Previous
Genre
Definition of Idiom
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the words in the phrase. For... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on a literal interpretation of the... read full definition
An idiom is a phrase that conveys a figurative meaning that is difficult or impossible to understand based solely on... read full definition
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Unto the Ages:
José Arcadio Buendía uses an idiomatic expression drawn from the Bible in conversation with Melquíades when the latter attempts to solve the prophecies of Nostradamus, which foreshadow later events in the novel:
Melquíades got deeper into his interpretations of Nostradamus. He would stay up until very late, suffocating in his faded velvet vest, scribbling with his tiny sparrow hands, whose rings had lost the glow of former times. One night he thought he had found a prediction of the future of Macondo. It was to be a luminous city with great glass houses where there was no trace remaining of the race of the Buendías. “It’s a mistake,” José Arcadio Buendía thundered. “They won’t be houses of glass but of ice, as I dreamed, and there will always be a Buendía, per omnia secula seculorum.”
As Melquíades works on the puzzling prophecies, he makes a discovery. According to his interpretation of Nostradamus, Macondo will someday be a “luminous city with great glass houses,” but bearing "no trace” of the Buendía family. Here, he foreshadows later events in the novel. Indeed, modernization will later bring glass-and-metal architecture to Macondo, and so too is he correct that the Buendía family line will come to an end.
Convinced that this pessimistic prophecy is in error, José Arcadio Buendía claims that there will always be Buendías in Macondo, “per omnia secula seculorum.” Here, he uses a once-common idiom, a phrase from the Latin Bible which could be translated “unto the ages of ages.” In using this idiomatic expression here, José Arcadio Buendía asserts his belief that the fates of Macondo and the Buendía family are closely tied.
Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Fairy:
José Arcadio Buendía uses a common but homophobic idiom when describing Pietro Crespi, an Italian music instructor who comes to Macondo to show its residents how to use a mechanical pianola, a musical instrument. After Crespi begins to provide dancing lessons for the young women, the narrator notes that:
In the living room, next to the parlor, Pietro Crespi taught them how to dance. He showed them the steps without touching them, keeping time with a metronome, under the friendly eye of Úrsula, who did not leave the room for a moment while her daughters had their lesson [...] “You don’t have to worry so much,” José Arcadio Buendía told her. “The man’s a fairy.” But she did not leave off her vigilance until the apprenticeship was over and the Italian left Macondo. Then they began to organize the party.
Úrsula keeps a close eye on the proceedings to ensure that her daughters are not tempted by the dapper young Italian, who is notably more cultured and fashionable than most of the other men in Macondo. José Arcadio Buendía, however, dismisses her concerns, stating that Crespi is a “fairy.” Here, he uses an idiom, often considered rude or offensive, which refers to homosexual men. His use of this idiom reflects his own somewhat stereotypical understanding of gender and sexuality. In fact, Crespi soon courts both of the Buendía daughters, particularly Rebeca.
Related Themes:
