One Sentence by Gabriel García Márquez

(An Attempt at Textual Analysis)

Abstract

The text is an analysis of the first sentence om García Márquez novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. The analysis is inspired by the method of Roland Barthes presented in his S/Z. It aims at reconstructing the literary genealogy of this sentence, showing its incredible richness of meaning and treatment of novelistic time. The sentence is divided into microlexias, which are then examined as separate units. A meticulous analysis reveals their entanglement in numerous literary contexts that have typically escaped previous research. Considering the sentence from the perspective of the narrative of the entire novel, with particular reference to its ending, also highlights the writer’s specific approach to literary fiction and its relationship to the reader. In this way it tries to explain why this sentence is considered one of the most genius sentence in contemporary literature. The text is a part of a planned monograph analyzing the opening sentences of great novels in Western literature.