In the epic novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, Gabriel Garcia Márquez writes about the Buendia family of the legendary Macondo. Over the generations, the Buendias are plagued by incestuous relationships; in the end they only manage to isolate themselves from society and weave unnatural bonds created by incest. The incestuous relationships of the novel allow the characters to "recreate" themselves, plunging the family into the deepest isolation. So “One Hundred Years of Solitude” is not a book about incest. Rather, incest is used both as a catalyst for, and as a way to explore, the novel's themes of memory and forgetting, circular time, and violence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Incestuous relationships as a representation of character traits and repetitiveness of characters' actions Incest is one of the main themes of the novel since its beginning, when Macondo is founded. When Ursula marries her relative José Arcadio, she refuses to consummate the marriage, fearing she will give birth to a child with a pig's tail. When Prudencio Aguilar says that Jose Arcadio is unable to impregnate his wife, Jose Arcadio kills him, only to be chased by his ghost; the couple fleeing from the town of Macondo. Although José Arcadio and Ursula are spared the fate of giving birth to a baby with a pig's tail, Ursula continues to remember the threats caused by incest, often reminding her family not to commit this sin. She remains the moral compass for her family until her death, and is the only one who remembers the past as more than a series of nostalgic memories. However, its power and influence are limited. He cannot prevent his son Jos Arcadio from becoming a gypsy or a prostitute; nor can he dissuade his nephew Arcadio from becoming Macondo's most despotic ruler or the colonel from executing a man who deserved clemency. Unable to stem the losses and tragedies that afflict the family, he cannot help them avoid the fate reserved for them when Macondo was founded. Incest creates important bonds between characters of present and past generations, further alienating them from society. For example, Auareliano and his aunt Amaranta have a sexual relationship, interrupted only by Amaranta's consciousness. Two generations later, Aureliano and Amaranta Ursula - different individuals, but who share the same names and many character traits - have a child together. Locked in a fierce passion, they forget the outside world as the city of Macondo fades away. The theme of memory loss, and its root in incest, is also linked to the concept of circular time. Forgetting their past, the Buendias repeat the mistakes of their ancestors and are unable to move forward in time. For example, when Arcadio returns after becoming a gypsy, he neglects the fact that he is related to Rebecca and marries her. Since no one connects the present to the past, the family allows this to happen. A significant metaphor for this inability is the “spinning wheel”. As Márquez writes, There was no mystery in the heart of an impenetrable Buendia for [Pilar Ternera] because a century of papers and experience had taught her that the family history was a machine of inevitable repetitions, a turning wheel that would continue to pour into eternity if it had not been for the progressive and irreparable wear of the axel (Marquez 402). The wheel, representing circular time and repetition, turns throughout the novel. Yet, as Márquez writes, “the first in line is tied to a tree and the last is eaten by ants…” (Márquez 445). Therefore, the fiber that the wheel weaves to bind the Buendia family together is delicate..