The End of Love, Time, and Cholera

Finishing books always leaves me a bit sad inside. I guess after investing so much time and energy, I feel like I have become a part of the story and know the characters intimately. With that being said, I had an especially difficult time ending Love in the Time of Cholera. For some reason, Florentino’s pursuits and Fermina’s mood swings left me entranced, and I seem to have a void (which will probably be gone with in a few minutes).

Though magical realism plays a large role in this novel, I felt that there were plenty of realistic aspects throughout the novel. One of the aspects of life Marquez best portrayed was marriage. Dr. Urbino sums it up best when he says, “Always remember that the most important thing in a good marriage is not happiness, but stability” (300). Maybe I’m a cynic, but I do not believe that every person ends up marrying the person he or she truly loves. Often times there are certain advantages to getting married, and the love eventually increases over time. In addition, Marquez also portrays the constant mother in law/wife tensions which are sure to keep any man on his toes, and Dr. Urbino tries his best to appease both sides, often not really helping out either. In addition, Marquez remarked how Fermina’s children took up the majority of her time and that this was something Dr. Urbino eventually had to get used. I see the same thing in my own family, as I know that my sister and I come first to both of my parents. That’s not to say that Dr. Urbino and Fermina did not have any love. Their love was just different from that of a character like Florentino in that it was based on more than just passion.

While I liked Marquez’s representation of marriage, a few aspects of Florentino ended up disappointing me. I think he acted very selfishly when he ended up using too many women in his singular drive for Fermina. Sometimes his actions were ok, but other times lead to disastrous consequences. One example I remember is his rendezvous with Olympia Zuleta. While the whole she gets killed by her husband part isn’t entirely his fault, (how could she not remember she had pain on her body?) the way in which he acts after that is terrible. Instead of feeling remorse, he is only scared that he will get killed, or worse—that Fermina will find out about his love affair. In addition, Florentino seems to show little grief when America dies, failing to consider that he is not the only person who can be madly in love with others. Also, his attempts at winning over Fermina’s heart are cheapened in my eyes when he sends that slanderous article regarding Dr. Urbino and a love affair.

In the end, Love in the Time of Cholera starts just as it began: having elements of love, time, and death. All three are essential parts of the human experience though it’s nice to see the contrast between the two scenes. A love ends in the first section, only to have its place taken by a more passionate love in the last chapter. A couple learns to ward off the ravages of time, something Jeremiah de Saint-Amour was too scared to do. Fermina Daza learns to accept and move on from a death seen in the first chapter. In the end, Marquez’s novel can be seen as encouragement to keep on living life because you never know what can happen. (599)


Excuse my blog for being late, apparently I misunderstood you in class and I thought you had said our blog is due sometime during the week.