One Hundred Years of Solitude: Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis

Colonel Aureliano Buendía’s ability to see the future has kept him apprised of all of the happenings in Macondo in his absence. His belief that he has already been sentenced to death harkens back to the way the timeline of the novel’s events is mixed up and the way in which characters suffer the same fates in different generations: Colonel Aureliano Buendía will be saved from execution but another character later on will not be so lucky.

Colonel Aureliano Buendía recognizes the limits of his powers, acknowledging that, while he was able to use them to protect himself, they did not work to protect one of his closest friends from death. His request that his death sentence be carried out in Macondo ends up being the request that saves his life, despite his not knowing exactly how it will help him.

Once again, readers are led back to the vision of Colonel Aureliano Buendía remembering, at what he assumes to be the moment of his death, his father showing him ice for the first time, the first image in the book. José Arcadio, mostly forgotten by the rest of the Buendía family appears to defend his brother. Though the capture and execution of Colonel Aureliano Buendía was the final resolution in the loss of the Liberals to the Conservatives, the war begins again.

The gold fish are a symbol of Colonel Aureliano Buendía’s authority and legitimacy. After the liberals disown him and he becomes a rebel, Colonel Aureliano Buendía is free to move their headquarters to a more convenient location for him. Because Arcadio had been killed, Úrsula has assumed responsibility for Santa Sofia de la Piedad and her children, all baptized with names echoing members of the Buendía family before them.

There is something suspicious about Rebeca not having heard the shot that killed José Arcadio, but no one is able to solve the mystery of his death. The greatest likelihood is that a representative of the Conservative party has assassinated him because he prevented the execution of Colonel Aureliano Buendía, but there is speculation that he might have taken his own life. The magic of the blood making its way to Úrsula across town before being discovered by Rebeca casts further suspicion on Rebeca and shows the intractable bond between mother and son, even when estranged. His body holding the scent of gunpowder is similar to the way Pilar Ternera smells of smoke.

Throughout the book, there are the characters who possess official titles and then there are the characters who actually hold power over the majority. Colonel Aureliano Buendía knows his weakness, even if it is not recognized by the rest of the people. Úrsula is the character with the strength to protect her son from the attempts on his life, using her healing skills to save his life and her common sense to save his poetry against his wishes.

Colonel Aureliano Buendía becomes aware of his own pride and how it drives him to continue fighting. His commitment to the Liberal party is just a cover for his true interests. He insults his friend, thinking him either stupid or dishonest to still believe that he fights to defend Liberal values, though he himself has just awoken to this realization. Despite his feelings, he appoints his friend the leader of Macondo, and his friend is able to return Macondo to a basic level of peace.

Amaranta’s second love interest pursues her, but Amaranta pretends to her mother that logic prevents her from growing affections for Colonel Gerineldo Márquez. Her excuse is different when she interacts directly with the Colonel, though, having grown mistrustful of the way men can transfer their love from one person to another, similar to the way Pietro Crespi moved from Rebeca to Amaranta. 

Colonel Aureliano Buendía’s foresight works from a distance, too. Though the Buendías attempt to provide an increased level of care to their patriarch on his death bed, José Arcadio Buendía is so set in his ways that he prefers to remain where he is comfortable, out by the tree, an action that seems to prove to the family that he is out of his mind. His relationship with the ghost of the man he wronged has been healed over time, as José Arcadio Buendía grows closer to joining the spirit realm. His vision of the infinite rooms, repeatedly revisited, echoes his belief that he lives the same day over and over, the way that generations repeat themselves in Macondo, and the image of Macondo as a city of mirrors. The yellow flowers that fall from the sky are a sign of the death of the man who created this place.