Love in the Time of Cholera

Some books feel made for discussion, and I have been searching for people with whom I can share all the thoughts that this novel sparked, but I found that truly the best thing I could do was write about it here. The novel reminds me in many ways of Isabel Allende’s novels in its allegorical style, wherein the history of Colombia is deeply intertwined with the characters of the book as historical events shape their lives, and in turn, the characters shape the country, and especially the city in which the novel is set.

The key love story which forms the core of the book is that between Fermina Daza and Florentino Ariza, despite this never seeming to come off right. From the outset, Marquez’s descriptions of Florentino make him seem sallow and unattractive, and his obsession is so intense that, for me as a modern reader, I found his behaviours incredibly off-putting in their unmasked desperation. In fact, by the time Fermina rejects Florentino, I found myself glad that she was able to extricate herself from this relationship, despite it being the great romance of the book. From here it unravels into Florentino’s lifetime of debauchery in the name of love, as he becomes unhinged in his behaviours and seems beyond repentance. Throughout the novel, Florentino seemingly becomes worse and worse in his maltreatment of women, as he feels this is justified due to his fidelity to Fermina. Later in the book, his relationship with his young niece is reminiscent of Lolita and evidences the disturbed quality of his mind that he flings her away, groomed and broken, with no remorse in favour of his far-fetched hope of a life with Fermina.

Indeed, when Fermina’s husband dies, she again rejects Florentino’s advances, yet his obsessive persistence in sending her letters every few days for over a year finally wins her over. Florentino Ariza is a stalker, and Love in the Time of Cholera is not a romance novel but a gripping crime novel which shows the effects of manipulation upon the mind. When Fermina Daza finally caves to Florentino’s advances, she is lonely and aged by widowhood; she has been stalked by this predator for the majority of her life and is no longer strong enough to outrun him. Though there are undoubtedly moments of their time together which are sweet, I feel that the disapprobation of her children provides hints to the reader as to how their relationship is in the real world beyond the narrator’s perspective, which is heavily biased in favour of moralising the acts of Florentino Ariza.

Though there is much more that I would love to say about this book, I will leave this with one final musing upon the consistent use of full names for the central characters throughout the book. I feel that this reflects key elements of the book, such as the heavy reliance on letters for Florentino to secure his relationship with Fermina, and this formal use of names may be symbolic of how a letter would be signed off. Yet, it may also show how disconnected Florentino is from the other characters despite his self-perceived closeness. He is not a close acquaintance of Fermina Daza and her husband, despite how heavily they feature in his life, once again showing the difference between his warped perception and reality within the foundations of the writing of this novel.