Characters



The story line of One Hundred Years of Solitude spans several generations of the Buendia family and introduces numerous minor characters. Here are a few of the most significant characters:

Jose Arcadio Buendia Founding father of Macondo, hero of the people, and a man on the quest for knowledge. Jose Arcadio Buendia represents courage, innovation, but also the delicate balance between ambition and insanity. In his prime he is revered by his fellow citizens of Macondo for his strong leadership, but as he grows older he becomes obsessed with fleeting and impractical goals. Like a mad explorer searching for the fountain of youth, or an alchemist pounding dirt for gold, he spends much of his middle years locked in his laboratory in a feverish stupor. Eventually the townspeople tie him to an old tree in the Buendia backyard and there he remains as time passes.

Ursula Iguaran Behind every brilliant and crazy man is his strong, beautiful, and much more practical wife. Ursula is the rock of the Buendia family. She runs the household during Jose Arcadio Buendia's absences and raises her three children almost single-handedly. She leads the family through times of elated joy and times of desperate ruin, and she does so with dignity and compassion.

Colonel Aureliano Buendia Jose Arcadio Buendia and Ursula Iguaran's second son, Colonel Aureliano, is an introverted, but very memorable character. He grows up and becomes a famous civil war hero after an incident of forged ballots in a Conservative-dominated election. Although the novel never leaves the rural village of Macondo, the Buendia receives updates of Colonel Aureliano traveling across the continent and leading rebellion after rebellion against the Conservative government. A mysterious man, he returns home after decades of combat and retreats into anonymity, much like his father did.

Aureliano Jose The son of Colonel Aureliano Buendia. He falls in love with his aunt Amaranta, and is consistently turned away. He is killed by Conservative forces that invade Macondo during the civil war.

Arcadio Son of Jose Arcadio, grandson of Jose Arcadio Buendia. He grows up under the kind but strict mentorship of his grandmother Ursula. After his grandfather withdraws from public life and his uncle goes off to war, Arcadio succeeds leadership of the town. Once in power, he becomes a ruthless dictator who rules with a tyranny justified by war time crisis. The citizens fear his regime and his grandmother renounces his actions. The Conservatives execute Arcadio after they recapture the town.

Remedios the Beauty Named after her great aunt Remedios Moscote, the character of Remedios the Beauty very much resembles folktale-style heroines. She possesses such extraordinary grace and stunning beauty that everywhere men instantly fall in love with her and throw themselves into the clutches of death for the slightest whiff of her hair. One of the most magical events of the novel involves Remedios hanging laundry outside when she suddenly ascends into the heavens.

Jose Arcadio Segundo and Aureliano Segundo Twin brothers believed to be switched at birth, but then switched back in their graves

Renata Remedios Also known as Meme, she is the daughter of Aureliano Segundo and Fernanda del Carpio. She is in constant conflict with her controlling mother, gets sent to a convent against her wishes and refuses to speak for the rest of her life.

Amaranta Ursula Has an incestuous affair with her nephew Aureliano, fulfilling the forbidden love of their ancestors, also named Amaranta and Aureliano.

Aureliano II Meme’s secret son, forever resented by his grandmother Fernanda

Aureliano III This Aureliano is son of the previous two, a boy born out of incest. He becomes the last of the Buendia line, and fulfills the family prophecy that the last will be "eaten by ants."