One Hundred Years of Solitude: Chapter Summaries & Analysis
One Hundred Years of Solitude: Chapter Summaries
Chapter 11
Fernanda and Petra are rivals for the love of Aureliano Segundo. Fernanda eventually accepts Petra’s presence and chooses to stay with her husband. They have a son, José Arcadio, and later a daughter, Renata (Meme). Aureliano Segundo’s seventeen children visit during Carnival and are marked with ash crosses by Father Antonio Isabel. One son, Aureliano Triste, stays in Macondo and finds the presumed-dead Rebeca. During another visit, Aureliano Centeno settles in Macondo and helps his brother with an ice-making business. Aureliano Triste convinces Aureliano Segundo to bring the railroad to Macondo, which he achieves within six months.
Chapter 12
The arrival of the railroad brings new inventions and people, including the beautiful Remedios. Remedios accidentally causes several deaths, including that of a child. Aureliano Segundo witnesses a police officer’s brutality and vows to arm his children against the “gringos.” Many of his sons are killed by the authorities, but Aureliano Amador escapes. Aureliano Segundo seeks to start a war and asks for help from the aged Gerineldo Márquez.
Chapter 13
José Arcadio leaves Macondo for seminary, and Meme attends a Catholic school. Úrsula’s eyesight deteriorates, but her family doesn’t notice. Fernanda takes control of the household and sends José Arcadio Segundo away to work for the banana company. Aureliano Segundo lives with Petra Cotes and becomes obese due to his excessive eating habits. He nearly dies after an eating contest and begins visiting Fernanda daily. Meme brings home four nuns and sixty-eight classmates for vacation, causing chaos. José Arcadio Segundo returns, spending his time making little gold fishes.
Chapter 14
Aureliano Buendía dies, and the house enters mourning. Amaranta dies soon after, as she predicted. Fernanda and Aureliano Segundo have a daughter, Amaranta Úrsula. Meme finishes her studies and becomes a concert harpsichordist. She learns that her father only visits Fernanda to maintain appearances. Meme becomes a heavy drinker and falls in love with Mauricio Babilonia, a mechanic for the banana company. Fernanda discovers their relationship and confines Meme to the house. Mauricio sneaks in nightly until Fernanda reports him to the police. He is shot and becomes disabled. Úrsula turns one hundred years old and remains bedridden.
Chapter 15
After Mauricio’s injury, Fernanda sends Meme to a convent, where she gives birth to Aureliano, Mauricio’s son. Meme never speaks again and dies in a hospital in Krakow. Fernanda takes Aureliano and tells the family she found him in a basket on the river. José Arcadio Segundo instigates a strike, leading to the arrival of the army and a massacre. José Arcadio Segundo wakes up on a train full of corpses and returns to Macondo, where the authorities have covered up the deaths of three thousand people. He hides from soldiers in Melquíades’s room.
Chapter 16
It rains for four years, eleven months, and two days. Fernanda cares for the young Aureliano. Aureliano Segundo takes refuge with Petra Cotes for three months. Upon returning home, he argues with Fernanda and leaves to find food. Úrsula has a resurgence and helps Aureliano Segundo find the hidden treasure of Úrsula’s grandfather. Eight months after the rain ends, Aureliano Segundo returns with Petra Cotes.
Chapter 17
Úrsula’s health improves, and she cleans the house before dying at around 120 years old. José Arcadio leaves Rome before taking his final vows and returns to Macondo. Aureliano Segundo and Petra Cotes live happily until he becomes ill. They organize a raffle to raise money to send Amaranta to study in Brussels. After Amaranta leaves, Aureliano Segundo dies and is buried. Rebecca dies as well. The tombs are mixed up at the burial.
Chapter 18
Santa Sofía de la Piedad leaves the Buendía house. Fernanda dies four months before José Arcadio’s return. Aureliano, Meme’s son, is confined to his room and plays with village children. They discover a light in Úrsula’s old room, emanating from the hidden crypt where she had stored the family treasure. José Arcadio renovates the house and gives Aureliano, who is mentally disabled, his freedom. Aureliano Amador, the last surviving son of Colonel Aureliano Buendía, returns but is not recognized and is killed by the police. José Arcadio is murdered by the children, who steal the gold while Aureliano studies the ancient scrolls.
Chapter 19
Amaranta Úrsula returns to Macondo married to Gaston, a Fleming. They agree not to have children for five years. Gaston plans to establish an airmail service. Aureliano Babilonia, Meme’s son, befriends a black woman and becomes Amaranta Úrsula’s lover. He also befriends four young men who frequent the same library. Aureliano falls in love with Amaranta Úrsula and confesses his feelings, but she initially rejects him. He visits a brothel and meets Pilar Ternera, who encourages him. That night, Aureliano and Amaranta Úrsula make love while Gaston is away.
Chapter 20
The bookstore owner leaves town. Aureliano continues his affair with Amaranta Úrsula while Gaston is in Brussels. Amaranta Úrsula confesses her love for Aureliano in a letter to Gaston, who wishes them happiness. Pilar Ternera dies. Amaranta Úrsula becomes pregnant and worries about the possibility of incest. Their son, Aureliano, is born with a pig’s tail. Amaranta Úrsula dies from postpartum bleeding. Aureliano is devastated and wanders the town. He returns home and finds his son being devoured by ants. At that moment, he deciphers the ancient scrolls and discovers the history of his family and his incestuous relationship with Amaranta Úrsula. As he finishes reading, he and Macondo are swept away by a whirlwind, fulfilling the prophecy inscribed in the scrolls.