The General in His Labyrinth

The General's health deteriorates to the point that he struggles to walk unaided. After a fall, he is taken to a nearby hospital as "a thick substance" (234) begins to ooze from his left tear duct. In passing, he learns that his own army has been spreading gonorrhea through the region, so he imposes "an absolute quarantine" (238) to slow the public health crisis. The General arranges for a boat ride in the hope that a bout of seasickness will cure his ailments. He plans to leave the country because he is "determined to go anywhere rather than die here" (240). This plan is immediately cancelled when the General hears reports of the political chaos in the country because he finds "running from adversity" (241) to be distasteful.

Rather than leave the country, he sets sail for Riohacha. He hopes that by quelling the uprising in Riohacha, he can reassert control and "win at last" (243). Dr. Gastelbondo doubts that the General is strong enough to survive the journey but says that he should go anyway, as "anything's better than living like this" (244). The General spends the journey exhausted, his condition worsening. On arrival in Santa Marta, he is carried to shore on a litter. The city has always resisted the republican agenda of the General, so very few people greet him on the dock. Nevertheless, he rouses himself with "supernatural elegance" (246) to shake the hand of the few people who are waiting to welcome him. When the General is set up in a remodeled customs house, a French doctor is called. The doctor diagnoses the General with damaged lungs and "moral torment" (248). A cadre of doctors tries to implement a treatment regime, but their efforts fail. During this time, the General uses what little strength he has to arrange "the destiny of those near to him" (250), even those who have wronged him in the past. He makes sure that people in his service will be given well-paid jobs to see them into retirement.

Eventually, the General begins to accept that his death is imminent. Recognizing this, his friends try to "keep bad news from the dying General" (255). The General begins to dictate his will, but his words quickly turn into a description of his belief that "America is ungovernable" (257) and that all revolutions are doomed to fail. During the long dictation, the transcribers run out of paper and must write on the walls.

Acknowledging his imminent death, the General divides up his possessions while the doctor performs every possible treatment to try to prolong the General's life. Manuela is exiled from the country in one of General Santander's first governmental acts; after retiring to make cigars and candy for passing sailors, she dies during an epidemic at the age of 59. Outside the General's room, people shout to one another about the items that will need to be bought for his funeral. He overhears them and, when a priest and a procession of mourners enter his room, he tells them to "get those altar lights out of here" (264). After a brief resurgence, the General's health takes an irretrievable turn, and he acknowledges that he is in "the final moments" (265) of his life. He writes a final letter to the leaders of the ongoing conflict to make peace in his honor. Though the General tries to leave money to José, José feels the most fitting thing is for them "to die together" (266). After the General's death, he tries to drown his sorrows in alcohol and dies penniless and alone.

On December 10, a priest is called, and the General gives his last confession: It lasts just 14 minutes. The General looks around the untidy room, filled with borrowed furniture and sees "the truth" (267) that he is dying alone and penniless. On December 17, he dies and ends "the final brilliance of life that [will] never, through eternity, be repeated again" (268).