The Solitude of the Buendías

Sarah Christ

The Solitude of the Buendías

            One of the most dominate themes that occurs in the novel is solitude.  The whole Buendía family seems to end up alone and separated from everyone else at least once in the novel.  Even the town of Macondo is secluded from the rest of the world.  José Arcadio Buendía states, at one point, that not even death can find Macondo.  This solitude seems to arise mostly for two reasons; egocentrism or the Buendías are running away from something.

            José Arcadio Buendía founds the town of Macondo because he is running from his past.  After killing Prudencio Aguilar because of a cock fight, Prudencio haunts José Arcadio Buendía and will not leave him alone.  In order for his spirit to rest in peace, José Arcadio Buendía tells him, “’We’re going to leave this town, just as far away as we can go, and we’ll never come back.’” (23).  As a result, Macondo is founded and the seclusion and solidarity of the Buendías begins.  This trend of running away continues through the generations.  For instance, Rebeca locks herself in the bathroom when she is trying to avoid earth eating.  Instead of facing her problems, she runs from them and hopes seclusion from the rest of the family will cure her.  Furthermore, José Arcadio disappears from Macondo after he has sex with Pilar Ternera and impregnates her.  He knows that his mother will disapprove, so he runs away with the gypsies instead of dealing with the consequences.

            Aureliano lives the ultimate life of solitude in terms of Buendías.  However, unlike Rebeca and José Arcadio, Aureliano’s desire for seclusion rises from egocentrism.  Ever since he was a young boy, Aureliano has lived his life alone.  To the bewilderment of the town he does not find a wife until much later in life and chooses to shut himself up in the laboratory.  While alone in the laboratory he, “learn[s] the art of silverwork by his own experimentation” (40).  Silverwork becomes a matter of pride to Aureliano and he works till he is a master.  Later in life when he is in war, Aureliano uses his silverwork to identify himself to his brother Arcadio when sending a message.  Aureliano’s biggest method of seclusion from his family comes when he leaves to fight the war.  He is gone for months and even years at a time.  However, he does not fight because he believes strongly in the liberal cause, but because, “I’ve come to realize only just now that I’m fighting because of pride” (139). Therefore, Aureliano does not separate himself from his family because of deep beliefs, but because his ego is too big to give up.

            The Buendías are a family that never seems to be together all at the same time.  This is not because of the size of their family, but because the individual members feel the need for solitude. Whether this arises out of egocentrism or because someone is avoiding their problems, the result is the same; seclusion from the rest of the family.