Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ introduces a bunch of complicated characters in the form of the Buendia family. However, no one comes as close to being as thoroughly despised as Arcadio. Arcadio, the illegitimate son of Jose Arcadio and Pilar Ternera, grows up in the family without knowing anything about his parentage. Growing up, he senses that he is an unwanted part of the family, and this eventually leads him to leave the house for good. Sometime later, he joins the rebels and, under the leadership of his uncle, Aureliano Buendia, rids Macondo of the tyrannical conservative regime. When Aureliano leaves, he puts Arcadio in charge, but that turns out to be a very poor decision. SPOILERS AHEAD
Arcadio Digs His Own Grave in the Liberal Paradise
The Liberals fight the Conservatives because they believe that the latter is dictatorial and stripping the citizens of their freedom. So, when the Liberal rebellion wins in Macondo, everyone thinks that the dictatorship is over and they can go back to being the way they were. But then, Arcadio takes the reins and proves himself an even worse choice than his predecessor. If Don Apolinar Mosco had been a thorn in the side of a liberal Macondo, Arcadio proved to be unbearable. The young man gets so drunk with power that he entirely rejects the very idea that he had fought for and turns Macondo into a totalitarian state.
People become so desperate under his rule that they ask Don Apolinar Moscote to become the mayor again because, at least then, they didn’t have to worry about getting shot and executed over the most trivial of things. Things only come under control when Ursula decides to put a stop to Arcadio’s tyranny. So, even though Arcadio still walks around in the costume of a general, the town returns to a semblance of normalcy under Ursula’s shadow. However, Aureliano doesn’t know about this. So, when he sends his messenger, he doesn’t send him to Ursula but to Arcadio.
The messenger reveals that the Conservatives are gaining ground and will be reaching Macodo in a few days. Considering that there is no Liberal army there, as almost all the fighters left town with Aureliano to join the army, Aureliano’s suggestion is to let the Conservative army take over. Their defeat is assured, but this way, at least, there will be no bloodshed, and no innocent lives will be lost. What Aureliano doesn’t know is that Arcadio is in no mood to give up. He has tasted power, and he doesn’t want to give up. So, he refuses to surrender. As expected, the Conservative army comes in with full force, and they raze over Macondo. Many people are killed, and the bloodshed stops only when Arcadio has been arrested.
Jose Arcadio Not Saving Arcadio Resonates the Sentiments of the Town
Since Arcadio declared himself the leader, the Conservative Army only wanted him. Had he surrendered, no one would have gotten hurt, which is exactly what Aureliano wanted. But Arcadio valued his life more than anyone else’s, and so many people had to pay the price. In the end, however, he concedes and finds himself in front of a firing squad, like any other Liberal leader would. The execution takes place in the cemetery in full sight of Jose Arcadio, whose house is just outside the cemetery. Considering that Arcadio is his son, one would imagine that Jose Arcadio will try to help him. Later, when Aureliano Buendia is brought there for his execution, Jose Arcadio intervenes and saves his life, but he doesn’t do anything for his own son.
The first reason behind Jose Arcadio’s lack of action is that he is not really a father to Arcadio. He may be his biological father, but Jose Arcadio spent so many years away from home that he never actually got to know his son. By the time he returned, he had changed a lot and didn’t care for relations much. Arcadio, as well, had grown up by then, and there was no way for the duo to connect with each other. Soon after, Jose Arcadio married Rebeca and moved out, following which, Arcadio, too, ventured on a path of his own. Another reason that Jose Arcadio doesn’t intervene is that he knows all the pain and suffering Arcadio has caused over the past few months of his reign, and he believes that perhaps Arcadio deserves to be put in front of the firing squad for all he had done. With no one to stop them, the firing squad does their job, and Arcadio is executed.
Read More: One Hundred Years of Solitude: Who Does Pietro Crespi End Up With: Amaranta or Rebeca?
