Santa Sofia de la Piedad Character Analysis in One Hundred Years of Solitude

When Arcadio falls in love with Pilar Ternera, unaware that she is his mother, Pilar pays Santa Sofia de la Piedad, a virgin, 50 pesos to sleep with him instead. She has three children with Arcadio: Remedios the Beauty, and twins José Arcadio Segundo and Aureliano Segundo. She works hard all of her life without complaint, so much so that family members mistake her for a servant rather than a matriarch.

Santa Sofia de la Piedad Quotes in One Hundred Years of Solitude

The One Hundred Years of Solitude quotes below are all either spoken by Santa Sofia de la Piedad or refer to Santa Sofia de la Piedad. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the HarperCollins edition of One Hundred Years of Solitude published in 1970.

Úrsula did not get up again after the nine nights of mourning for Amaranta, Santa Sofia de la Piedad took care of her. She took her meals to her bedroom and annatto water for her to wash in and kept her up to date on everything that happened in Macondo. Aureliano Segundo visited her frequently and he brought her clothing which she would place beside the bed along with the things most indispensible for daily life, so that in a short time she had built up a world within reach of her hand.

Related Characters: , , ,

Page Number and Citation: 283

Explanation and Analysis:

Santa Sofia de la Piedad Character Timeline in One Hundred Years of Solitude

The timeline below shows where the character Santa Sofia de la Piedad appears in One Hundred Years of Solitude. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Propriety, Sexuality, and Incest Theme Icon

...to leave his door unlocked that night for her. Pilar pays a young virgin named Santa Sofia de la Piedad fifty pesos to go in her place and Arcadio falls in love. Later, when Arcadio... (full context)

...are confirmed. She passes his new house and sees his six-month-old daughter and the pregnant Santa Sofia de la Piedad . A woman enters town on a donkey and goes to the barracks and introduces... (full context)

...establish his headquarters there and is greeted by Colonel Gerineldo Márquez. Úrsula has taken in Santa Sofia de la Piedad and her daughter and twin sons, born several months before. The girl’s name is Remedios,... (full context)

...the nine nights of mourning, Úrsula goes to bed and does not get up again. Santa Sofia de la Piedad takes care of her. From bed, Úrsula teaches little Amaranta Úrsula to read. With all... (full context)

...secret from everyone. She locks the child in Colonel Aureliano Buendía’s old workshop and tells Santa Sofia de la Piedad and Amaranta Úrsula that she found the child floating in a basket. Even Úrsula never... (full context)

He returns home and Santa Sofia de la Piedad hides him from Fernanda in the chamber pot room. Aureliano Segundo is also in the... (full context)

...remains in hiding in the workshop, asking for the door to remain padlocked, and only Santa Sofia de la Piedad remembers that he remains inside. He peruses the inscrutable manuscripts of Melquíades. Six months later,... (full context)

...might see the body, but Fernanda won’t permit it and refuses to take the shoes. Santa Sofia de la Piedad cuts the throat of José Arcadio Segundo to ensure that they are not burying him... (full context)

Aureliano doesn’t leave Melquíades’s laboratory for a long time. Santa Sofia de la Piedad sees to his care and feeding. Melquíades appears to Aureliano and asks if he has... (full context)

...so that Fernanda might eat. She continues this until she sees Fernanda’s funeral procession pass. Santa Sofia de la Piedad should get some much needed rest now that the house is mostly empty. Over the... (full context)