The General in His Labyrinth

The titular labyrinth is a symbol of the General's impossible position. As he approaches his death, he is beset by a rush of memories and regrets from his past. These memories and regrets trap him inside an inescapable prison of his own past. Like the mythical labyrinth, this prison has no way out: The General cannot get away from what he has done in the past, nor can he forget the times he failed to act. The violence associated with a military uprising, such as executions and torture, has left an indelible imprint on his mind. Similarly, he remembers the women he might have loved, had he allowed himself to be emotionally vulnerable with them. These actions and inactions forge together to create a labyrinth of regret which, as his death approaches, overwhelms the General and tortures his increasingly feverish mind.

The labyrinth is an important symbol in the novel because it addresses the tension between the General's legacy and his happiness. To achieve what he has achieved would have been impossible without having regrets. As he nears death and as the Republic of Gran Colombia begins to fall apart, however, those regrets become more pronounced until they warp and overshadow the good that they accompanied. There is no way out of the labyrinth of memory for a man who has lived such as life. The labyrinth illustrates how the past dominates the present and the future, creating a prison for a tortured mind.

The labyrinth is also a symbol of uncertainty. In the complicated world of post-colonial politics in South America, nothing is certain. The nations, states, and republics that have been built by the General and others are constructed on soft, vulnerable foundations. Gran Colombia as a republic lasted from 1819 to 1831, breaking apart a year after the General's death. In the wake of its collapse, a number of countries established their own independence, ruled by the same political figures who vied for power in Gran Colombia. Trying to understand or navigate this labyrinth is impossible, even for a man like the General. People become trapped in the labyrinth of power and politics, only escaping through assassination or death.