Thursday, August 23, 2012
Why is Remedios the Beauty in this book?
We talked about how Macando in its early years resembles a Utopian or Eden-like society. I was wondering which you chose to view as the dominant influence in the novel: communism or Christianity. It is my understanding that Marquez is a friend of Fidel Castro, and we can infer from this that likely holds to certain communist principles. Some other examples possible examples of his communist inclinations could be the less than warm reception the town gives the priest when he first arrives, in keeping with Marxist aversion towards religion, and the people's disdain towards the imperialist (and capitalist) fruit company. Were it not for the pressence of Remedios in this novel, I wouldn't be bringing up this topic. In my opinion, Remedios appears to be an overtly religious figure. The fact that she doesn't understand nakedness seems very similar to how Adam and Eve didn't realize they were naked before the fall. Not only does this religious symbolism conflict with the communistic aspects of the novel but she also seems to be an outlier in the Buendia family. She doesn't share any of the eccentricities or obsessions of the other Buendias and consequently seems to break the cyclical time flow in the novel. Any thoughts as to why Marquez put her in the story?
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2 comments:
Hello, I think that Remedios adds a magical element to the book. While the arguement could be made that Remedios is still unnecessary, I think Remedios's magical traits are meaningful. She is the only person that is pure and indeed angelic within the Buendia family which allows Marquez to draw a stark contrast between her character and other Buendia family members. Basically, Remedios's purity allows us to assume that the Buendia family, in contrast, is corrupted by their cyclical mistakes.
I'm no expert on the bible, but when Remidios the Beauty rose into heaven and disappeared, it reminded me of something that Christians talk about...the "ascension" of Jesus...
She certainly poses ethereal qualities. She is unconcerned with what she considers trivial matters, but which most humans regard as necessities (like clothes.) Her ascension into heaven was not treated like a miracle, like the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Ursala hoped that Meme would become a nun and someone else would become a Pope, I don't think either of those things happened. Also Jose Arcadoi Buendia (I think it was) was skeptical of the priest and would only believe in God if he could see him and take a picture of God. So I think Marquez is very critical of religion and religion doesnt play a very important role in shaping the characters or their decisions.
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