''The Autumn of the Patriarch'' (original

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

title: ''El otoño del patriarca'') is a novel written by

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

in 1975. A "poem on the solitude of power" according to the author, the novel is a flowing tract on the life of an eternal dictator. The book is divided into six sections, each retelling the same story of the infinite power held by the archetypical

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tyrant. García Márquez based his fictional dictator on a variety of real-life leaders, including

Gustavo Rojas Pinilla Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (12 March 1900 – 17 January 1975) was a Colombian Army of Colombia, Army general, civil engineer and dictator who ruled as List of presidents of Colombia, 19th President of Colombia as from June 1953 to May 1957. Rojas ...

of his

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n homeland,

Generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

(the novel was written in

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), and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Juan Vicente Gómez Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón (24 July 1857 – 17 December 1935) was a Venezuelan military general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air ...

. The product is a universal story of the disastrous effects created by the concentration of power into a single man.

Plot introduction

The book is written in long paragraphs with extended sentences. The general's thoughts are relayed to the reader through winding sentences which convey his desperation and loneliness alongside the atrocities and ruthless behavior that keep him in power. The first three chapters begin with an omniscient and anonymous narrator finding the corpse of the General; the beginning of the third chapter reveals that the body belonged to Patricio Aragonés, whom, due to their uncanny resemblance, the general uses to fake his own death. One of the book's most striking aspects is its focus on the God-like status held by the protagonist and the unfathomable awe and respect with which his people regard him. Dictators and strongmen such as

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

Somoza The Somoza family ( es, Familia Somoza) is a former political family that ruled Nicaragua for forty-three years from 1936 to 1979. Their family dictatorship was founded by Anastasio Somoza García and was continued by his two sons Luis Somoza D ...

, and Trujillo managed to hold sway over the populations of their nations despite internal

political division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

. García Márquez symbolizes this with the discovery of the dictator's corpse in the presidential palace.

Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science

García Márquez mocks the practice of conferring high military rank on the young

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

s of autocrats and the overspending of their families and cronies. A frighteningly accurate portrait is drawn of the intelligence director who soon directs the general's every move and constructs an apparatus of terror and

political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereb ...

. This last portrait is one of the most compelling: "advisors" have often marked the corruption and descent into oppression of some of Latin America's most outstanding dictatorships. Trujillo's

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

carried out dozens of

assassinations Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

and terror campaigns against Dominican exiles under the direction of intelligence chief

Johnny Abbes García Johnny Abbes García (1924, Santo Domingo – 1967, Haiti) was the chief of the governmental intelligence office – the ''Servicio de Inteligencia Militar'' (Military Intelligence Service) – during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujill ...

Popularity

According to a research from the Spanish Book Institute, ''The Autumn of the Patriarch'' was the most popular book sold in

in 1975.

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Ilustrada, p.5, January 28, 1976 (in Portuguese)
nbsp;– Retrieved December 29, 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Autumn of the Patriarch, The 1975 novels Dictator novels Postmodern novels Novels adapted into operas Novels by Gabriel García Márquez

Plot introduction

Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science

Popularity

See also

References