, can a strngth as wll as a waknss is us of ananonymous, uninrmd and inconsistnt narrativ voic suggsts



J O L A B A N Y I

that writing has an advantage over speech precisely because i t is notthe voice of authority.

Garca Mruez has on severa occasions talked of his self

ientication with the patriarch as a prisoner of power. y this he isrferring not only to the power that comes with me but aso to that ofthe creator To uote one interview

On the one hand, as you say, the solitude of me is very lie the soitude ofpower . on he other hand, there is no professon more soltary than tha ofte wrter, n he sense that at the tme of writng no one can help you, no onecn tell you what you want to do When you are ced wth the bank pageyou are on your own, totally on your own.6

he writer like the dictator chooses to pay God but at the sametime if he succumbs to the temptation to do so he is ost Garcaruez's depiction of a dictator who becomes the prisoner of thepower of words shows an understanding of the pitls that await theriter who lets his power go to his head Garca Mruezs delegationo responsibility r the text of his novel to an anonymous unreliable

cllective voice can be seen as an act of authoria sefeacement t isaso an armation of the value ofhuman error and limitation. n itsone authoritative pronouncement at the end of the nove thecollective narrator rejects the dictator's search r divine status invour of this ife which we loved with an insatiable passion that younever even dared imagine r ar of knowing what we knew so welthat it was brief and crue but there was no other' pp. 2 70 ) Thepatriarch's concern with language as an instrument of power eavesim speechess when it comes to expressing his love r ManueaSnchez e overwhemed her in silence with those crazy gifts withhich he tried to tel her what he could not say in words because theony way he knew of expressing his deepest desires was through thevsibe symbos of his monstrous power' p 79) . The language ofThutumn oth Patiach ays no caim to authority Garca Mruez optsr the more modest aim of depicting human libility.

Notes

1 ee]. Derrda, OJGrammatoo, tran Gayatry Chakravrty pvak Baltmreand Lndn, 1 976) A lcd anay f Derrda dea n lanae an be ndn Jnathan Cller artcle n Stuctuaism and Since ed J rrk Ord1979), pp. 15-80.

: All referene ven n the text are t the rt edtin f E otofo de! patiara

Barcelna, 1 975) he tranatn are m wn



Language and power n Th utumn th Patriarh I49

3 Te ironic references in te novel to seeing ave been pointed out by SeymourMeton in is article 'Ver para no creer: El otoo del patriarca', in Garca Mrquez,ed P Earle (Madrid 98 1 pp 1 89-209

4 Te metapor of te trace is also used by Derrida to describe language. GarcaMruezs view of anguage owever diers om tat of Derrida in animprtant respect Derrida rejects te view tat writing is a decadent rm ofspee inasmuc as it is te indirect epression of a voice wic is absent asoppsed to speec wic is assumed to be te direct epression of te speakersvoice For Derrida bot speec and writing are te trace of an absent source.Gara Mrquez retains te traditional notion of te decadence of writing witregard to speec

5 See rtega El otoo del patriarca, teto y cultura in Garca Mrquez, ed P Earlepp 14-35

Plino Apuleyo Mendoza El olor de la guayaba (Barcelona 1 982 p 1 27



I O

Writing and ritual in

Chronicle a Death Foretold

C A R L O S A L O N S O

Gloomy Orion and the DogAe veied; and hushed the shrunken seas

(T S. Eliot, SweeneyAmong the Nightigales')

f on wr to tak to th lttr Chronile oa Death Foretold avowdgnr laton as rortag, on would hav to aknowldgmmdatly that th narrator's rrman n ts ntrty onsttutsnothng short of a sandal For, as s mad vdnt through th novl,th nstgator was a mmbr of th ommunty n whh th vntstook la, a rumstan that uts n hk th objtvty that hsrhtoral osturng dmands Evn f th narrator taks ans tostablsh arly on that h was asl whn tragdy struk hsartaton s mltly rognzd n th tt whn h hmslfrfrs to Santago N asar's dath as a rm r whh w all ould havbn to blam As f to undrsor ths t, th novl s qut arln stablshng th oml wb ofrlatonshs that td th narratorto all th rotagonsts of th trag lot. n addton, th narrator tm

and aan rsss hs agrmnt wth a gvn wtnsss onon n armula that arss om shard ommunal rn. On nghth askd m whh hous lkd th most", Angla Varo told m.And answrd, wthout knowng what h ntndd, that thrttst hous n town was th rmhous blongng to th wdowrXus" I wold have aid the ame' 49, my tals) Nvrthlss,loakd by th dsassonat and masurd ton that th nqust

smngly moss on hm, th narrator aords us fw dtals about hsrson or motvatons Thus, th nvstgatv amwork of th novlmay srv aradoally to nurtur th srt at th or of th vnts,sn of all th ambvalnt, mystrous and ontradtory gurs nChronicle a Death Foretold, non s mor rlng than th narratorof th story hmslf.

Morovr, whn amnd rthr om ths gnr rstv,

Chronile f a Death Foretold would aar to b an rs n tlty.1 5 1



Wriing and riual in Chronicl 53

riil oni rgarding h nir ouvr of Gara Mrquz on hawoul harariz his work as dvoid r h mos par of h maliray onrns ha harariz onmporary Lain mrianliraur

Th dirn bwn h rhoria spiiy of h novl andh xs ilur whn viwd om his prspiv is signian, andshould prhaps alr us o h ha h dvopmn of h x isguidd primordially by a prrmaiv rahr han by a ogial orlologial driv Ony om suh a prrmaiv prspiv an hnarraiv b said o man somhing, givn h vidn inonsqun

of is f-dsignad hrmnui proj n ohr words, w ar ldo h ralizaion ha h logi ha undrlis h produion of hx appars o b a odds wih h logi inaugurad by h novl'savowd rhorial modl This calag, his diring of h x omislf, will onsiu h spa and subj in and on whih h prsnommnary on h novl will dwl

f x maks nirly problmai is rlaionship o h gnric

appliaion of h rm hronil an inrpraion of h word hais and o is ymological harg provs no lss of a misnomr, givnh nvls nonlinar hronologial sruur is no my inn,howvr, o dai h mulipl ways in whih h mpora dispamn of h narraiv rndr iniv rigorous hronoogiasusion in h nov. woud propos on h ohr hand o arriva an xaminaion of h prrmaiv dimnsion dsribd abov byxploing iniially h paradoxia and y rlnlss prsn ofrpiion in h bri of a x ha invoks r is slfdniion hrubri of hronil

ould b argud ha h supruiy of h narraor's invsigaion vis--vis h original inqus is mblmai of h narraiv as awhol, inasmuh as i signals h ovrwhming ourrn ofrpiion in h nir x woud prhaps b mor aura oprops ha insans ik i as o h unrammld and

unprblmai saus ofrpiion in Chronicl f a Dath Fortol. f hnovl in is niry an b privd as a rnamn of hprding inquiry, i is also ru ha h x islf is assmbld ominsas ofrpad inrmaion h mos gnral lvl Chroniclo a ath Fortol is onsiud by an orhsrad olag ofquoaions, paraphrass and summaris. n his rgard, RaymondWilims has sablishd in vry pris rms ha Th narraor

invsigaor's oal rord" ofhis hroni onsiss of nin iaions



54 C A R L O S A L O N S O

om th writtn rcord and a total o I 02 quotations om th thirtyvn charactrs.' ut, mor importanty, th novl itsl can bhown to b organizd through a succssion ointrnal rptitions and

rstatmnts, whos cumuativ ct is to giv th txt an ovralns o rdundancy and miliarity. This aspct o th txt dtrmins, r instanc, that th last pags o th nov shoud constitut ahoroughly anticlimactic momnt. Th dpiction o Santiago Nasar'sdath with which th book closs has bn rndrd at that pointntirly supruous by th txts own dialctics Al its circumstancsnd grusom particulars ar thoroughy known at that unctur; w

nticipat and rcogniz ach thrust o th murdrrs' knivs sinchy and th damag inictd by thm wr rst inscribd in thutopsy rpor br thy vr scarrd th body o Santiago Nasarhis mchanism is what dprivs th murdr scn o its potntiallyhasty impact At th sam tim, th dtachmnt that it producsrndrs it impossibl not to notic th painstaking mannr in whichh dscription ndavours to account r ach o th blows that had

bn prviously dtaid in th post-mortm xamination. Thisuality bcoms apparnt whn th two passags ar conontd withach othrSeven of the numerous wounds were tal. he liver was almost slced by twodeep cuts on the anterior side He had ur incisions in the stomach one ofhem so deep that it went completely through it and destroyed the pancreasHe had six other lesser perrations in the transverse colon and multipleounds in the small intestine. The only one he had in the back, at the leve of

he third lumbar vertebra, had perrated the right kidney . . The thoracicavity showed two perforations: one in the second right rib space thateached the lung, and another quite close to the left armpit. He aso had sixinor wounds on his arms and hands, and two horizonta sashes one on theight thigh and the other in the abdominal muscles. He had a deep punctureound in the right hand (pp. 98-9)

he knife went through the palm ofhis right hand and then sank into his sideup to the hilt . . Pedro Vicario puled out his knife with his slaughterer'savage wrist and dealt him a second blow amost in the same place . .antiago Nasar twisted after the third stab . . and tried to turn his back tohem Pablo Vicario who was on his left with the curved knife, then gave himhe only stab in the back . . . Trying to nish the task once and r all, PedroVicario sought his heart, but he looked r it almost in the armpit, where pigsave it . . . Desperate, Pablo Vicario gave him a horizontal sash on thebdomen, and all his intestines exploded out. Pedro Vicario was about to dohe same, but his wrist twisted with horror and he gave him a wild cut on thehigh. (pp 1 52 4)



Wriing and riual in Chronle 55

Examl lik h could b garnrd almo a random om hx. I migh b argud ha riion i unavoidabl in a narraiv ofhi o, whr h ovrlaing of rand of vidnc and accounha a conrmaory valu. u, givn h gnric ambiguiy andinracabiliy ofChronle a Deah Foreol a wll a h rformaivinnion idnid arlir, rha a mor maningl ralizaionawai u.

I hould lik o roo ha h inrica wb of riion andramn in h x k o dulica civly a h lvl of hnarraiv h am rucur of rknowldg ha characrizd h

vn lading o h aainaion of Saniago Naar Surly, a hnarraor arm in rfrnc o Naar murdr, hr wa nvr adah o ublicizd . 69) Th own collciv knowldg of hcrimo-b, and i unbarabl guil, i buil on dicr inanc ofindividual righ: Hornia au h kniv driing bloodbr hy hav rrmd hir murdrou ak 83); Saniagohand l lik a dad man' o Divina Flor 2 ) ; Pdro Vicario ay

ha warning Saniago will no mak any dirnc in h naloucom Don bohr No mar wha, h a good a dadalrady . 33 ) . And lar, whn rmindd ha Saniago uuallywn abou armd, h hou, Dad mn can' hoo . 4); oMargo, h narraor ir, Naar alrady had h counnanc ofadad ron om im br h murdr acually ook lac 43) And, whn akd r h whrabou of Saniago Naar, hnarraor brohr Lui Enriqu anwr inxlicably, SaniagoNaar i dad . 92). Th am n of rknowldg haurroundd h murdr of Saniago Naar i incororad by hnarraiv in i own coming ino bing hrough h rvaiv rncofriion in i rucur. Thi aralllim advanc h rooiionha hr xi a vry ignican rlaionhi linking h vn hald o h murdr of Saniago Naar o h x of Chronle a DeahForeol, h narraion ha rcra ho am vn. Th novl

aar o oi a homology bwn h way h crim ak lacand h mannr in which h narraiv abou h crim i conrucd.In hi hion, h organizaion of h x would m o rcall hroc ha many yar arlir had culminad in h aainaion ofSaniago Naar Th rcogniion of hi analogy will allow u oxlor comrhnivly h owrl and oalizing rol of riionin Chronle a Deah Foreol.




Gven the homology just desrbed one ould addue that thenarratve woud lke to projet tsel as a reenatment o the murder oSantago Nasar. More exaty and as wll argue below the text

would endeavour to onsttute a sort ortual repetton o the rmeThere are n t many haratersts o the novel that would attest toths rtual dmenson To begn wth one would have to pont out thesaral nature o the texts dsourse t s ths aspet o the novel hatlashes most voenty wth the rhetoral onventons o the model towhh Chroncl oa Dah Forol ostensbly belongs partularly thehermeneuta demands mposed by the genre t s ultmately not a

matter o understandng or aountng r the murder o SantagoNasar but oreenatng t. Ths explans why the text o the novel sre wth nstanes o apparent redundany dgressons and extraneous nrmaton al owhh are nevertheless deemed essental r thetextual reonsruton o the sara m n cn. Take r nstanethe llowng passage

My bt Lu Enqu nt t u tug t ktn . . H

wnt t t btm b gng t b but fll l ttng n tlt n wn my bt Jm gt u t g t l un mtt ut wn n t tl n ngng n l My t tnun ul not gt m t wk u . . t, wn my t Mgt wntn t bt b gng t t k mng wt gt ulty tg m t bm. Fm t t f l t tbllw f t b bt wtut wknng n fll nt l . untl my t t nun u nt t bm tyng t ut bt n qukly u n wk m u wt nt y: y kll

Sntg N! . 93-4)

The agment does not provde any prvleged nrmaton regardnghe murder o Nasar and gven the partuars o the aountrovded t would be dut to lam that t desrbes a haraterspartpaton n the events But om wthn a onepton o the textas rtual repetton there s no meanngless or wasted aton noeetng gesture s unworthy o beng onsgned to wrtng Gven the

onventonaty and rgdty that haraterze t rtual anguage hasy ts very nature ths evellng eet that an be dented n theovel paradoxaly as the apparently ndsrmnate brngngogether o data. There has been no attempt to sort out what seanngl om what s extraneous n the nrmaton gathered onhe ontrary the pertnene and sgnane o every t or eventeems to be underwrtten by ts very presene n the narratve. Almost

s to all attenton to ths aspet o the text there s a seres o patent



Writing and ritual in Chronl 57

ontraditions that plagu th various dpositions and whih ar lto stand as suh in th narrators aount Th most glaring of thslads to th inability to stablish with any dgr of prisionsomhing as lmntary as th stat of th wathr during thmornng of th rim

n his ritual r-natmnt it is not surprising to nountr spivrbal onstrutions that through rptition aquir an almostinantatory quality Suh is th as of xprssions lik On th daythy wr going to kill him Thyv killd Santiago Nasar and twas t last tim thy saw him aliv phrass that in thir priodi

apparan in th txt would sm to mark th bat of th rmonialprodings To this on would hav to add th larly antiphonalstrutur that is so prdominant in th novl An intrvntion by thnarrator will b llowd by a rspons ord by on of thwitnss as in th llowing as

No on would hav vn suspctd that Baado San Ron had bn inh [Angla's] lif constantl o th ont h had bought h bac

ho t wasa Suddnl whn Moth bgan to hit I bganto b hi sh told . Th blows hut lss bcaus sh nw thw bcaus ofhi Sh wnt on thining about hi with a ctain upisat hlfas sh la sobbing on th dining-oo so I wasnt cing bcausof th lows o anthing that had happnd sh told . I wa cingbcau� of hi.'

From this ritual prsptiv th ntir narrativ assums a prparatory and propitiatory ntion r th sariial murdr of Santiago

Nasa with whih th novl nds Th prrmativ driv alludd toarlir would bom a manifstation of this ritual dimnsion of thtxt ts inongruity with th pistmi projt of th invstigativmod is rprsntd by th t that th avowd inqust into thmurdr should nd paradoxially with th rptition of th originalrim That th los of th narrativ is this rnatmnt of thassassnation is onrmd with nigmati prision by GaraMruz himslfin th ours of a rnt intrviw Th story rallynds lmost twntyv yars aftr th murdr whn th husbandrtus to th sornd wif but to m it was always vidnt that thnd o th book had to b th painstaking dsription of th rim

n ddition th homologous rlationship btwn th murdr andth narrativ is undrsord by a sris of similaritis btwn th tworgistrs. Thr is r instan a most tlling sn in whih thmornng of th murdr and th bginning of th invstigation ar

xpliitly quatd Sh [Santiago Nasars mothr had wathd him




om th sam hammok and in th sam position in whih und hrprostratd by th last lights ofold ag whn rturnd to this rgottntown, trying to put bak togthr th brokn mirror of mmory om

so many sattrd shards Sh was on hr sid, luthing th ords atth had of th hammok in an attmpt to gt up, and thr in thshadows was th baptistry smll that had startld m on th morningof th rim' p 1 3) . By th sam tokn, Santiago Nasar's obsssionwith dtrmining th ost of th wdding fstivitis parallls th manyrfrns mad by th narrator to th ost' of his invstigation Byglaning rlvant agmnts om th novl, a rigorous aount of th

hronologial invstmnt and ofth ort spnt on th onstrution ofth narrativ an b obtaind Tak, r instan, th llowing:

Thee was no cassication of es whateve and moe than a centuy ofcaseswee pied up on the oo of the decepit coonia buiding . . . he goundoo woud often be ooded by high tides and the unbound voumes oatedabout the deseted oces I mysef seached many times with wate up to myanes in that esevo of ost causes and ae ve yeas of ummagingaound ony chance et me escue some 322 andom pages om the moe

than 500 that the bief must have contained. (p. 1 29)

And losly rlatd to this paralll tallying is th alltoo-prissansion of th tmporal amwork of th invstigation, whihusually assums th rmulai xprssions x yars latr or x yarsaftrwards' On ould plausibly argu that its prsn in thnarrativ is strongly rminisnt of th rlntlss hronologialindxing of Santiago Nasar's murdr, and of whih th vry rstsntn of th novl may b th most appropriat xampl On thday thy wr going to kill him, Santiago Nasar got up at v-thirty inth morning to wait r th boat th bishop was oming on' p g).

All of ths similaritis attst to th prrmativ intntion thatruls th novl, that is, th dsir to onstitut th narrativ as a ritualrptition of th murdr of Santiago Nasar Thr ar a numbr ofshions in whih suh a r-natmnt ould itslf b undrstood as a

ntion of th vnts dpitd in th novl As Frud suggstd inByon the Pleasure Prnple, th rstaging of an unplasant vnt allowsr th possibility of ahiving mastry ovr or at th vry last somdgr of aommodation to its disturbing onsquns Thispossibility would rsid in th passag om passiv xprining to thativ r-natmnt of th unsttling irumstan n Chronle f aDeath Foretol th nd to intrnaliz th murdr of Santiago Nasar

gos om th individual th narrator) to th olltiv th ntir



Writing and ritual in Chroncle 159

town) , and an b idntid in at last two ofits manifstations as thomulsion to undrstand th vnts that transird and as a dsirr absolution and atharsis Th llowing assag inororats thtwo suintly

For yars w could not tal about anything ls Our daily conductdoinatd until thn by so any inar habits had suddny bgun to sinaround a singl coon anxity. Th cocs odawn would catch us trying togiv ordr to th chain o any chanc vnts that had ad absurdityossib and it was obvious that w wr not doing it o a dsir to clar uystris but bcaus non o us could go on living with an xact nowldgo th lac and th ission assignd to us by t. (. 1 2 6

n th projtion of th narrativ as a ritual r-natmnt of thmurdr thr is an attmpt to ndow th rim with th prsribdordr of rmony, thrby ovroming th ntrigal and rtuitousharatr of th original vnts Th narrativ rtition of thmurdr would subsum th multiliity ofdisrt and htrognousts surrounding th tragdy undr th homognizing mantl of

ritual disours and prrman n this ontxt, th novl wouldsm to giv an almost litral rndition of th llowing phras byVitor Turnr: Th unity of a givn ritual is a dramati unity t is inthis sns a work of art Th passag quotd arlir, in whih thnarrator dsribs his intntion as that of trying to put bak togthrth brokn mirror ofmmory om so many sattrd shards, bomspartiularly signiant hr. Thus, undrstanding in this instanwould not rsid in a rivilgd momnt ofihany, but rathr in thsola attaind through th rognition of an aious tlology.Ating as a sort of oiant, th narrator would rassmbl tholltivity on again through his narrativ, sking to ahiv in thnd th quilibrium and rsolution of tnsion that, aording to LviStrauss, is th paramount onrn of ritual rmony

Ritul . . . conjoins r it brings about a union on ight say counion inthis contxt) or in any cas an organic ration btwn two initiay sarat

grous on idally rging with th rson o th ociant and th othrwith th coctivity o th ithl Thr is an asytry which isostulatd in advanc btwn ron and sacrd ithl and ociatingdad and living initiatd and uninitiatd tc. and th ga consists inaing all th articiants ass to th winning sid.8

This projt, basd on a onption of writing as an intinstrumnt r ritual losur and rdmption, would sm to

undrwrit th ntir novl And yt, if Chroncle a Deah Foreol




appears to ehibit the attributes ofa cathartic ritual, its status omthis standpoint becomes entirely problematic: there is no unpollutedagent in the tet, no person who can legitimately conduct the

ceremonial proceedings and certify the eective cleansing of thecollctivity This ct is a repostulation in a dierent sphere of thediculty identied earlier when considering the novel as an investigative treatise More importantly, the attempt to achieve cathartirelese through the repetition ofthe original murder would carry withit the possibility ofan endless cycle of contamination and atonement :the ritual to cleanse the crime would become itself a source of

collctive aniety in need of purgation We are therere led to animpasse that can be resolved only by reeamining the homologyidentied earlier that conjoins the murder and the narrative

n its desire to shion itself as a reenactment of the murder ofSaniago Nasar, the tet simultaneously establishes a relationshipbetween the processes that yielded the two, that is, between victimageand writing From this perspective, rather than nctioning simply as

the vehicle r purgation envisaged above, writing is revealed assharing essentially in the attributes of the violent act it is supposed tomaser and transcend This contamination is signalled pointedly inthe et by the ct that there is structurally someone r whom thedeah of Santiago Nasar always occurs r the rst time: the readerFor us, rced symbolically to witness the murder in an analogousposiion to that of the townspeople in the original crime, writingcanot provide any solace or redemption ndeed, rather thanengging in a ritual cleansing, what Chronle a eah Foreolaccomplishes is a process ofritual pollution, one that is repeated timeand again with each successive reading of the tet t should not besurprising, then, to nd that the novel itself has provided all along ametphoric structure that established unambiguously the relationship between writing and violence that has been proposed t is anassociation that is not preserved by the English translation but which

becomes readily apparent when the appropriate agments om theorignal Spanish tet are cononted Santiago Nasar's autopsy, whichis signicantly referred to as a murder beyond murder, includes thellowing passage: El cascarn vaco, embutido de trapos y cal viva, yoso a la machota con bramante basto y agujas de enrdelar, estabaa pun to de desbaratarse cuando lo pusimos en el atad nuevo de sedaca pi onada' p 1 o ) The English version of regory Rabassa reads:

Th empty shell, stued with rags and quicklime and sewn up crudely



Wrtng and rtual n Chroncl

wth coars twn and balng ndls, was on th pont of llng apartwhn w put t nto th nw con wth ts slk qult lnng' f wllow th thrad of ths mtaphorc yarn, w nd that t wavs tsway through a numbr ofspcc allusons to wrtng and txtualty nth novl Thus, whn Bayardo rturns to th wf h had orgnallyspud, h was carryng a sutcas wth clothng n ordr to stay andanotr ust lk t wth almost two thousand lttrs that sh hadwrttn hm Thy wr arrangd by dat n bundls [ swn]wth colourd rbbons, and thy wr all unopnd p 95) ThEnglsh rndton blurs th prfct concordanc that th Spansh

orgnal posts btwn ths agmnt and th prvous quotatonLlvaba la malta d la ropa para qudars, y otra malta gual concas dos ml cartas qu lla haba scrto Estaban ordnadas por susfchas, n paquts coo con cntas d colors, y todas sn abrrp 5 ) Th sam rlatonshp surcs durng th narrators accountofhs rsarch n th archvs of th Palac oustc n Rohacha Thrst oor, w ar told, s nundaba con l mar d lva, y los volmn

scoso otaban n las ocnas dsrtas' p 29) Onc agan, thEnglsh vrson obscurs th mtaphorc lnk t rads Th groundoor would b oodd by hgh tds and th unboun [ unswn]volus oatd about th dsrtd ocs' pp 989) Fnally, whldscrbng Bayardo San Romn's almost mystrous dsapparancaftr h vnts, th narrator rports that thr s a dclaraton by hmn th brf, but t s so short and convntonal that t sms to havbn

pu oghr[ patchd up] at th last mnut to comply wth an

unavodabl rqurmnt' p 87) Th Spansh txt, howvr, srlntlss n ts mtaphorc consstncy Hay una dclaracn suya nl suaro, pro s tan brv y convnconal, qu parc rmnaa alta hora para cumplr con una frmula nludbl' p 4) Also,on could not n ths rgard that th rlorn Angla Vcaro dvdshr days btwn th nocturnal and surrpttous corrspondncwth Bayardo and an qually accomplshd ddcaton to mbrodry

by dylght Thus, th rlatonshp btwn vctmag and wrtng that s

mplctly postd by th novl s dstnctly undrscord by thmtahorc structur dntd abov Both th crumblng body ofSantago Nasar and th txt show thr sams, as t wr, th crudrmandrs of thr shard volnt hstory For through th stablshng o ths assocaton th txt rvals ts own ncssarly concald

unaton n volnc and supprsson am alludng n th trms




ord by J Drrida, to th imposition o f a losd ordr ofigniation in th tt, and th violnt, pulsiv logi of thupplmnt that it invitably sts in pla This awarnss of th

upplmnt is prssd in th novl at both lvls of th mtaphoriassoiation that onunds body and tt. At th onlusion ofantiago Nasars autopsy w rad: Furthrmor, th prist hadulld out th slid-up intstins by thir roots, but in th nd hdidnt know what to do with thm, and h gav thm an angryblssing and thrw thm into th garbag pail p 00) Just as N asarsntrails bom a surplus, a supplmnt that must b disardd, th

t rpats th sam violnt gstur by turning ah rading, as wasn arlir, into an vrrnwd at of pollution Writing, thuggstion appars to b, annot srv as th instrumnt rdmption and lansing that th novl nvisions, sin it is itslfonstitutd and sustaind through a violn that travrss it to thry or

This knowldg, would argu, also appars to b inorporatd in

h novl as a prsistnt attmpt to radiat th strutur ofdirns on whih th tt is onstrutd Sn in this light, Chronilefa Deah Foreold sms to b rvr on th vrg of rvrting to a statof undirntiation that would jopardiz th systm of dirnshat ruls th tt nstans of this dsir to abolish dirn aryriad. For ampl, th narrator is twi onsd with Santiagoasar, and h oms to th town manifstly om th outsid, just asayardo San Romn had many yars arlir ayardos supposdantagonist, Santiago Nasar, is alludd to in th narrativ as a byardomastr, lord) , a transrmation that ould also yild Bedoa, th lastam of th narrators losst ind as on of its prmutations. Thonomasti similaritis whthr litral or smanti sm almost todominat th tt: th twins dr and abl Viario; Divino Rostro,Divina Flor, Angela Viario; Divina Flor, Flora Migul, don Roglio da Flor, Horensia aut; Luisa Saniaga, Saniago Nasar; Fathr Carmen

mador, Pursima dl Carmen n addition, thr is a dimnsion in thovl that appars to indiat th possibility ofan intrprtation of thvnts that would hing spially on th dirntiation btwn thwo manings of th trm alaner(a: haughtinss vs lonry Thisading would ntr on th pigraph to th tt, borrowd om aom of Gil Vint, and whih rads: Th pursuit of lov / is liklonry haughtinss) La aza d amor / s d altanra) A

agmnt ofth sam pom is quotd latr in th novl by th narrator:



Wrtng and rtua n Chronl

A on that hases / a warrng rane / shoud expet no gan( Han que se atreve / on garza guerrera, / pegros espera (p. 87) therby proposng the exstene ofnterpretatve possbtes based onan expt reatonshp wth a prevous text. ut an examnaton ofVentes poem reveas that t s tsef sustaned by the wambguty and osaton between the two meanngs that the noveseems ntent on mantanng Moreover, Santago asar, the personn reaton to whom a the events and haraters n the txt deneatetheseves, s depted as a dsassember of denttes, a vertabedssemnator of non-derene

Santiago Nasar had an almost magical talent r disguises, and his vouriteentertainment was to conse the identities of the mulatto girls He wouldpluner the wardrobe of some to disguise the others, so that they all ended upfeelig dierent om themselves and like the ones they were not. On a certainoccaion, one of them und herselfrepeated in another with such exactnessthat he had an attack of tears I felt like 'd stepped out of a mirror' shesaid (pp 87-8)

Ths quaty n turn assmates hm even more to ayardo SanRomn, of whom t s sad that he not ony was apabe of dongeverythng, and dong t extremey we, but aso had aess tonexaustbe resoures (p 38) Exampes ke the regong oud bemutped amost endssy What must be emphaszed s that n thedrv to abosh the derenes that onsttute t, the text motonstowards ts own voent essene, demonstratng that t must speak theontadtory knowedge that t embodes even at the expense of tsvery beng

n sum, then, the nove's attempted passage om voene to thertua ontanment of that voene s ompromsed by the text'sawaeness of ts own prmorda nsrpton through another knd ofvont at One oud propose that n attemptng suh a passage thenov beomes a perfet anaogue of wrtng, sne t traes theundng of the nevtabe sefmystaton n whh every nstane

ofwtng nduges. Fnay, n the texts unmaskng ofa voene thatpreedes and underpns a subsequent voene, one an perhaps ndthe most tera, yet possby the most sgnant nterpretaton of thette Chronl a Dah Forol



Wrtng and rual n Chronicle

pp 823. t uld e argued that the disillusinment expressed y these ritis isan expressin interpretative ustratin sine this nal reniliatin has eenprpsed y Gara Mrquez himselas the sene that purprtedly allwed him t

disern the true meaning the events as a seret and unrtunate stry lverm an artile pulished in El Pas n 2 August and 2 Septemer 198 1 andrerted y Rihard Predmre in his El mund mral de C6nica de una mueteannciada Cuadeos Hispanoameicanos 390 (De 1982) 703-12

See rinstane Gregry Raassas Gara Mrquezs New k Literature rurnalism Wold Liteatue Today 5 1 ( 982) 48-5 1 and Raymnd WilliamsGabiel Gaca Mque (stn 984) speially hapter 7 Chonicle a DeathFoetold ( 198 1 ) and urnalism pp 13457 Needless t say this relatinship haseen pstulated y Gara Mrquez himsel n a numer asins

7 am invking t sme degree the denitin the ategry perrmative that is

pstulated y speehat thery Mre preisely ne uld nsider Chonicle oaDeah Foetold as an extended illutinary at sine will argue that theprdutin the text nstitutes in itsela signiant at (See L Austins How todo Things with Wods New Yrk 192; and R Searles Speech cts: n Essay in thePhlosophy fLanguage Camridge 199) Nevertheless wuld like t retain rresns that will eme apparent presently the theatrial/ritual nntatins th term as well

8 n his exhaustive study itatin (La seconde main ou le tavail de la citation Paris1979) Antine Cmpagnn ers insights usel r a nsideratin Gara

Mrquezs nvel m this perspetive have in mind in partiular hisexaminatin qutatin as a kind wrk that has an internal perrmativeenmy its wn

9 Wliams Gabiel Gaca Mque p 3710 Prpsing the ategry anunciacin se Salmn has enumerated he many

wys in whih the death Santiag Nasar had een annuned ere the rimehad een atually mmtted El pder de a anuniain en Cien aos de soledad yCnica de una muete anunciada Discuso Liteaio 1 1 ( 983) 777 Mari argasLla had previusly identied the use this tehnique in One Hunded Yeas oSoitude in his Gaca Mque: histoia de un deicidio (arelna 1971 pp 545-5

1 1 ave had reurse t the llwing denitin ritual prpsed y S Tamiah Ritual is a ulturally nstruted system symli mmuniatint s nstituted patterned and rdered sequenes wrds and ats whsentent and arrangement are haraterized in varying degree y rmality(nventinality steretypy (rigidity ndensatin (sin and redundany(rpetitin rm A Perrmative Apprah t Ritual in Poceedings f theBtsh cademy 5 (Oxrd 198 ) pp 1 1 3-9 have als und usel thelwing: itr Turners The Foest f Symbols (thaa 197) The Dums fjiction (Oxrd 1 98) The Ritual Pocess Stuctue and ntiStuctue (Ithaa

1977) and Dramati Ritual/Ritual Drama Perrmative and Reexive Anthrpgy in Cack in the Mio ed Jay Ruy (Philadelphia 1982) pp 83-97andames x Rmanaksn and the Cmparative Study Parallelism i n Roman Jakobson Echoes f his Scholaship ed D Armstrng and C H anShneveld (Lisse 977) pp 5990

1 2 Many peple inided in realling that it was a radiant mrning with a seareze that ame in thrugh the anana grves as it shuld ave een n a neeruary mrning that perid ut mst agreed that the weather was nerealwith a murky lw sky and the thik smell still waters and that at the mment th tragedy a thin drizzle was lling (p 1 1 ) .




1 3 I n lini Apuley endza, El olo de la guayaba Baelna, 1 982 , p 381 4 I am using these mulae as tanslatins f x as despus . . ' and x as ms

tade . espetiely.1 5 Gien the geneal thust f my agument I beliee the llwing maginal

mment is alled It is almst ineitable t ead Chonicle fa Death Foetoldandthink f Ren Giad's ideas n mimeti ialy and its attendant saiial isesI ntend, hwee, that t ead the nel as a staightwad nmatin fGiad's theies wuld be unwaanted Hw is ne t deal, instane, with thequasiapalyptial disslutin f the mmunity as a esult f the ime, withantiag Nasa's tansmatin int an enemy afte his saie If thee is anyunanimity ahieed thugh the mude it is nly in the uniesal eeking f thesmell f antiag Nasa that aits the entie twn days ae the eents Onecould inke Giad at this pint and laim that what onicle a Death Foetold

details is the beakdwn f the saiial mehanism, in the wds, theimpssibility f atiating eetiely the saiial pess that wuld nmallylead t a eslutin f the mimeti isis thugh the lletie unanimity ahieedin the at f itimage and the subsequent eestablishment f dieene. Thisdeelpment, and the nsequenes f this ilue ae addessed speially in hisbk Des choses caches depuis laondation du monde, a seies f inteiews with .Oughulian and Guy Let, ais, 1 97 8 Hwee, if Giad a n use thebeakdwn f the mehanism as a nmatin f his ideas, then he has plaed hissheme in a psitin f theetial unauntability that is nt nsnant with theempiial petensins f his wk F a penetating itique fGiads theiesm an anthplgial pespetie, see Elizabeth Taube's Inest andythlgy Anthplgial and Giadian espeties', Bekshie eview 1 4 1979 , 37-53

1 Bond the Pleasue Pinciple, ed James tahey New Yk, 1 91 , pp 9 -1 1 etpassim

7 The Dums Aiction Oxd, 98, p. 29 Hee and elsewhee, Tuneppses the use f damati ategies the analysis f itual pemanewhih makes him espeially inteesting m the pespetie f the pesent study

18 Claude Litauss, The Savage Mind Chiag, 19, p 32

1 9 The damage m the knies was nly a beginning the ungiing autpsythat Fathe Camen Amad had t undetake in D Dinisi guan's absene"I t was as if we killed him all e again ae he was dead ' p. 95 .

2 0 Chonicle a Death Foetold tans. Gegy Rabassa New Yk: Knpf, 1 983 ,pp 7-7 All subsequent efeenes t the English tanslatin will be t thiseditin and will be nted paenthetially in the text

2 1 Eeyne wh saw he [Angela] duing that time ageed that she was absbedand skilled at he embidey mahine, and that by he industy she had managedt get' p 1 1 5

22 With haateisti billiane, William Gass has emaked Chonicle oa DeathFoetold des nt tell, but liteally piees tgethe, the tnapat bdy f a sty.'In e Deaths than One', a eiew fChonicle a Death Foetold New Yok 1 1Apil 1983, 834.

23 One uld efe t a numbe fwks by J Deida in this egad. ee, instane,O Gammatolo tans Gayaty Chakaty piak Baltime and Lndn,1 97 and lat's hamay', in Dissemination tans Babaa Jhnsn Chiag,1 9 8 1 .

2 4 The pem, in panish, is inluded i n ne f iente's tuguese damas, theComedia de ubena It eads as llws:



Wrtng and rtua n Chronicle

Haln qe e areveon garza gerrera,pelgro epera

Haln qe e veaon garza a poraazarla qeray no la reela.M qen no e velade garza grrerapelgro epera

La aza de amor

e de alanerarabao de dade nohe dolor.Haln azadoron garza an erapelgro epera

67

Fm Poess e Gil ente, ed Dmao Alono (Mxo Edoral Snea 94)

P· 33·



Free-play of re-play: the ction of non

consummation: speculations on Chronicle ea Death

Foretold

E R N A R D M G U R K

Speculaions - On Freud'

In s text seting ust answer r te seulatin w e seaks. I als aintan tat seulatin s nt nly a e resear naeby Freu nt nly te bjet is isurse but as te eratin s writing wat e is ng in wrting wat e s wrtng ere tatw akes i t an tat w e auses t be ne tat wkes write an tat w e auses t be written (JaquesDrra)1

Gara Mruzs txt Chronicle fa Deah Foreold, also opns with anpigaph om th sixtnth-ntury Portugus playwright GilVint: La aza d amor/s d altanra' translatd by GrgoryRabassa as th hunt r lov is haughty lonry' ) . A rst spulationonrns th multipl punning) whih opns th novl r altanra

mans hight high ight lonry haughtinss and prid; d amormight also man oflov' and th sond d too might man o orr. To th olombian ar la aza a�a) d amors)' too mightprgur th brothl of Mara Aljandrina rvants Opns thnovl thn in all snss invits opn rading rathr than intrprtativ losur. This study of Chronicle draws upon svral of thsplations applid by Drrida to Frud's Byond he Pleaure Principle

and in its turn xtnds th mirroring pross ofspulary rtion'by adduing othrs Th guiding prinipl of th intration btwnthis study and th host-txt is Drrida's wish to mark th intrstionsof th various spulations: f w wish to intrla in anothr stylwith othr ustions th ntworks of a so-alld intrnal rading . .th ntworks of autobiography of auto-graphy of autothanatography and thos of th analytial movmnt" inasmuh as

thy ar insparabl om it w must at last w must at last bgin by69



170 B E R N A R D M C G U I R K

markng, n h radng hasy alld nrnal" , h plas ha aruual opn o h rossng of h nworks 4 Thus, hs x wlak h rm of a srs of orlappng spulaons

Spculaion - pcula cion

Q How dd th wtng of Chronicle e a Death Foretold om bot?A. Th nov s st 30 s go nd ts bsd on vnt n

ssssnton tht took p n town n Coomb I ws stngv n th ptpnts n ths dm' t tm whn Id wttnsv shot stos bt st hdnt got m st nov pbshd I

zd stght w tht Id got hod of som xtm mpotntmt bt m moth knw bot ths nd skd m not to wtths book wh som of thos nvovd w st v nd thn shtod m th nms So I jst kpt pttng t o. Th w tms Ithoght th dm hd ndd, bt t ontnd to dvop ndthngs kpt on hppnng. If d wttn t thn Id hv ot gt mont of mt whh s ssnt to th ndstndng ofth sto.5

h mrrorng of a ral n by a rsprson narraor nod n,hough rounng rrosply, h drama whh shook Sur, asall olomban own, som hry yars prousy, ns orroboraon, no las baus of h chonicling promsd by h l and byh prsnaon of smony olld om ywnsss, parpans and n h proagonss hmsls Whn h chonicl spublshd by h ounrys, h onnns, mos mous auhor, hopal nrs nrass Thus, h nason of Sur by journass,shorly ar h publaon of Gara Mruzs book n 198 1 ,rsuld n a ypally Lan Amran psudo-lrary n, a oodof nrws, opnons and mmors drawn om hos nold Thjurnals mpa of h no, howr, s no mrly po hoc; rara Mruz, h profssonal nwspaprman, xplos h gn ambguy of hs x For h rs m ha managd a prf

ngraon ofjournalsm and lraur journasm hps mananona wh raly, whh s ssnal o lraur And rsalraur ahs you how o wr arnd how o b a ournasby radng good lraur

Mananng ona wh raly, hn, poss h prnnaproblm ofralsm Y, n anohr nrw, h auhor ads homplaon arady mpld, abo, n hs word drama



Frplay o r-play Chronle 1 7 1

Is inrsing o s now a nol wic nall rg asnoing o o wi rali of siaion.

Q Ar an jornalisic cniqs s in nol

A I s a rporing cniq b noing of acal raa or osakng par rains cp poin of parr an srcr. Tcracrs on appar nr ir ral nas nor os scripionall wi ral plac Is all bn poicall rans T onlons wo rain ir ral nas ar brs of il bcas allow o o is. Of cors so of caracrs ar goingo b rcogniz b wa rall inrss an I bli is s alsoinrs criics is coparison bwn rali an lirarwork.

Q Arn' o laing nol opn o a gssing ga of wos woA T's alra appn Wn nol appar a Bogo agazin

plis an aricl wrin o wr ns ook plac wipograps of wo was sppos o a akn par. T on a jobwc in jornalisic rs is I ink xclln b rs on snag: sor a winsss ar now lling jornaliss is oall irno wa appns in nol. Praps wor oall is wrong rT saring poin is sa b lopn is irn I

prnios nog o bli a raa in book is br ais or conroll or srcr.7

Whn h uss th words drama ontrolld mor struturdpotally transmutd' Gara Mruz btrays not only an author'sawarss o th xstn o what Drrda alld th plas that arsruualy opn to th rossng o th ntworks but at th sam tma radr's propnsty to ntrprt vn to or valu judgmnts ( my

book s bttr) . dos not go rthr than a radng hastly alld[by ] ntrna" ' a radng whh mrly aknowldgs thmposblty o mmss. Thus w [as radr] must bgn bymarkg . . . th plas that ar sruuraly opn to th rossng'. n thpross w do not am r thr prorty or orgnalty W mrlyrmuat spulatv hypothss to xplan and dsrb th tsthat w obsrv '8

Fact

Mig Rs Palncia arris aniscors is wif is no a irgin Hrrn bri Margaria o rparn afr sriking r an abs-ing r rball His ins gi ia knif o kill r wi. H rss bors r knif o kill rsl

Fiction

Baaro San Ron arris aniscors is wif is no a irgin. Hrrns bri, Angla Vicario or parns o wr r orPra sriks r rpal



B E R N A R D M C G U I R K

Hweve the gl ced to naehe love Cayetano Gentle Ch-nto who puued and klled y

he rothe.Gca Mquez know the potagont. e doe not helf wtne theevnt. He poe h othe notto pulh whle potagont aealve. She eleae h o hpoe. He wte Chronile ut ayhe wll not pulh untl the Pnochet

ege n Chle ll He pulheChonicle n I98 r

The gl ced to nae he love.She nae Santago Naa who puued and eventually klled y he

twn othe Pedo and PaloThe naato know the potagontand attend the weddng celea-ton. He e the actual ceecaue he n the othel of MaaAlejandna Cevante. he naato pece togethe vaou eye-wtnee veon of the death of

Santago Naa and ntevew thepncpal uvvng potagontThe naato contantly efe to htet a a choncle'.

Th rst two rrns to sl on th part o th narrator in Chroniclear o dirnt tmporal ordrs was roring om th wddingrls in th apostoli lap o Mara Alandrina rants p )

rrs to th narrator at th tim o Santiago Nasar's dath: whn rturnd to this rgottn illag tring to put bak togthr thmrror o mmor om so man sattrd agmnts points to thcontruction o th prsnt narration narl thirt ars latr Thmrror is brokn ut as sattrd as th agmnts ar th instans o Th intrning instans ar also hronild in th txt: had ar onsd mmor o th stiitis br didd to rsu thmpi b pi om th mmor o othrs n th ours o thinstigations r this hronil rord numrous marginalxprins Man know that in th unonsiousnss o th bing proposd marriag to Mrds arha as sh hrsl rmindd mwhn w wr wd urtn ars latr pp 7 2 ) Thus apart omth ollti natur o th agmntd mmor w ar onontdwith h litrar onntion whih Philipp Lun has alld thautobiographial ontrat' that is th armation in th txt o th

idntit" btwn th nams o th author narrator and protagonit rrring in th last rsort to th name o th author on th or manisting an intntion to honour th signatur" GaraMruz's signatur is honourd in th rst instan b h prsnin th txt o Mrds his own wi and latr b that o Margot hissistr Luis Enriu his brothr Luisa Santiaga his mothr andGrinldo his illustrious rbar Yt hr analsis is rthr

ompliatd b th mothr's rsal to grt aardo San Romn's



Free-play of re-play I 73

ther, General Petronio San Romn, hero of the civil wars of the pastcentury, and one of the most glorious of the Conservative regimeecause he had put to ight Colonel Aureliano Buenda in the disasterofTucurinca . and a man who gave orders r Gerineldo Mrque toe shot in the ack' (p 55) For when we decide on the nature of theautobiographical contract, in this instance, it is not enough to llowLejeune's view that all questions of (this is the prolem ofresemlance") depend in the last analysis on the question of ( this is the prolem of identity ) , which in itself is rmulated interms of the name of the author' Here, as elsewhere in , the

narrator refers not only to Garca Mrque's mily as his own ut alsoto Grca Mrque's creations om other, earlier novels, in thiscase, The crossing of networks, then,proematies genre distinctions: autoiography, ction and journalism t also, concomitantly, highlights intertetuality: that is, thesuggestion (eloved ofGarca Mrque) that all his writing is ut onetet . The etended signature loses the presence(s) of

self( selves) Being in the dierential character of the languagesystem and the aritrariness of signs' in order to succumultimately, as do Saussure and Husserl, to the metaphysics ofpresence' . 1 1

errida's neologism is articulated y Vincent Leitch as: ( 1 ) to dier" to e unlike or dissimilar in nature, quality, or rm( 2 diere" (Latin) to scatter, disperse and (3) to defer" delaypostpone' splits the narrating presence into dissimilarnatures, qualities and rms of ' . scatters and disperses theagmented mirror of memory' defers, deays, postpones the of a death retold' This is oviously what makes itthreatening and necessarily dreaded y everything in us that desires arealm, the past or ture presence of a realm'

Here, the realm of speculary reection And the writing achievessuch a oss: Years later when came ack to search out the last pieces

of testimony r this chronicle things had een disappearing littley litle despite Colonel Laro Aponte's stuorn vigilance, including he lllength wardroe with si mirrors which the mastercraftmen . had had to assemle inside the house since it would nott through the door' (p 1 39) The possiility of speculary reectioncannot eist outside the locus of the single, original : here, thehouse ofthe widower Xi us, where Angela's non-virginity is discovered

on the wedding night




And what ofth I '? I t was a strang insistnc'' , Cristo Bdoyatod m So much so that somtims I'v thought that Margotalady knw that thy wr going to kill him (Santiago Nasar and

wantd to hid him in your hous ' (p 34 Not so strang whil thctainty ofauthorship, ofa tur narrator to tll th tal', ists ButMargot's ith in concaling Santiago with th narrator conicts withth narrator's own unasinss rgarding th slf as a purvyor ofwiting: Much latr, during an uncrtain priod whn I was trying toundrstand somthing of myslf y slling ncyclopdias and mdicalooks in th towns ofGuira on sing hr lik that, in th idyllic

am of th window, I rsd to liv that that woman was th onI thought sh was, caus I didn't want to admit that lif would ndup so closly rsmling ad litratur But it was sh Angla Vicario,twntythr yars aftr th drama' (p 142

Th strang insistnc is th notion of mimsis, th idyllic am ofad litratur which a deed voic, a writing, will not admit

Speulaton - whodunnt

. . ans la langue i n'y a que des dirences, sans termes positifs(Saussure)14

Somon who was nvr idntid had pushd undr th door annvlop containing a pic of papr warning Santiago Nasar thatthy wr waitng r him to kill him and tlling him, as wll, th plac,motivs and othr prcis dtails of th plot Th mssag was on thoor whn Santiago Nasar lft th hous ut h didn't s it, nor didvina Flor, nor anyon ls, until long aftr th crim had nconsummatd (p 26

Plac', motivs' , dtails of plot', crim' th language of dtctivction Sinc Chonle manifsts many traits of th dtctiv gnr, it iscrtically nticng to answr th qustion whodunnit' y spculation

on th sign(s) providd y th tt in short, and in Saussuran trms, rgarding th gnr as langue and th individual uttranc,Chonle as paole Givn th traditional lmnts of victim, motiv,wapon, criminal(s, and th rnmnts oflgal trappings, policman, autopsy, proscution and judg, th sign, rad as crimnovl, isvitually transparnt But th lmnt missing' om th whodunnitmodl is mystry Th ct that th tt rvals victim, criminals and

motiv so arly has a concomitant ct on narrativ squnc



Freeplay of replay Chroncle 75

Instead of the ynagmac progression associated with he detectivegenre which its suject maer evokes, namely Todorovs classictypology of enigmapursuitsoluion , Chroncle depends, rather, onan aocave structure, again in Saussurean terms, in its generation ofmeaning Thus, drawing r a moment on Roland Barthes, thehermeneutic (enigma) and the proaretic (action) codes, since theyinvolve the apparatus of resolving a given sequence of actions, may econstrued, here, as mleang he reader ino identifying the uteranceof Choncle with the language of detectivection

To what language, therere, does Chroncle elong? Bearing in

mind Barthess fth code, the referential, which points to the culturalsetting of the tet, it is perfectly possile, in the Spanish Americanperspective, to highlight and eplain an associative structure ofnarrative In the process, the semic code, relating to the developmentand understanding of character, and the symolic code whichcontrols symolic and thematic inerpretations, migh e used osituae Chroncle in the system ofpunonor, or honour code literature

In this system, there is no deciphering of mystery or solution of crimeit is ather a matter of oserving poetic justice at work AngelaVicarios lost honour, revealed only on her wedding night, must erecuperated, along with that of her mily Thus, the virtualcomplicity of the deceived husand and Angelas mother when hereurns the ride: Bayardo San Romn did ot enter ut pushed hiswife gently into the house without saying a word Then he kissed PuraVicario on the cheek and spoke to her in a very deep and dejecedvoice ut with great tenderness Thank you r everything, mother,you are a saint" (pp 767) His susequent withdrawal om theaction and Pura Vicarios physical and mental punishment of herdaughter are as little of a surprise to the reader, punonor radiion, asthe susequent assumption of the duty to kill Santiago Nasar, thenamed lover, y Angelas rothers Once the tragedy of dishonouroccurs, the acon of the narrative is irreversile Society and reader

awaits a known outcome whence the retold nature of deathThere do remain, however, in Chroncle elements not ofmystery u

of the unepained The most ovious, and one cenral to any readingof the cultural code, is that of the possiiliy of Saniago Nasarsinnoence Very early, the te oers an open or unread sign ofsuch apossiility, namely, the anonymously delivered note under he doorUnread y Santiago Nasar, he note, it will e rememered, told him

the place, motives and other precise details of the plot




It s clear that t cannot be exposed. We can only expose what, at a certanmoment, can become preent, manfest; what can be shown, presented asprsent, a beng present n ts truth, the truth ofa present or thepresenceofa

prsent.The aove refers not to Santago Nasar's unread letter t s errda'sown rmulaton of rance, that rance whch s nether a worno a concept ut that whch refers to the pla of derences' . 16 My

arument s that Santago Nasar's letter s an nstance ofrance atwork, unread, uneposed Thus, the precse detals of the plot',though ponted towards y the unrea tet of the note under the door,

wll not e revealed y the rea tet of Chroncle Chroncle retes thecause and eect and teleologcal structure of the detectve-story (tens an ends wth the death equally, t denes the placng of thepunto (pont, ll stop to honour . . that s, t opens' a closed system, thepunonor For thepunonor s a language, too: and n language there areony derences, wthout postve terms' (termnologes and termnatos That Chroncle tself consttutes a trace, a note slpped under the

door of a closed system of wrtng, wll e my h speculaton, theeplay of a readng, a rereadng of thanatography'

Speculaton - monymakng

The milionaire launching Gabriel Garca MrquezJos Vcente Kataran, drector ofLa oveja negra publshng house nBogot, explaned how they obtaned the Garca Mrquez contract,

egocatng n Barcelona wth Carmen Balcells, holder of the Coloman's publshng rghts. . . we managed to produce, publsh and sellne mllon copes of the complete works n two years, an unprecedentedgure n so short a tme. Because of ths success, the company competedwith a number offoregn publshers to launch Chronicle ofa Death Foretold.Span and Argentna are publshng another mllon, besdes ours, thats two mllon copes are on the Spansh-speakng market. By the end ofthe year, wth worldwde sales, n thrty two languages, t wll be themost successl publcaton n hstory.' The drector says that theyeeded rty ve aeroplanes to export the novel . . . bearng n mnd thata 727 normally carres eght tons of cargo. By the author's request, thermat of the book s lght and easy r the reader; the large letterng ssmlar to that ofa chldrens story. He also wanted t to be economcallyprced n order to reach the maxmum readershp.

(Ana Mara Hernndez de Lpez Hipania, 64 December 1981)

Autoography, autography, auto-thanatography' wrtng aout



Free-play of re-play Choncl 179

ome on girl he sai trembling with rage tell us who it was'. Shehesitate no more than the time it too to say the name She sought it omwithi the arness un it at rst sight amongst the many mny

onable names of this worl an the other one an she pinne it to the wallwith er wellaime art lie a buttery with no will of its own whosesentee ha been written reer Santiago Nasar' she sai p 78)

Fulllng the promse that my th speculaton would consttute apurst of the trace let y the note slpped under the door o a closedsystem of wrtng, I come to the necessary eeplay of any, of allreadng. Omy readng Of a readng prompted oth y the ttle oa

deat retold' and o errda's noton of autothanatography' , utone othe many networs of readng I egn wth consale names'

Ibrh Nsar Plcid. inero Petronio San Romn Albert Simonds

siser ( 1 )I

sster (2

ANTIAGO NASAR BAYARD SAN ROMN

Poncio Viio Pura Vicario

Pedro Pablo

ANGELA VICARIO

� ---

.

(Nzrene Arab)

Criso Bedoya

Mra ejandrin Cevntes

Vcar on earth)

BISHOP

JUDG

NARRATOR

GARCA MRQUZ

(Hol Roman)

Fther Amdor

Lzro Apote

The aove layout, whe ess than artrary, s nonetheless an

unemarrassng non-neutralty It may serve to cus attenton on theee-play of names whch llows.

From wthn the darness' o the many, many consale names ofths world and the oter one' comes the nam Santago Nasar Born othe Ara ntruder Irahm, master of lconry (p. 6), deowerer(p 1 9) , and o the Chrstan mother, naccurate decpherer of dreams,Santgo Nasar s the outsder, just le all Turs' (p. 1 62 ) , the

stranger n the house' of a Holy Roman domnance Part Nazarene,




vctm with no will of its own whose sentence had een writtenrever' whose te it is to die against the tree the wooden door of hisown house in the helpless proimity ofhis placid mother Part saint (if

martyr) ut SANT/IAGO thus part perpetrator distiller' ofdou the dout which destroys the Moo Notorious womanierwoulde deowerer oth of ivina Flor (pp 1819) and of thechurch r his own neral (p 69) he is sacriced y raisers of hogswho cannot ring themselves to kill nam pigs ecept when these arecalled after owers (p. 86) Yet there is a complication

o he iense ajoi hee was onl one ii Baao San Ron

h assue ha he ohe oagoniss of he age ha lle wihigi an een wih a eain ganeu he ar whih as a ou lifeha assigne he. Saniago Nasa ha exiae he insul he Viaioohes ha shown he wee en an hei iiule sise was one againin ossesssion of he honou. he onl one who ha los eehing wasBaao San Ron El oe Baao, as he was eeee aneas ( 34)

The tet at once echoes thepunono and at the same time points to adoue victim If not a douling an overlap Bayardo/oyardo'? the word used to descrie Santiago Nasar y the narrator ut inreported speech as llows Victoria Gumn lost no opportunityto protect her daughter om the claws of the gnu (p 1 ) . Theplay is multiple throwing up an amivalent social code which othanticipates and accepts o gnu, throwing opn the question ofcharacteriation For it is arguale that Santiago Nasar and Bayardo

San Romn nction inseparaly acanal, as coordinates in asysem of honourcode writing. Further that the acan is to eunerstood classically in Greimas's sense of h ph f acon, aculural sphere which is constituted not y the real-life' protagonistsof Sucre a chaaczaon, ut y an elaorate play of names and ofinaries of punned pairs.

Spculaon - wo pla

he anaga shoul no e ene as a egulae isloaion lakig oleeness u as an ineeinale ulilii a aialuneiaili whih unoes all oes.

In the utaposition of Santiago Nasar/Bayardo San Romn ananagrammatical ee-play reeds saints and martyrs ('y ardo' /and I

urn') Christians versus Moor incomplete Naarene Holy Roman



Free-pla of repla Chroncle

oedience to a severe marriage-code And the pla remains incomplete, lwas leaves a race:

two mn aid Bayado San Romn down on a ammok . . MagdalnaOiv ougt was dad.Collon d du! s xlaimd Wat a wast.. . s gt am was dagging on t gound . . . so tat a tail om tdg of t to t dk of t boat. Tat was al tat w ad lft ofim: t mmoy of a vitim (. 1378)

The silent mark traced on the memor the limp victims hand ndsan accompaning, coded (Catalan voice Gods alls! the coming

together of religion and seualit What a wasteOne sphere ofaction chronicled, then, is that ofseual politics And

the complicit of church and state. What is important in the work ,Machere writes, is what it does not sa I t does not sa much of theishop Christs vcar(o) on earth His role is one ofneglect An asence. who hates this town (p. 1 7) makes the sign of the cross ecause hehas to (p 7) and (almost visits to pick up the triute ofmachsmo

cocom soup, his vourite dish (p 30) This neglect of spiritualit,of justice, cannot e made up r the incapale saviour CrsoBedoa, in his antic, iled attempt to live up to Clotilde Armentascondnce that in that town ofpoofters [marcas/] onl a manlike him could prevent the traged (p 74)

Justice? Nominall, Colonel Laro Aponte, like Laarus, given asecon hance to preserve life

I saw tm two mnuts ago and a on ad a ig-kiing knif CistoBdoya sadO k t mayo said ty must av om bak wit two ots Homsd to tak a ot at on but wnt nto t Soal Club to onm adat domnos tat ngt and wn am out t m was aladyonsummatd. ( I 75)

And what of our Peter and Paul? Since Poncio (Pontius Vicario,Angelas ther, is too senile to act, having lost his sight doing so much

delicate work with goldjeweller in order to maintain the honour ofthe house (p 50 , his hands are washed of active responsiilit Thus,the inr, clichd duo ofinstrumentalit, Pedro and Palo, vicariousdefenders of an un-thoughtout ith and a social code sanctioned acommunit unwilling or unale to comat the retold nature oftheir at

ad nv bn a dat mo told Aft t sst vald t

nam to tm t Viaio twins wnt to t sd in t igsty w ty




et their sariial toos and hose the two est nives one r artering,ten y two and a ha, and the other one r triing, seven y one and a hal.They wraed the in a rag and went to sharen the at the eataret

. . There were ony a ew stoers at sh an eary hor t twenty-twoeoe delared that they had heard everything and al were agreed that heony reason they said it was to e overheard We're going to il Santiago Nasar' . 835)

This N asarene then is to e killed y his own iends and drinkingcompanions his own apostles' collude (Pedro plus eleven Palo pluseleven) in a Gethsemane of sleepy inactivity despite the twins'manild statement ofmurderous intent And the secod requirementr mortal sin responsiility' they admit too

We iled hi in l awareness o what we were doing, said Pedro Viario,t we're innoent'Pehas ere God', said Father AadorBere God and ere en', said Pao Viario. t was a atter ohonor' 80)

The nstmentaly of the twins' actantstatus is underscored y severalelements Frst the shift om Fact' (Margarita's one rother) toFiction' (Angela's twin rothers) second the play of apostolic'naming duty and innocence and third the antirealist characteriation of Pedro and Palo epressed either through their reduction tomere wielders of the knife so often a fetishoject of the narrative ormore uproariously through their hilarious inseparaility

H Pedro) sent aot hal an hor hanging the gaze he had his riwred in', Palo Viario told e. Ataly he hadn't sent ore than tenintes doing that, t it was soething so dit and so enigati rPalo Viario, that he interreted it as soe new tri on the art o hisrother to waste tie nti dawn So he t the nie in his hand and draggedhi o alost y re in rsit o their sister's lost honor.There's no other way', he tod hi t's as i it had already haened'

99-100)

Clmination of the rothers' only disagreement' (p 99) namely asto whose responsiility had een the nal tal decision this passageat once constructs reconstructs and deconstructs the pnono sphereof action rreversile vengel action at the hans of loodrelativesdelay agonng (though hardly epressed as a matter of conscience)ere the act and nally the grasping of the nstment, theinstrument of honourcode responsiility Knife' or prick'?



Fr-play of rplay: Chronile

Spculation - herhe la emme!

Sual politics cntr on Angla Vicario, alrady roachd inmntion of Poncio Pura Pdro and Palo. Th aial unrsolvdqustion is not whthr Santiago Nasar was hr sducr that comssusquntly Virgin or nonVirgin (tchnically)? spit hrunschming rsal to covr up hr own uniloe nowldg of whyhr hymn is not intact th wdding night annss that triggrs thhonourcod action it is oie that ass not how? ut who? Th how?possily mor intrsting, would surly hav mad r a shortr

narrativ as t is, in rridan trms, it is an epaement a hiddnspacing opnd wid and dwlld upon But this instanc of aperturegivs ris to th wrong qustion who? For Angla's socity (a ind oftraditional radrship'?) is illquippd to rason only to ract.Thus whn rcd (vrally that is all w now) to nam aprptrator sh plucs om th darnss not only a son of man'whom sh nams thrie, ut th nam ofman a uttry with no will of

its own, whos sntnc had n writtn rvr'.Onc th Angl of th Annunciation had visitd upon a Pur,

Vicarious virgin-instrumnt (Mary) th wight of aring thNaarn Now th rols of angl and vicar ar susumd into ut asingl atant th on sphr ofaction' whr, vicariously Angla othannouncs and condmns. Hr hand ars (ars) th rsponsiilityof authorship h was my author' ( mi autor') . Sh nams

Santiago Nasar rsponsil r what hr own ngr has tracd, haswrittn in lood Aftr his dath in in, hr hand is al to writ inll (almost two thousand lttrs) . Hr hand wavs th ric ofwriting, th smingly ndlss act ofriture which srvs to covr uphr act of (carnal) slf-nowldg and slf-pntrating analysis. It is amor original covrup than th traditional mthod of linn shtswith h stain ofhonour ( la mancha dl honor') rcommndd y hrgirl-ind condants a mor writrly (riptible) display of staind

shtsThrar, all is ut a play of nams, th ploy of plural,

intrchangal victims th aprtur ofa oial mmran, pointd atand pircd y hr pntrativ, accusing ngr and a ric lslywovn to covr up th long-standing gap' of honour, ofhonour-codof honour-cod writing A ric now undon y th radrly liible)A rading which rts whounnit? A fminist rading of th macho

cod?




Speulaion eaing

The wriin chane he very urce o wha i i wrien on Thi non

eonin uneahe ecuaion. Jacque Derrida)25

The instaility of the writing surce, of the ene of writing, unleashes,as we have now seen, myriad unstae readings, incomplete,uncompetale speculations, investigations, guesswor(s), narations nternally, the tet contains many readers, many readingsFather Amador, vicarious and oscene pathologist, haruspe, picingover (and out) the entrails ofthe dead Santiago N asar in a Raelaisian

sion of name and nctions; gruesome priest, aaeu physician. Theinstructing judge, incapale of clinical, dispassionate reading

The jude name didn appear on any o he pae o he rie u i waeviden ha he wa a man urnin wih he ever r lieraure Themarna noe, and no ju ecaue o he colour o he in, eemed o ewrien in lood. He wa o perpexed . . ha oen he ell ino yricaldiracion conrary o proeional riour Aove al i never seemedleiimae o him ha lie hould mae ue oo many coincidence riddeno ieraure merey o achieve wihou oacle a deah o clearly reold .On io 41 in hi own handwriin and in red in . . he wroe a marinanoe Give me a prudice and I will move te world. Under ha diiuionedparaphrae, wih a eiciou ech in he ame lood in, he drew a hearpierced y an arrow For him, a r Saniao Naar coe iend, heaer own ehaviour in hi la hour a a nal proo o hi innocence

pp. 8

A pay, here, is lippage; away om one tet as veriale presence andtowards a margin where another ae, a parallel iue not conned toin ut etended to lood, is generated y the unprofessionadooding of the ariter of justice t constitutes the aritration of ajugen a judgement not as to Santiago Nasar's impied innocence(the nction of socia justice which the unnamed judge supposedyrepresents) ut on the politica power derivae om prejudice Acase, perhaps, of Louis Althusser's symptomatic reading'

. . when we wrie, we do no ju record wha we ee and i o record whaie ouide our eld o viion; raher, we ee al he elemen oreaiy aouwhich we wrie, u our wrien ex canno alway mae he rihconnecion eween hem A ex hu end o preen realiy parialy orincohereny, leavin ap Throuh hee ap howeve an inrmedreader can ee wha he ex wa hidin om iel26

Not ony does the judge's marginal note oer an Athusserian



Feeplay of e-play Chrnile

sympomaic eading' i ems (wihou signaue) he ncion ofpplementing he naao's vesion of evens Poliically manipulaedlife' can make use of' he coincidences idden o lieaue'. Aheoy ofprtin hen deives om such making use'. Bu hsjudge ecepionally appeas o sand aside helpless and pepleed'om sociey's manipulaed wold' (his Gie me is ae all anunllled impeaive) He is ahe a man uning wih he feve lieaue' and as such a duplicaion ofha ohe mos impoanof eades wihin Chrnile is own naao

Maa Aeandina Ceanes had lef he doo of he house unboed. I ookeae of my oh cossed he passae-way whee he mulao-is caswee cued up aseep amons he uips and pushed open he bedoomdoo wihou knockin The ihs wee ou u as soon as I eneed I cauhhe smel of wam woman and sa he insomniac leopad's eye in he dakand hen I knew nohin moe of mysef unil he el bean o in.

(pp IO-I I )

The naao wihdaws om he scene of acio a he acual ime of

SaniagoNasa'sdeah ino he ohel he house ofmecies' (p 74) which sucks he equally feveed' male poagoniss spoadicallyaway om a social ealiy of pejudice' ino a empoay olivion

I was she who did away wih my eneaion's iiniy . . Saniao Nasaos his senses he s ime he saw he. I waned him: Aja/cn whch takes n awarrr crane, mere rsks a l pan Bu he didn' lisen ewildeed y hechimeical whislin of Maa Aejandina Ceanes She was his unbidledpassion his misess of eas a een uni Iahim Nasa whipped him ou

ofheed and shuhim up oe a yeaon The Dvne Face (pp

Wihdawal om he scene ofacion o a scene ofwriting Fo his is noodinay ohel u he ohel of chimeae of enchanmen ofwihdawal ino he literatre of is Madame Cevanes mohe(May) classical ( Aleandine) lap of adolescen consolaion spon aneous sensualiy and anahema o conscience o guil o coneplaion of he ivine Face (nominally he Nasas' anch). Theeindiscouse is lieay poveial picking up ye neve closing helcony-heme of Gil Vicene's epigaph Theein aciviy is uplay he loss and consion ofpreene of ideniy:

Saniao Nasa had an amos maical knack disuises and his ouiepasime was o conse he ideniies of he muaois He would ie hewadobes of some o disuise ohes so hey al ended up feein dieenom hemsees and he same as he ones hey ween' Once one of hem saw




hesefepeatd in anothe so accuatey that she ust into teas. I fet as ifId een taen out of the mio', she said. ut that night, Maa AeandinaCevantes woudn't et Santiago Nasa induge himseffo the ast time in his

tansme's ticey and with such ivoous excuses that the ad taste ofthat memoy changed he ife. pp. 106-7)

Te scene of writing as rothel, as evasion, as olivion, as loss ofidentity (or a metapysics of presence) is denied, tally, not only toSantiago Nasar, changing his life (to death) y depriving him of isindulgene in transrmers trickery. t is denied, too, susequently,to te narrator et dierently, oversely, in another mirrorimage

For Santiago Nasar passes om scene ofwriting to scene ofaction; tenarrator is epelled om is scene of action (suddenly se stopped,coughed om r o, and slipped out of my life can t", she saidYou smell of im" , pp 1 256) to a dferred ( thirty years) scene ofwriting and the transrmers trickery whic is Chonle.

Notwithstanding this epulsion, all literariness is not lost to thenarrator His asence om the scene of action, of te death, permits

him a decentring of point ofview, away om omniscience, towards thepiecing togeter of a narrative which is always ut anoter readingTe investigating judge looked r even one person who had seenhim, and e did so wit as much persistence as , ut it was impossileto nd anyone On lio 382 of te rief, he wrote another marginalpronouncement in red ink: Faal make nvble' (p 1 80 ) For theanonymous judge (reader) , entry into investigation (speculation) , rthe narrator (reader), entry into Mara Alejandrinas (house of

speculation) , r Santiago Nasar, entry into the antipode ofrothel the house of Flora Miguel and arranged marriage (speculation ) allare rms of non-omniscience t is the tality of their status in thetet in literature whic makes them invisile nvisile readersReaders without gnae who have not wen.

Speclaon wngIt engages a new specuation The detais of the ocess y whicheession tuns a possiiity of peasue into a souce ofuneasue aenot yet ceay undestood o cannot e ceay epesented descibed,eounded, pictued) ; but thee is no dout that a neuotic uneasueis of that ind peasue that cannot e fet as such. Jacques Deida)27

He who has written, who speculates (money makes) with gnae, is



Free-play of replay Chnile

Gariel Garca Mrque But does the deconstruction of this series ofspeculations reduce his writing his discourse to that signature alone? the widespread opinion that deconstruction denies the eistence ofanything ut discourse or arms a realm of pure dierece in whichall meaning and identity dissolves is a travesty oferrida's own workand of the most productive work that has llowed om it ' GarcaMrque's signature egins with death this novel is the chroniclingof a death At play perhaps is the neurotic unpleasure' of deathwhich dwelt upon returned to again and again ecomes is thepleasure that cannot e felt as such' Thus through witing the

deene operates in the overlay of apparent opposites pleasureunpleasure there is a residue a remainder And that remainderhere r me writing on Garca Mrque as r errida writing onFreud takes the rm of a question How does death wait at the endat al the ends of this structure at all the moves ofthis speculation?

· Chnile f a eath Fetld rehearses om prediction to event thenarration of the death The ain of a anal asar-ene n the

dramatic set-piece of pinning against wood the end announcedthroughout which everyone knows which· no one prevents whichretrospectively and y piecing together conicting versions everyonewoud thlgie reliving eaggerating and eulting in their ownpart -Chnile rewrites another chronicle the dominant chronicle ofSpanish American consciousness Yet it would e a travesty of GarcaMrque to arm ut the neurotic unpleasure' of a death (recalled)turning to a possiility of pleasure' the pleasure of the tet the

juiane of the literariness' of death and no more than that Formeaning does not dissolve it muliplies and concentrates n theprocess it deconstructs all possile mythication ofa Santiago asarhe o asent ther (rahim) and of present (dominant irrelevantpure mother responsile thinking him upstairs' already r theclosed door to salvation he who transmutes an Eloi Eloi lamasaachthani?' to an Ay mi madre!' repeating not an augury of

despair against the Father (Psalm 22 ut despairing of his thetile augury of her ilure to decipher his own repeated dreams oftree (p 10)

Santiago Hispanic patron-saint Matamoros' (Moor-killer' uthere only of the self) lse eat aarene victim of a Holy Roman(San Romn) -descended code a religion a society ( Catholicism) andits culture its customs its politics its history A history of stained




honour, of hypocritical seual ethics a history, an rur written(unocially, in the margin in blood Chronl a Dah Forolddconstructs a version of the New Testament it cannot ut do the

same r the original

Pure speculation is still waiting(Jacques Derrida)31

Notes1 The Oxod Litea Review 3:2 (1978), 7897, trns In McLod Furthr

rrncs to Drrids txt will llow th pttrn 'Spcultions, p 922 All rrncs to Chonicle a Death Foetoldr to th Brugur dition (Brclon,

1 9 8 1 ) 3 'Spculions, p 924 'Spcultions, p 865 'An Intrviw with Gbril Gr Mrquz, Cencastus 7, 6-7 ( trnsltion by

Dvid Col of n originl El Pas intrviw)

6 Edith Grossmn, 'Truth is Strngr thn Fct Review 30 (Nw Yor), pp 7 -27 Cencastus 78 'Spcultions, p 889 Philipp Ljun, 'Th Autobiogrphicl Contrct, in Fench Ltea Theo

Today (Cmbridg, 1 982 ) , pp 1 92-207 Lun uss Grrd Gntts ctgorisof point of viw; by ths, Chonicle (lmost) ssums th homodigtic rm of th'yitnss ccount

O Ibid p 2031 1 Vincnt B Litch, Deconstuctive Citicism (Colombi, 983), p 44I

2 Ibid p 4I .

1 3 Jcqus Drrid, Speech and Phenomena and Othe Essays on Hussel's Theo f Signstrns Dvid B Allison (Evnston, Ill, 1973) This volum contins trnsltionof Drrids 'L Dirnc, 1 968; rthr rfrncs to this ssy will llow thpttrn of 'Dirnc, p 1 53

4 S th discussion of 'Sussrs Ky Ids, in Rx Gison, Stuctulism andEducation (London, 1 984) , pp 1 5-29, spcilly not 3, p 29, whr Gibsonoutlins his disgrmnt with Jonthn Cullr ovr th primcy of thrbitrrinss of th sign in Sussurs thought

1 5 Tzvtn Todorov, 'Th Typology of Dtctiv Fiction, The Poetics o Pose

(Ithc, 1977), p 4616 'Dirnc, pp 1 30-41 7 S Litch, Deconstuctive Citicism p 401 8 Dvid Forgcs, 'Mrxist Litrry Thoris, in Mode Litea Theo

Compaative Intoduction d Ann Jrson & Dvid Roby (London, 182),p 146

19 Plinio Apulyo Mndoz, El olo de la guayaba (Brclon: Brugur, 1982) p 8920 'Spultions, p 922 1 'Th Intrprtrs Sl, in Reade-Response Citicism: om Fomalism to Post

Stuctualism d Jn P Tompins (Bltimor nd London, 1980 ), pp 1 99200



Free-play of re-play Chonl 9

22 co e Sranger in e Houe ecion of Ton Tanner nroducion oAulte in the ovel Balimore 1979) begin reoundingl: Weern ieraurea we know i ar wi an ac of rangreion a violaion of boundarie a

lead o inabili ammer dioder, and an inerfamilial inerribal cla reaen e ver exience of civiliaion . . . p. 2423 Lic Deconstructive Criticism, p 024 Frgac Marxi Lierar Teorie p. 49.25 Speculaion, p. 9226 Frgac Marxi Liear Teorie p. 49.27 'Speculaion p. 96 Te inernal quoaion i om Feud Bon the Plesure

Prnciple28 Trr Eagleon Liter Theo n ntrouction Oxrd 983) p. 14829 L ercera reignacin (3 Sepember 947) Eva e denro de u gao (25

Oober 947); Tubalcan rja una erella ( 8 Januar 948) all in ElEsector of Bogo.

30 Specuaion p 9331 Speculaion p 97



1 2

A

prospective post-script: apropos of Love in theTimes Cholera

R O B I N F I I A N

Lov in th im Chora is the rst novel y Garca Mrque to epulished since the award of the Noel Prie r Literature in Octoer1 98 As aundant pulicity surrounding the ook's appearance inecemer 1 985 revealed the author was already working on a sequelto Chroni a ath Fortod ( 1 981 when the Noel committeesdecsion was announced with the award there came numerous puliccommitments which oliged Garca Mrque to interrupt theprogress of his project untilJanuary 1 984 when he resumed work onthe existing material Lov in th im Chora was eventuallycompleted in August 1985 and pulished three months ahead ofschedule in a rst edition of 1 00000 copies r distriution inSpanish America and a rther 50000 reserved r the Spanishmarket

I nitial critical response has taken the rm of summary notices andreviews the most enthusiastic of which asserts that Lov in th im Chora is one ofthe great living classics of the Spanish language I t isnot my intention to deate that claim here In the asence of anyproperly estalished critical guidelines my role will e restricted toproviding a riefdescription of the essential features ofLov in th im Chora and to indicating possile avenues of approach which

readers may decide to explore at greater length in the tureLov in th im Chora is an accomplished work which exhiits

many aspects of interest including a dynamic discursive rm I ts sixchapters ranging om 7 1 to 98 pages in length progress smoothlyalong a linear axis punctuated y equent parentheses and reprisesThe sory is told y a single narrative voice which recounts certainevents in duplicate in order to represent the overlapping experiences

of its multiple protagonists In terms of narrative design the novel1 9 1



R O B I N F I D D I A N

ncorporats thr tmporal prspctvs, th most mmdat ofwhch cuss on a prod ofslghtly lss than two yars durng whch asvnty-sx-yar-old romantc Florntno Arza, courts and nally

consummats a lftm's lov r Frmna aza who had rokn thrngagmnt y-on yars, nn months and ur days prvously'(p. 41) and marrd a handsom young doctor whos accdntaldath, narratd n chaptr 1 , vntually lavs hr a wdow at th agof svnty-two Th vnts st n moton y octor Juvnal U rno'sal ll ar ovrlan y a scond lvl of th narratv whch xtndssom sxty yars ack nto th past n ordr to account r Florntno,

Frmna and Juvnal's mly ackgrounds at th sam tm trstrs th prncpal socal dvlopmnts whch shap th lf ofthrcommunty drng th prod concrnd, and survys th poltcalhtory of Coloma snc that country achvd ndpndnc n119 A stll mor rmot prspctv ncompassng th prod ofSpansh colonal rul complts th rang of tmporal rrncs nth ook

Th spatal sttng ofLo n h Tm Cholra concntrats on thsoal and racal mcrocosm of a rmrly prosprous communtystatd at th mouth ofth Magdalnas Rvr n northrn ColomaTh cty, whch had n th hatual rsdnc of th vcroys of thNw Kngdom of Granada' (p 35 , s n ct a compost mag ofCartagna d ndas, Santa Marta, Barranqulla and othr locatonson th Caran coast Th story ln also taks n svral pontsalong th Magdalnas Rvr, as wll as som countrs n WstrnEurop whch Frmna aza and hr husand vst on thrhonymoon (chaptr 3 and agan som yars latr (chaptr 4) othrjournys along th rvr, rlatd n chaptrs 2 (Frmna n thcompany of hr thr, Lornzo aza) , 3 (Florntno, alon) 5(Frmna, alon), and 6 (Frmna and Florntno, togthr), rnrc th novl's xpansv spatal procton, thry sttng tstrkngly apart om prvous works y Garca Mrquz, ncludng

LaSorm No n Wr o h Colonl and Chroncl a Dah ForolTh gnrc status of th novl s of partcular ntrst hr In

c, Lo n h Tm Cholra masqurads as a nntnth-cnturywork on Garca Mrquz's own admsson, h had st out to wrt anntnth-cntury novl as xampls of th typ wr wrttn n thnntnth cntury, as ft wr actually wrttn at that tm .5 Hs txtdsplays many convntonal faturs of ralst or naturalst cton, as

xmpld y th schools of Eml Zola or Gustav Flaurt' n ts



Love n he Tme Choler 193

documentation f social custom and historical ct, it partakes of thequalities of a chronicle aove all, it draws conspicuously on a type ofnineteenth-century writing to which other Spanish America novelists, including Manuel Puig and Mario Vargas Llosa, have alsoturned r creative inspiration, that is, the lletines de amor' p 220and lletines de lgrimas' (pp O I and 1 1 7) (setimetal andlachrymose love stories, elleon) which enjoyed wide popularitywith nineteenth-century reders in Europe and America, appearingin serialied rm in the ewspapers on a weekly or monthly asis (seepp 207 and 426) It is not the rst time that the ollen is cited in

Garca Mrque's work jez-nror (or ocial investigator inChronle a Deah Foreol had een unale to cast o the iuece oftheoen when reporting on the circumstaces of Satiago Nasar'sdeath Imitation oftheoen, argualy an emryonic and icidentalfeature of that text, ecomes the asis of Love n he Tme o Cholera,where Florentino Aria models himself, om the earliest years of hisadult life, o the romantic stereotypes associated ith the gere.

uring the medicial journey' (p. 205) which Floretio takes upthe Magdalenas River in search of a cure r the sickness of love,

At niht, when the boat was tied up and most of the passengers walkeddisconsolately up and down the deck he would reread the illustrated storiesthat he knew almost oby heart, by the light of the carbide lamp in the diningroom the only one which stayed alight throughout the night The storiescharged with drama which he had read so often would recover their originalmagi when he substituted people whom he knew in real life r the

imaginary protagonists, and reserved the roles of lovers thwarted bycircumstances r himself and Fermina Daza. p. 2 r r )

The very rst love letters he writes to Fermina incorporate etirepararaphs om the Spanish Romantics, udigested' as the narratorexplains, By then he had moved oe step closer to the tearjerkingserial stories and other even more prone prose writings of his times'(a reference to a wellkown volume of poetry pulished in 96 y

the Nicaraguan moea Run aro (pr r

7Fermina aa is not immue to the ifectious appeal of theoenThe picture which she rms of the youg Florentino and his motherespeaks a naivety stered y the commonplaces of a cile culture

He ws the son of a hard-working and serious woman who had not marriedbut who displayed the irremediable mark of a ery stigma which had itsorigins in a single lse step she had taken in her youth [Fermina] haddiscovered that he was not the telegraphist's messenger boy, as she had

assumed but a wellqualied assistant with a promising ture (p .



194 R O B I N F I D D I A N

Athough soon displaced y the downtoearth pragmatism typical ofso many ofGarca Mrque's women characters (r example, UrsulaBuenda and the colonel's anonymous, asthmatic wife), Fermina's

attraction to the stylied and improale world ofotn is revivedin the early days of widowhood when she would ll her empty hourswth tearjerking serial stories transmitted on the radio om Santiagode Cua' (p 460)

Garca rque draws as systematically as his characters on theconventions ofotn. He shions a novel which, esides featuringthe stock gure of the solitary, lovesick poet who, like many a

Romantic hero, nds rege, as though he were the victim of a telshipwreck (p 58 ) , in the remote seclusion of a lighthouse (p 1 44) ,also reproduces the stereotype of a threecornered love relationshipn this the more passionate male plays a serenade eneath the windowof the woman he adores, writes her interminale love letters, and,when she cuts short their engagement, distraughtly returns a lock ofher hair which he had displayed like a holy relic' in a glass case

hanging on his edroom wall (p 1 57 ) . A no less miliar chord isstruck y the scene in which Florentino planted a clump of roses on[his dear mother's grave' (p 3 1 8) and transplanted a cutting to thatof a lover, Olimpia Zuleta, who died violently at the hands of herjealous, cuckolded husand (p 318)

The author introduces into the storyline ofLov n th m Choa a numer of unlikely coincidences' (p 00) of the sort whichwere common currency in the novels of the time, ut which noody

elieved actually happened in real life' (p 387) See, r example, theexceptional' occurrence, on the day of Pentecost, of two extraordinary events: the death of one of octor Juvenal Urino's iends andthe silverwedding celerations of an eminent pupil of his' (p 5) and, the unlikely arrival of a telegram inrming Florentino of thedeath of Amrica Vicua an adolescent schoolgirl put in his charge as he cruises along the Magdalenas River with Fermina, olivious to

the analities of life (p 485) The aritrary intrusion here of anadverse element ofte is at once reminiscent of the world oftheotnand of the classic nineteenthcentury novel, Maa written y GarcaMrque's fellow Colomian, Jorge saacs

n Lov n th m oChoa some ofFlorentino's statements areculled directly om the pages of theot{n, as when he exclaims thatThere is no greater glory than to die r love' (p 1 7 ) , or when he

condes to Fermina that kept my virginity r you' (p 490) The



Lo n th m Choa 95

narrator imitates this hackneyed language descriing Florentino onone occasion as prostrate with grief' (p 2 7) , using variants of theword desgarrado' (heart-rending) to the point of excess andequently employing stilted metaphors: at a delicate stage of Ferminaand Juvenal Urino's love-making on their honeymoon voyage thedoctor realied that they had rounded the Cape of Good Hope'(p 233) Loreno aa's progress in llling his amiton to makFermina into a ne lady had een pictured earlier as a journey alonga long and uncertain road to social acceptance (p 5 )

The veral clichs character types and narrative situations

illustrated here are evidence of a clear intent on Garca Mrque'spart to write a pastiche ofotn His description ofLo n th m Choa as practically a telenovela" [television soap opera'encourages the view that the ook is a recreation of the sentimentalepisodic melodramas ofa previou age as perceived through the prismof late-twentieth-century generic equivalents such as allas' andThe Colys Argualy, the resulting rm of a literary tnoa

provides an ideal mould r the hyperolic style characteristic ofmuchof Garca Mrques writing The story of Florentino Arias uncleLen X who out of necessity kept spare sets of dentures everywhere in dierent places throughout the house in the drawer of hisdesk and one set in each of the three ships elonging to his usiness'(p 385), rests comrtaly within the ounds of the narrative as doesthe extravagant account of the Olivella silver-weddig celerations

which are attended y 1 22 guests and the description of the hugereakst which the Gargantuan iego Samaritano devours on thelast morning of the period covered in the story

Garca Mrques personal rand ofhumour including elements ofathos and ridicule and an acute sense of irony also acqiresappropriate expression through the vehicle of an up-dated otnLo n th ms Choa contains many comic ingredients whichmake it at times hilarious (see the episode of the scalding ofJuvenal

Urino's parrot in chapter 1 at times lack and tragi-comic in themanner ofBamno Aoono y Ramn Pre de Ayala. n keepingwith this design Garca Mrque presents Florentino Aria oth as apathetic character whom adult female citiens regard compassionatel as a solitary person in need oflove and aection' (p. 226) , and asa sqalid timid and insignicant [wretch (p 93 whose vigil' in thepark attracts Ferminas attention more than it does her sympathy

The cagada or ird-shit that soils a love letter he sends her (p 97 is



96 R O B I N F I D D I A N

a typical instance othe authors deationary procedures which serveto idicule Florentino's idealistic pretensions To the same end, GarcaMrque endows his protagonist with deective eyesight, makes him

prone to chronic constipation' (p 86), and imposes on him theaiction o premature aldness, a characteristic not generallyassociated with his type

n this way, the topoi and values o a lachrymose and implausileromanticism are sujected to sustained deasement, their excesseskept in check y an author who maintains a humorous detachmentom a world o melodrama rooted in literary convention Garca

Mrque's strategy in this regard carries resounding echoes o that oGustave Flauert in Madame ovay, a text with which Love in the Time Cholea ears numerous resemlances, as it does with LEduationentimentale y the same author, and Don Quixote y Cervantes Manyo the representative themes o traditional and nineteenth-centurycion are superimposed on theoe{n-esque amework oLove in theTime Cholea They include the prolematic relationship etween

essence and appearance, the conict etween an individual's privateaspirations and the estalished norms o pulic lie, the view oreading as an insatiale vice' (p 1 1 6) which distorts our perception oouselves and the world and, lastly, the theme o disillusionment,illustrated most strikingly in the experience ooctorJuvenal U rinowho, on the very last day o his lie, discovers distressing truths aouthis iend, Jeremiah de Saint-Amour According to Garca Mrque,Juvenal Urino discovers the audulent undation o his love rJeremiah And he is deeply disillusioned He comes to realie on thevery last day o his lie only hours ere he dies, that he had given hisaection to someone who was not quite the person he thought hewas ' ° Florentino Aria's acknowledgement o the llacy o his ownlie' (p 292 two years later is a similarly chastening admission oerror As happened regularly in the classical nove, the experience odeengao (ie o eing disaused o one's illusions) heightens a

character's sense o reality' (p 35) and rces a retreat om naiveidealism o the sort indulged in y ollet{n On this evidence weoserve how Garca Mrque employs the themes and conventions oone literary genre to undermine assumptions implicit in another,therey providing an interesting illustration o the rinciple, enunciated in one oJorge Luis Borges's ctions, that A text which does notinorporate its counter-text is considered to e incomplete'

Deengao and the consequences o an unstale view o reality are



Love in the Time Cholea 97

concerns which are articulated throughout Garca Mrque's workOther themes characteristic of his writing also reappear in Love in theTime Cholea Foremost among them are: dreams, memory andnostalgia personal identity sex and solitude, death, te and destiny(wih associated imagery of chess and card games) , the historicalexperience of Colomia and Spanish America, social and sexualemancipation patriarchy and the mily, and the nature of andrelations etween the sexes Such a road range ofinterests promisesto stimulate a variety of critical responses n the remainder of thisesay a numer of themes and issues are considered which may prove

likely to gure prominently in criticism ofLove in the Time CholeaThree complementary readings of the novel are advanced omstandpoints which may loosely e dened as humanist' feminist' andAmericanist ' Needless to say in choosing these categories there is nopretence that the interpretative possiilities ofa manysided text haveeen exhausted

Love in the Time Cholea is susceptile to a humanist reading of the

sort illustrated in Giovanni Pontiero's study of No One Wite to theColonel 1 2 The narrative highlights the themes oflove marriage andold age, and promotes the value of human dignity happinesscompassion, and (sensual) pleasure in deance ofcultural constraintsthe strongest and most insidious of which is a sense of shame andremorse n his mature writings Florentino Aria develops his ownideas aout life love, old age and death' (p 433) which challenge the

conventional eliefs of his times' (p 378) and are a source ofprodigious consolation' to Fermina in her hours of grief (p 459)Flrentino insists on the propriety and dignity of love in old age aeliefshared y Fermina's daughter-inlaw who counters the puritanical intolerance of Ophelia Urino aa with a serenejustication oflove at any age' Ophelia Fermina's daughter, was unale toconceive of an innocent relationship etween two people of theopposite sex at the age of ve let alone at the age ofeighty' and, in a

heated mily exchange, exclaims indignantly to her older rotherUrino ove is ridiculous at our age ut at [Florentino andFermina's] it is disgusting' (p 467 ) Her attitude oends Fermina tosuch an extent that she ans Ophelia om the mily house in anepisode which secures our sympathy and admiration r her and elicitsour rm disapproval of all rms of meanminded moralism

Heterosexual love irrespective of age and in an almost innite

variety of rms, is Garca Mrque's single most important concern



R O B I N F I D D I A N

in Loe in the Time Cholea. He remarked to a journalist that Whatinterests me most in the novel is the analysis it conducts oflove at allages' Argualy some of Florentino Aria's experiences as alter

nately a shy and vulnerale idealist and a selsh calculating nighttime prowle' who in his relations with several women gave nothingand wanted everything in return' (pp 367) are less thanexemplary and result in the most trite ofrevelations see r exaplehis discovery that one can e iendly with a woman without going toed with he' (p 2 76) But his unltering devotion to Fermina andhis innite capacity r sustaining hope' (p 336) are eventually

rewarded y an author who is convinced that If we persevere ourodies persevere I think that we persevere if there is love Always '•Without underestimating the claims of the ody the novel proposesan idealistic conception of love as a state of grace which [is not ameans to anything ut rather a eginning and an end in itsel(p 42, and celerates its realiation in Fermina and Florentino'srelationship

They carried on in sience like an old couple whom ie has taught to actwariy, beyond the range o the pitlls o passion, beyond the range o theunkind tricks payed on us by our hopes and by our ilure to earn fom ourdisappointments: beyond the range o love For they had shared enoughexperiences to know by now that love is love in any period and in any pace,but that it increases in intensity the coser we are to death. (p. 499)

The llment of the couple's desires provides Loe in the Time fCholea with a narrative conclusion which several reviewers have

interpreted as an armation of hope life and love Fermina andFlorentino's dogged achievement may indeed e seen as a victory overthe rigours of old age the ostacles of te and the prejudices of anunsympathetic society Yet the ending of the novel is delierately leftopen and cannot e said unequivocally to e a happy one Thecouple's position on the ew Fideli (uea Fidelidad') which isdestined to sail up and down the Magdalenas River (i e the river of

life) as long as they remain alive strikes us as eing not only an acuterm of social isolation or quarantine as it is termed in the symoicidiom of the ook ut also a willly articia situation GarcaMrque implicily acknowledges this in an interview with FranescArroyo in which he carelly evades the issue o whether his novelends on an armative or negative note and confesses instead to agreat curiosity' How do they end up? I mean how do they really end

up? What eventually happened to them?' In eect Garca Mrque



Love in the Time f Cholea 199

admits to providing a rhetorical denouement r his novel, which, hedeclares, [is] a prolem r the critics to solve' A rief examinationof the scenes which immediately precede the conclusion may help toreveal the ll implications of the nal chapter

n the period which leads up to the consummation of their love,Fermina and Florentino have to contend with a series ofsetacks andostacles to their happiness First, Florentino reaks his ankle in a llon a ight of stairs and is prevented om seeing Fermina r urmonths When he recovers and invites her to take a cruise on the NewFideliy she rushes aside her children's open opposition to her

romance with Florentino and emarks with him, ut the sound of theship's horn as the New Fideliy sets sail damages her left ear, leaving herhearing permanently impaired Finally, just as the couple egin toexperence a agile happiness, a telegram arrives ringing thedisturing news of Amrica Vicua's suicide Now, it is possile toexplain Florentino's accident merely as a comic narrative device andto attriute the onset of Fermina's deaess, which nicely matches

Florentino's physical deciencies, to a perverse symmetry But,Amica Vicua's suicide resists a redctive interpretation of this kindand requires to e accounted r at a deeper level of analysis whichinvolves renewed consideration of the themes of love, happiness,moral responsiility, and death

Leona Cassiani's telegraphic message attrutes the suicide tomysterious causes: Amrica Vicua died yesterday cause unknown'

(p 485) The reader, however, is left in no dout that the girl killsherself ecause she cannot ear the pain and humiliation caused yFlorentino's aandoning her r Fermina aa Some three yearspreviously, Florentino had wasted no time in seducing Amrica when,as a teenager, she had een placed in his care y distant relations now,still standing in loopaenti he treats her with peremptory indierenceand is to e held largely responsile r her death n the ook's nalchapter the sudden announcement of Amrica's suicide thereysignies the intrusion, into Fermina and Florentino's idyll, ofdistuing realities of selshness, cruelty and death. The centralimpotance ofthese ideas is enhanced y a newspaper report aout anelderly couple who are attered to death y a oatman as he ferriesthem to the location where they had enjoyed their honeymoon rtyyears ere (pp 4601) Fermina is haunted y this story whichprovides an approximate ut telling reection of her position with

Florentino on the New Fideliy; it is also a compelling intimation of



200 R O B I N F D D AN

mortaity Th old lks murdr coupld with Amrica Vicua'ssuicid thus modis th mood of th narrativ at a cimactic pointand prsuads us that Garca Mrqu's vision of humanity is st

undrstood in nuancd trms not simply as gnrous and humanbut ndamntaly as a talistic rand ofhumanism' (p 3) whichrsts on a matur rcognition of th crtainty of dath' (p 35)

Th rationship btwn fminist idology and th valus oflibralhumanism is at onc intricat and controvrsia as Tori Moi obsrvsin a rcnt critical survy som fminist positions in ct rproduch asthtic and phiosophical assumptions of patriarcha human

ism whil othrs ngag in a radical critiqu of thm By virtu of itsidological complxity Lov in th Tim Chola is sur to attract thattntion of galitarian and radica fminists alik

Th qustions of marriag and th curtaimnt of prsona domproccupy Garca Mrqu in this novl PaJos Font Castro whoss Lov in th Tim Chola as a oman a ldsignd to pay homago Garca Mrqu's own parnts and thir marriag I discrn in

h book sustantial vidnc of an indictmnt of that particularinstitution For if on on occasion Frmina andJ uvnal' marriag iscrditd with crtain positiv achivmnts (s p 38) , on countssothrs it is prsntd as a rm of stril captivity' (p 96) andsrvitud' (p 405) ndurd by Frmina Hr xprinc of marridlif tstis mphatically to th dhumaniing ct of an institutionwhich traps womn in [a w of convntions and prjudics'(p 305), rcing thm to compromis thir individuaity andultimatly to sacric thir prsonal idntity to thir husand's willn a singular passag th narrativ rcords th disappointmnt whichFrmina fs as a matur houswif:

about never having become what she had dreamt ofbecoming when she wasyoung in the Park of the Evangelists but instead something which she didnot dare to admit even to herself: a high-class serving maid . She always feltas if she were living a life that was being leased to her by her husband with

absolute control over a vast empire of happiness established by him and rhim alone. She knew that he loved her above all else more than anyone else inhe world, but only r himsel she was at his beck and call (p

A latr rfrnc to Juvnal Urino's patriarchal dmands' (p 434)adds a conclusiv touch to th pictur of hr ntrapmnt by thinsidious mchanisms of nvolnt' patriarchy

It is no surpris that Frmina nds in widowhood a sourc of

ibration and an opporunity to rcovr al that sh had had to giv



Love in the Time Cholea 201

up in th cours o ha a cnturys srvitud which unqustonabyhad mad hr happy but which, in th wak o hr husbands dath,t hr without th sightst trac oan idntity (p 405 ) W not thathr xprinc is rprsntativ o that o a widr community owomn who, in striving to adjust to thir nw circumstancs, wouddiscovr that th ony honst way to iv was as thir bodis dictatd,ating ony whn thy t hungry, making ov without th nd tot is, sping without having to prtnd to b asp in ordr toavoid th indcncy o a conjuga routin (p. 297) In th guis o agnra statmnt about widowhood, this quotation ritrats con

dmnation o th constraints pacd on womn in marriag, andconvys a mssag o protst which has rvanc byond thboundaris o Coombian socity in th at nintnth cntury

Garca Mrqus attitud to th position which womn occupywithin th broadr amwork o socity is xprssd indirctythrough rcurrnt imags omatrna manats (p 488) Ths sacows with hug brasts r suckin thir young, and paintiv voics

ik thos odisconsoat womn (s pp 2 1 1 and 497) ar symbos omothrhood; according to gnd, thy ar aso th ony craturswithout a ma in th anima kingdom (p 479) , and thrby mbodyan ida osxua ssucincy which institutionaid patriarchy isbound to rgard as an unnatura rm oindpndnc Whnvr hss a manat, Digo Samaritano, th ships captain, is rmindd owomn whom socity has condmnd r having takn a s stp in

ov (p 4 79) ; h thus convys his socitys hostiity towards bhaviourwhich dos not conrm to stabishd norms Manat imagry asoacts as a vhi r Garca Mrqus dnunciation o th prdatoryspirit o th ma His story o a huntsman om North Caroina whohad disobyd rguations and shot a mothr manat in th hadwith a but om his Springd ri (p 480) indicats th xtrmso cruty and abus to which th ma o th spcis is xposdwithin a supposdy civiid word

Sn in this ight, Love in the Time Cholea stands out as a novwhich passs strong cnsur on th ordr o patriarchy Howvr,Garca Mrqus rianc on th imag o woman as a vunrabmothrgur btrays a consrvativ sxua idoogy which, in itsprptuation o givn assumptions about th nction o gndr insocia rations, may actuay rthr that systms intrsts. I wassum that th narrativ voic in th nov mbodis ovra th

attituds o an impid author, thn it is possib to idntiy crtain



0 R O B N F D D I A N

momns in Love in the Time Cholea which rvl suspcssnilism in Grc Mrquzs ccoun of h nur of h sxsn rly dscripion ofJuvnl nd Frmins hous s plc which

displys hroughou h good judgmn nd crl nion of womn who hd hr f rmly on h ground (p 3) riss hspcr of sxis mysiqu which rius a pioi on s ofchrcriscs (r xmpl prgmism nd rliiliy) o womnrprsnd hr y Lon Cssini s wll s y Frmin z ndnohr qui disinc s o mn who r dpicd s hlplsslyidlisic nd imprcicl susqun porryl of Frmin

dismrking Riohch looking rdin vry inch womn(p 1 9 1 ) incss our sns of uns s dos smn o h ch hi h i hi h i

gabriel garcía márquez_ new readings-bernard mcguirk, richard cardwel.cambridge university press...

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