百年孤独(英文版)-第51章
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the idea of saving her for the world； she had tried to get her interested in basic domestic affairs。 “Men demand much more than you think；？she would tell her enigmatically。 “There’s a lot of cooking； a lot of sweeping； a lot of suffering over little things beyond what you think。？She was deceiving herself within； trying to train her for domestic happiness because she was convinced that once his passion was satisfied them would not be a man on the face of the earth capable of tolerating even for a day a negligence that was beyond all understanding。 The birth of the latest Jos？Arcadio and her unshakable will to bring him up to be Pope finally caused her to cease worrying about her great…granddaughter。 She abandoned her to her fate； trusting that sooner or later a miracle would take place and that in this world of everything there would also be a man with enough sloth to put up with her。 For a long time already Amaranta had given up trying to make her into a useful woman。 Since those forgotten afternoons when her niece barely had enough interest to turn the crank on the sewing machine； she had reached the conclusion that she was simpleminded。 “Were going to have to raffle you off；？she would tell her； perplexed at the fact that men’s words would not penetrate her。 Later on； when ？rsula insisted that Remedios the Beauty go to mass with her face covered with a shawl； Amaranta thought that a mysterious recourse like that would turn out to be so provoking that soon a man would e who would be intrigued enough to search out patiently for the weak point of her heart。 But when she saw the stupid way in which she rejected a pretender who for many reasons was more desirable than a prince； she gave up all hope。 Fernanda did not even make any attempt to understand her。 When she saw Remedios the Beauty dressed as a queen at the bloody carnival she thought that she was an extraordinary creature。 But when she saw her eating with her hands； incapable of giving an answer that was not a miracle of simplemindedness； the only thing that she lamented was the fact that the idiots in the family lived so long。 In spite of the fact that Colonel Aureliano Buendía kept on believing and repeating that Remedios the Beauty was in reality the most lucid being that he had ever known and that she showed it at every moment with her startling ability to put things over on everyone； they let her go her own way。 Remedios the Beauty stayed there wandering through the desert of solitude； bearing no cross on her back； maturing in her dreams without nightmares； her interminable baths； her unscheduled meals； her deep and prolonged silences that had no memory until one afternoon in March； when Fernanda wanted to fold her brabant sheets in the garden and asked the women in the house for help。 She had just begun when Amaranta noticed that Remedios the Beauty was covered all over by an intense paleness。
“Don’t you feel well？？she asked her。
Remedios the Beauty； who was clutching the sheet by the other end； gave a pitying smile。
“Quite the opposite；？she said； “I never felt better。？
She had just finished saying it when Fernanda felt a delicate wind of light pull the sheets out of her hands and open them up wide。 Amaranta felt a mysterious trembling in the lace on her petticoats and she tried to grasp the sheet so that she would not fall down at the instant in which Remedios the Beauty began to rise。 ？rsula； almost blind at the time； was the only person who was sufficiently calm to identify the nature of that determined wind and she left the sheets to the mercy of the light as she watched Remedios the Beauty waving good…bye in the midst of the flapping sheets that rose up with her； abandoning with her the environment of beetles and dahlias and passing through the air with her as four o’clock in the afternoon came to an end； and they were lost forever with her in the upper atmosphere where not even the highest…flying birds of memory could reach her。
The outsiders； of course； thought that Remedios the Beauty had finally succumbed to her irrevocable fate of a queen bee and that her family was trying to save her honor with that tale of levitation。 Fernanda； burning with envy； finally accepted the miracle； and for a long time she kept on praying to God to send her back her sheets。 Most people believed in the miracle and they even lighted candles and celebrated novenas。 Perhaps there might have been talk of nothing else for a long time if the barbarous extermination of the Aurelianos had not replaced amazement with honor。 Although he had never thought of it as an omen； Colonel Aureliano Buendía had foreseen the tragic end of his sons in a certain way。 When Aureliano Serrador and Aureliano Arcaya； the two who arrived during the tumult； expressed a wish to stay in Macondo； their father tried to dissuade them。 He could not understand what they were going to do in a town that had been transformed into a dangerous place overnight。 But Aureliano Centeno and Aureliano Triste； backed by Aureliano Segundo。 gave them work in their businesses。 Colonel Aureliano Buendía had reasons that were still very confused and were against that determination。 When he saw Mr。 Brown in the first automobile to reach Macondo—an orange convertible with a horn that frightened dogs with its bark—the old soldier grew indignant with the servile excitement of the people and he realized that something had changed in the makeup of the men since the days when they would leave their wives and children and toss a shotgun on their shoulders to go off to war。 The local authorities； after the armistice of Neerlandia； were mayors without initiative； decorative judges picked from among the peaceful and tired Conservatives of Macondo。 “This is a regime of wretches；？Colonel Aureliano Buendía would ment when he saw the barefoot policemen armed with wooden clubs pass。 “We fought all those wars and all of it just so that we didn’t have to paint our houses blue。？When the banana pany arrived； however； the local functionaries were replaced by dictatorial foreigners whom Mr。 Brown brought to live in the electrified chicken yard so that they could enjoy； as he explained it； the dignity that their status warranted and so that they would not suffer from the heat and the mosquitoes and the countless disforts and privations of the town。 The old policemen were replaced by hired assassins with machetes。 Shut up in his workshop； Colonel Aureliano Buendía thought about those changes and for the first time in his quiet years of solitude he was tormented by the definite certainty that it had been a mistake not to have continued the war to its final conclusion。 During that time a brother of the forgotten Colonel Magnífico Visbal was taking his seven…year…old grandson to get a soft drink at one of the pushcarts on the square and because the child accidentally bumped into a corporal of police and spilled the drink on his uniform； the barbarian cut him to pieces with his machete； and with one stroke he cut off the head of the grandfather as he tried to stop him。 The whole town saw the decapitated man pass by as a group of men carried him to his house； with a woman dragging the head along by its hair； and the bloody sack with the pieces of the child。
For Colonel Aureliano Buendía it meant the limits of atonement。 He suddenly found himself suffering from the same indignation that he had felt in his youth over the body of the woman who had been beaten to death because she had been bitten by a rabid dog。 He looked at the groups of bystanders in front of the house and with his old stentorian voice； restored by a deep disgust with himself； he unloaded upon them the burden of hate that he could no longer bear in his heart。
“One of these days；？he shouted； I’m going to arm my boys so we can get rid of these shitty gringos！？
During the course of that week； at different places along the coast； his seventeen sons were hunted down like rabbits by invisible criminals who aimed at the center of their crosses of ash。 Aureliano Triste was leaving the house with his mother at seven in the evening when a rifle shot came out of the darkness and perforated his forehead。 Aureliano Centeno was found in the hammock that he was accustomed to hang up in the factory with an icepick between his eyebrows driven in up to the handle。 Aureliano Serrador had left his girl friend at her parents？house after having taken her to the movies and was returning through the well…lighted Street of the Turks when someone in the crowd who was never identified fired a revolver shot which knocked him over into a caldron of boiling lard。 A few minutes later someone knocked at the door of the room where Aureliano Arcaya was shut up with a woman and shouted to him： “Hurry up； they’re killing your brothers。？The woman who was with him said later that Aureliano Arcaya jumped out of bed and opened the door and was greeted with the discharge of a Mauser that split his head open。 On that night of death； while the house was preparing to hold a wake for the four corpses； Fernanda ran through the town like a madwoman looking for Aureliano Segundo； whom Petra Cotes had locked up in a closet； thinking that the order of extermination included all who bore the colonel’
