"her secret seemed to lie in the fact that she always found a way to keep busy, resolving domestic problems that she herself had created, and doing a poor job on a thousand other things which she would fix on the following day with a pernicious diligence that made one think of Fernanda and the hereditary vice of making something just to unmake it." (382)
This passage is very important in helping to understand not only the personality of Amaranta Ursula, but the fate of Macondo as well. When Ursula died, there was a large question as to whether anyone would be able to fill her shoes and take over at the helm of the family to save them from destruction. Amaranta Ursula from a young age was compared to Ursula, and upon AU’s return to Macondo, if one overlooks her materialism and strange control over her husband, she exerts qualities similar to Ursula’s regarding her ability to aid the family. She begins fixing up the house on her first day home and upon her arrival “no one in the house had ever been in a better mood at all hours and under any circumstances.” (378) However, the hope for Ursula to step in as the new leader of the family is very shortlived, as a few pages later, Amaranta Ursula’s true character is revealed. When Marquez explains in what manner Amaranta Ursula approaches her daily routines, it becomes clear that she is no Ursula. She creates problems just to fix them, and works with the goal of continuing work, not to accomplish anything. She works and lives without ambition for having anything better, and acts without reason, but for the sole purpose of having action. This seems to be a trait that will continue the cycle of solitude and unhappiness in Macondo, not reverse it as the savior she was hyped to be would.
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4 comments:
I agree... also, AU may have similar traits to Ursula, but she also has similar characteristics to the other Buendia women. She has the strength and devotion as Ursula but as she portrays characteristics of other characters, she is not able to run the household the way Ursula did. She works as if she can run the household but she does not have reasoning for why she acts they way.
I think that she is trying to fill in the shoes of Ursula. Ursula was always good with solving problems that no one else could solve. like when JAB couldn't find the other village at the begining of the novel, Ursula goes out and discovers it within days. Although AU creates the problems, she wants to show that she is trying to be the next Ursula in the family
A good post here. Personally, I get the feeling that Ursula commanded a certain respect from the Buendia family. She was a firm leader, and was able to somewhat hold her own when Fernanda came. If Ursula had been dead when Fernanda arrived, Fernanda would have simply bowled over anyone she wanted to. Although AU is somewhat similar (including having Ursula in her name). Also, looking at the "prophecies," it looks like Macondo was doomed to fail to beginning. Ursula's leadership may have postponed things, but it was inevitable from the beginning. In conclusion, Macondo is going down, and it's going down hard, and honestly, AU's personal traits aren't changing things, especially since she has obvious flaws.
I do agree that AU reflects many of the qualities that Ursula had in regards to maintaining a respectable household that always rings with a kind of welcoming quality. However, i disagree with the notion that AU works without ambition and fails to accomplish anything. While the habit of fixing and perfecting things does show AU's similarity to Fernanda, i do not think AU works with the intention of being useless. i think AU's actions relfects her determintaion and desire to help better the Buendia household and Macondo in general. I think the reason her actions are in vain is because no one else is willing/trying to help her. therefore she can do nothing but "make things to unmake it", because nothing she does will really be a help to anyone else, and no one builds off of her improvements. I do not think she is useless, but rather she is the only reason the house is has completely desintigrated and been forgotten.
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