"Aureliano gave her fourteen little gold fishes because she was determined to leave with only what she had: one peso and twenty-five cents. From the window of the room he saw her cross the courtyard with her bundle of clothing, dragging her feet and bent over by her years, and he saw her reach her hand through an opening in the main door and replace the bar after she had gone out. Nothing was ever heard from her again" (p.359).
In this passage Santa Sofia de la Piedad leaves Macondo and the Buendia house forever. She exits worn by the years and determined to survive off a meager amount of money, which many years past would have been enough to support her. When GGM personifies years, saying Santa Sofia leaves "bent over by her years" he makes time feel like a concrete reality instead of an abstract one. This serves to exemplify how much of a toll time takes on SS. She leaves in a conservative, simple manner instead of making a fuss. The image of her walking across the courtyard with little more than a bundle of clothes shows her slipping further into solitude, willingly. The end of the passage shows that she slips completely into solitude, leaving her hometown and family behind her, and never making any known contacts again. This repeats the cycle of solitude throughout the novel and furthers the motif of repetition in the Buendia family.
1 comment:
In my opinion, the departure of Santa Sofia de la Piedad is further evidence of how crucial Úrsula was to the Buendía family. Now that she is gone, Santa Sofia de la Piedad is left with the responsibility of tending to the entire house, as the incompetent Fernanda is unable to help with anything. With the "glue" of the family, everyone begins to head into their own solitary ventures, with Santa Sofia being a prime example. I agree with the fact that her departure repeats the cycle/repetition of solitude. Good post.
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