 Manuela Sáenz is the General 's long @-@ time lover , his last since the death of his wife , 27 years earlier . Her character is based on Simón Bolívar 's historical mistress Doña Manuela Sáenz de Thorne , whom Bolívar dubbed " the liberator of the liberator " after she helped save him from an assassination attempt on the night of September 25 , 1828 . García Márquez 's fictional portrait stimulated a <unk> of this historical figure , who is increasingly seen , according to Venezuelan historian <unk> Romero , " not just as a mistress but as the intelligent , independent , forceful woman she was " . In the novel , she is described as " the bold <unk> who loved him but was not going to follow him to his death " . The General leaves Manuela Sáenz behind , but throughout the novel he writes to her on his journey . She also attempts to write letters to him with news of the political situation , but the mail carriers have been instructed not to accept her letters . Like the historical figure on whom she is based , the fictional Manuela Sáenz is married to Dr. James Thorne , an English physician twice her age . The historical Manuela Sáenz left Thorne after Bolívar wrote declaring his <unk> love for her . In the novel she is characterized as astute and <unk> , with " irresistible grace , a sense of power , and <unk> tenacity " . 
