Summary

The story begins with references to how life is about to return to normal following the death of “Big Mama, absolute sovereign of the Kingdom of Macondo.” The narrative then moves into the past to describe the events before, during, and after her death: the decades-old control Big Mama had over her family and the wider community; her relationship with Father Anthony Isabel (who have her the last rites); the tension with which her death was awaited; and the ceremonial adulation within which she lived her life, inheriting her father’s power at the age of 22. Narration describes how, 72 years later, Big Mama became progressively more weak and more ill; how she carefully, and with great detail, distributed her property and gave orders for how life was to proceed after she died; and how she began to list all the intangible...