Transfer of Power
Power is not given yet it is transferred from one source to another. Ursula Buendia
acquires her power from her husband in a series of events. First Jose Arcadio I Buendia
goes senile and the role as head of the family and the power that comes with this role is
transferred to Ursula. When Jose dies, Ursula also takes on the role as the moneymaker
of the family. By selling candy animals Ursula supports her family even though adding
this to her already full list of duties made it so that she "did not have a moment's
rest". This makes her an indispensable part of the household and helps define the amount
of power she has received.
Ursula uses this power that she received to come out on top of many situations that
might not have turned out so well without her guidance. There are at least two times
when the state of Mocondo is in a horrible condition. Ursula prevails through the
seemingly never ending rainstorm and the Banana Company massacre. Also during these
events she continues to work in the house as best she can when many other Mocondo
villagers just become idle. Ursula ses her personal power when her 17 grandsons are
executed and yet she remains calm and collected. Ursula not only uses her power to help
herself she maintains it for nearly a century.
Incredibly Ursula is able to maintain her power for more then three generations after the
death of Jose. Ursula accomplishes this not by making decisions that are always
necessarily agreed upon but by standing by her decisions and not wavering. When money is
found in a statue of Saint Joseph, whose owner is unknown, Ursula decides to bury the
money, which she believes, is not rightfully theirs. Her children question her for years
about where the money is but she never divulges the answer. Even when she is about to
die she refuses to tell her grandson whose attempts "were useless once more". By not
giving in Ursula sends a clear message that she is strong and this strength allows her to
maintain her power for most of her life time.
Ursula's power begins to diminish when she is about one hundred years old and go blind.
In an attempt to hold on to her power and not seem useless, Ursula doesn't tell a soul
and actually succeeds in deceiving her own family. She accomplishes this by using her
memory of smells and sounds "which saved her finally from the shame of defeat." Ursula
is even able to find things people have lost in the house by remembering where that
person strayed from their everyday routine and looking there. Ursula is unable to keep
up this charade forever and eventually loses her power as head of the family.
During the rainstorm Ursula becomes senile and begins to lose track of time. After four
years the storm subsides and the winds shift returning Ursula to her normal state. This
doesn't last long because the winds shift again and "She never got her reason back".
Ursula soon died and the power she had received, used, maintained and finally lost was
transferred to Fernanda.
|