“…set about a new restoration of the house. She scattered the red ants, who has already taken possession of the porch, brought the rosebushes back to life, uprooted the weeds, and planted ferns, oregano, and begonias again in the pots along the railing. She took charge of a crew of carpenters, locksmiths, and masons, who filled in the cracks in the floor, put doors and windows back on their hinges, repaired the furniture, and whitewashed the walls inside and out, so that three months after her arrival on breathed once more the atmosphere of youth and festivity that had existed during the days of the pianola. No one in the house had ever been in a better mood at all hours under any circumstances, nor had anyone ever been readier to sing and dance and toss all items and customs from the past into the trash.” (pgs. 377-378)
In this quote, Gabriel Marquez uses cataloging to paint the picture of the Buendias home as a “happy” and “clean” home. The house has fallen almost entirely to ruins, due to neglect of care of those living there. Upon her return, Amaranta Ursula, who carries the name of the only Buendia who worked hard to keep the house both clean and presentable to guests, “flips” the house around and returns it to its once beautiful state. While reading this, I imagine a sort of Snow White affect, with everyone working hard and cleaning for enjoyment not as forced labor. GGM refers to the simpler days of Macondo as the “atmosphere of youth”, when the pianola was the latest technology. I see this cleaning of the house as a “washing away of the sins”, and a break in this continuous downfall of events. GGM does not usually depict the emotion of happiness within the Buendia household, and at the mention of Amaranta Ursualas happiness, it is easy to believe how true the statement is. It is ironic that she is the one that was “readier…[to] toss all items and customs from the past into the trash”, when she has been away or not alive yet, for the majority of the tragic events that made Macondo into what it has become. I do not see the repetition of a clean house as a symbol of a happy house, but rather as a set up for a disastrous event to take place. Although this is a break from the usually sad tone of the book, the plot eventually will fall back into its normal state of a struggling town, only getting worse as time passes.
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I like your explication. The uplifting tone creates a feeling of hope, even though we know that in the future that Macondo will fall. It makes the reader feel good that finally someone cares about the situation of the Buendia house. Unfortunately, this restoration is temporary as the ants eventually return and decay takes over the house again. The house will never stay as lively as it was in the days of the pianola because Macondo is not like it was in the days of the pianola. The decay in the Buendia house reflects the decay of Macondo, even during this little glimmer of hope.
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