Gabriel García Márquez
"One Hundred Years of Solitude. Summary."
Chapter 1
Colonel Aureliano Buendía faces the firing squad, recalling the day
his father, José Arcadio Buendía, showed him ice. Melquíades, a
friend, brings wonders from the outside world to Macondo, where the
Colonel grew up. The wanderers introduce scientific discoveries:
magnets, telescope, astrolabe, compass, alchemical lab, and
dentures. José Arcadio becomes obsessed with these inventions,
neglecting family and community. His wife, Úrsula, smashes his
astrolabe in frustration. José Arcadio believes in connecting
Macondo to the outside world and explores the rainforest. He
unpacks a Spanish galleon and bonds with his children, telling them
fantastical stories. As the Colonel faces the firing squad, he
recalls the day the travelers announced Melquíades' death and his
father's excitement about the ice, calling it the "great invention
of our time."
Chapter 2
Before living in Macondo, Úrsula curses her ancestors' village
where she met her cousin, José Arcadio. She wears "chastity pants"
due to their close genetic relationship. José Arcadio kills
Prudencio Aguilar for mocking him, and they decide to leave town.
They settle in Macondo, have three children: José Arcadio,
Aureliano, and Amaranta. Travelers return with circus tents and a
flying carpet. Pilar Ternera, in a relationship with young José
Arcadio, reveals her pregnancy, leading him to leave with the
travelers. Úrsula wanders distraught, but after five months, she
returns with news of a nearby village and a route to the
capital.
Chapter 3
Pilar gives birth to a son, Arcadio. The newcomers turn Macondo
into a commercial center. José Arcadio synchronizes wooden bird
clocks across town. Aureliano predicts Rebeca's arrival, a girl
with a bag of her parents' bones and an introduction letter. Rebeca
brings the insomnia plague, affecting the family. They make candy
animals to transmit the plague to the town. Melquíades returns from
the dead, introducing José Arcadio to photography. Úrsula expands
her business, and a magistrate orders houses to be painted blue,
leading to a confrontation with José Arcadio. Aureliano falls for
the magistrate's daughter, Remedios.
Chapter 4
Inauguration of the new house additions with a dance. Purchase of a
pianola, which is taken apart by José Arcadio, causing it to play
off-key. Pietro Crespi, an Italian expert, comes to repair the
pianola. Rebeca develops a crush on Pietro and eats dirt out of
excitement. Aureliano continues his crush on Remedios and plans to
marry her. José Arcadio agrees, but Amaranta also wants Pietro's
affection and declares her opposition to the wedding. Melquíades'
condition deteriorates,and he dies, requesting the burning of mercury. His ghost haunts
the Buendía household. Pietro brings mechanical toys to Rebeca and
her future is read by Pilar. José Arcadio buries Rebeca's parents'
bones next to Melquíades. José Arcadio's ghost returns, and he
becomes distressed, leading to his restraint.
Chapter 5
Aureliano and Remedios marry. Rebeca is upset because her wedding
to Pietro is postponed. Amaranta plans to poison Rebeca, but
Remedios dies of blood poisoning before the wedding. José Arcadio
returns, changed after his time as a sailor. He raffles himself to
women for money. José Arcadio suggests Amaranta as a partner for
Pietro. Don Apolinar Moscote worries about war and manipulates
election votes. War arrives in Macondo. Dr. Alirio Noguera is
executed. Aureliano organizes resistance against the brutal army
captain, kills him, and becomes Colonel Aureliano Buendía, leaving
to join the revolutionary general Victorio Medina.
Chapter 6
After leaving Macondo, Colonel Aureliano Buendía experiences major
events in his life. Arcadio becomes a tyrant ruling Macondo with
mandatory military service, punishment in stocks, and even shooting
an anti-authoritarian musician. He whips people, including Don
Apolinar Moscote, for perceived insults. Úrsula takes over as the
town ruler and reverses many of Arcadio's rules. Pietro falls in
love with Amaranta, but she rejects him, leading to his suicide.
Arcadio seeks sexual relations with Pilar, not realizing she is his
biological mother. Pilar arranges for Santa Sofía de la Piedad to
take her place, and they have a daughter together. Young José
Arcadio engages in land theft and tax collection. Colonel Gregorio
Stevenson arrives with a message from Colonel Aureliano Buendía,
but Arcadio does not surrender, leading to his execution.
Chapter 7
Colonel Aureliano Buendía is captured and brought back to Macondo
for execution. He entrusts his poetry about his deceased wife,
Remedios, to Úrsula and asks her to burn it. However, she leaves
him a revolver in jail. The military delays the execution due to
fear of the people's reaction. On the day of the execution, Rebeca
waits to see the colonel. Just before the firing squad fires, José
Arcadio appears with a shotgun, leading the colonel and the squad
to leave town to join a revolutionary general. They arrive too
late, but their adventures create a myth around the colonel. He
returns to Macondo later and finds José Arcadio's children with
Santa Sofía de la Piedad. José Arcadio dies mysteriously, and his
ghost visits José Arcadio beforehis death. The war between Conservatives and Liberals continues,
and the colonel has numerous children with different mothers.
Chapter 8
The war between the Conservatives and Liberals comes to a
conclusion. A new school is built in Macondo, attended by Aureliano
Segundo, José Arcadio Segundo, and Remedios the Beauty. Aureliano
José, Pilar, and Amaranta have a complex relationship. The colonel
has 17 children with different mothers, all named Aureliano.
Aureliano José is fatally shot during an altercation at the
theater, and the captain who shot him is killed. Colonel Aureliano
Buendía captures Macondo and puts the Conservative government on
trial.
Chapter 9
Colonel Gerineldo Márquez pursues Amaranta for years, despite her
constant rejection. Colonel Aureliano Buendía loses interest in the
war and becomes distant from political decision-making. He becomes
bored with the war and imposes a rule that no one can come closer
than 10 feet to him. During the war, he faces challenges from an
Indigenous general. Eventually, he signs the armistice documents,
but he becomes disillusioned and attempts to shoot himself. The
bullet only wounds him, and he writes angry letters to the
president about pensions for veterans.
Chapter 10
Aureliano Segundo and José Arcadio Segundo are often mistaken for
each other, but they have distinct interests. Petra Cotes arrives
in Macondo and becomes involved with both brothers. Aureliano
Segundo sees her as a lucky charm for his farm and animals. José
Arcadio Segundo attempts to set up a boat line to Macondo, but it
doesn't work out as planned. During a carnival, a beautiful woman
named Fernanda del Carpio arrives, and there is a shooting that
leads to fatalities. Six months later, Aureliano Segundo marries
Fernanda. He is careless with his extra money and covers Úrsula's
house in one-peso currency, but they discover hidden gold coins.
Colonel Aureliano Buendía spends his later years quietly, crafting
tiny golden fishes for sale.
Chapter 11
Aureliano Segundo returns from his honeymoon but cannot resist
going back to Petra Cotes. He takes a picture of her wearing
Fernanda's dress as the carnival queen, which upsets Fernanda.
Fernanda eventually agrees to share Aureliano with Petra, as long
as he does not die in her bed. They have a son and a daughter. All
17 sons of Colonel Aureliano Buendía gather in Macondo for a
celebration, and Amaranta convinces them to go to church for Ash
Wednesday. The crosses placed on their foreheads become permanent.
Two of the sons decide tostay in Macondo, and one brings the first train to the town.
Chapter 12
With the train comes electricity and the telephone. Mr. Herbert, a
salesman, comes to town but leaves and brings back foreigners who
plan to plant banana trees. Aureliano Segundo enjoys the influx of
people and parties with them. Remedios the Beauty, who unknowingly
torments men with her beauty, disappears after floating up into the
sky. The banana company arrives, bringing dictatorial foreigners
and assassins who kill many of Colonel Aureliano Buendía's
sons.
Chapter 13
Úrsula's eyesight deteriorates, and she relies on her other senses.
José Arcadio goes to seminary, and Meme returns from boarding
school. Amaranta works on her death shroud, and Aureliano Segundo
spends more time with Petra. Meme invites numerous schoolmates and
teachers to her home for vacation. José Arcadio Segundo grows close
to Colonel Aureliano Buendía but finds him engrossed in making tiny
gold fishes. The Colonel dies while urinating in the courtyard.
Chapter 14
Meme finishes her schooling and becomes more independent, attending
parties and concerts. Amaranta is told by Death that she will die
on the day she finishes weaving her shroud. When the day comes,
Amaranta prepares for her death and eventually passes away during
one of Meme's concerts. Meme starts a romance with Mauricio
Babilonia, a mechanic at the banana company. They have a secret
affair, but when Fernanda finds out, she tries to keep Meme
confined to her room. Fernanda arranges for a guard to watch the
backyard, and the guard ends up shooting and paralyzing
Mauricio.
Chapter 15
Fernanda takes Meme to her hometown and delivers her to a boarding
school run by nuns, pretending that Meme has died. Meme gives birth
to a son named Aureliano but becomes mute. A year later, civil
unrest and protests arise in Macondo against the banana company.
Workers go on strike, and military forces arrive. The army brutally
massacres the striking workers in the town square, but official
sources deny any violence. José Arcadio Segundo survives the
massacre and returns to the Buendía house, hiding and reading
Melquíades's writing.
Chapter 16
The rain continues to pour in Macondo for almost five years.
Aureliano Segundo takes care of the children, Amaranta Úrsula, and
little Aureliano while Fernanda struggles with uterine pain. The
household faces a shortage of food, and Aureliano Segundo's
attempts to find the buried gold cause damage to the house. When
the rain finally stops, Macondo is in astate of decay and abandonment.
Chapter 17
Úrsula restores the Buendía house and finds José Arcadio Segundo in
Melquíades's workshop. Petra and Aureliano Segundo continue their
raffle business, but they live in poverty. Fernanda puts Amaranta
Úrsula in school and keeps little Aureliano hidden. Rebeca and
Úrsula pass away, and a mysterious creature called the "wandering
Jew" is killed by the people of Macondo. Fernanda's health issues
are misunderstood by Aureliano Segundo, and he dies, sending
Amaranta Úrsula to Brussels for education. Aureliano Segundo and
José Arcadio Segundo die at the same time.
Chapter 18
After Aureliano Segundo's death, Petra sends food to Fernanda until
she also dies. The young Aureliano spends time in Melquíades's
workshop, visited by Melquíades's ghost, who guides him to a
bookstore for books to decipher the writings. Santa Sofía de Piedad
leaves the house, and Aureliano manages the household. After
Fernanda's death, he finally visits the bookstore and begins his
journey of self-discovery. José Arcadio returns home, dismisses
Aureliano, and leads a reckless lifestyle. The gold hidden under
Úrsula's bed is found, leading to a tragic turn of events involving
the gold and José Arcadio's death.
Chapter 19
Amaranta Úrsula returns to the Buendía house with her Belgian
husband, Gaston. She cleans and repopulates the house with
canaries, while Gaston collects natural history samples. Aureliano
explores Macondo, sells antiques, and develops sexual relationships
with Amaranta Úrsula and a sex worker named Nigromanta. Gaston
plans to establish an airmail service, but Amaranta Úrsula refuses
to leave Macondo. Aureliano visits a brothel where he meets the
elderly proprietor, Pilar, who believes he is Colonel Aureliano
Buendía. He becomes involved in an ongoing sexual relationship with
Amaranta Úrsula.
Chapter 20
Pilar dies and the bookstore closes. Aureliano's friends leave
Macondo, and the town deteriorates. Aureliano and Amaranta Úrsula's
sexual relationship continues, and she becomes pregnant. After
giving birth, Amaranta Úrsula dies from blood loss, and her child
is born with a pig's tail, representing the fear of incest. In his
grief, Aureliano takes the infant with him while he wanders around
town, but he eventually loses the baby. When he finds the baby's
corpse in the courtyard, he realizes that Melquíades's writing
predicted all the tragic events in the Buendía family. As Aureliano
reads, a fierce wind arises and destroys the town of Macondo, just
as Melquíades had foreseen.