Commentary on Love In The Time Of Cholera Essay

It is easy to mistake Gabriel Garcia Marquezs Love in the Time of Cholera as a fairytale ending storybook romance, in which two ill-fated lovers eventually consummate their lifelong relationship. Although the two lovers eventually find one another after practically a lifetime, the novel is scattered with the motif of love as a decaying illness, cholera, and aging as a repulsive lifestyle. Florentino Ariza dedicates his whole life to nurturing his shattered heart. In which was broken by his life love Fermina Daza in their youth. The novel follows both characters through out their love affairs, imprudent families, and memories of the deadly illness Cholera and how it emerges and wipes out a massive amount of the population in Colombia. Finally death and decay begin to plague the characters greatly like the Cholera epidemic that charges Columbia. Aging becomes an imperative theme as the novel goes into flashbacks, following the lives and aging of the three main characters, Fermina Daza, Florentino Aziza, and Dr. Juvenal Urbino.

In fact, these characters often try to stop the process of aging by taking careful steps to remain young and fit. Florentino Aziza climbed up and down stairs with special care, for he had always believed that old age began with ones first minor fall and that death came with the second (313). After breaking his ankle due to a fall, Florentinos worst fears are recognized and he is sentenced to a bed. Florentino is not

the only character to be demoralized by his elderly age. As he looks back nostalgically upon his life he remembers the glorious days when he was full of constant accomplishments, travels, and respect from the people of his community. Now as he is an old physically impaired physician unable to complete simple tasks by himself. After bathing him, Fermina Daza helped him to dress: she sprinkled talcum powder between his legs, she smoothed cocoa butter on his rashes, she helped him put on his undershorts with as much love as if they had been a diaper (31).Dr. Urbino is aware that he will shortly surrender to the dullness and uncertainty of death. This is one of the many examples of Dr.Urbino being unable to complete task that we see as trivial everyday task. Another example of characters taking careful steps to inhibit aging, is the inspection of the obvious suicide of Dr.Urbinos friend, who committed suicide on his 60th birthday. Left lying beside was his suicide letter declaring his death was the result of his refusal to grow old. He took his own life in order to conserve his youth and liveliness for forever. His committed suicide out of the fear of aging and immediately sets the recurring stage for social repulsion towards the elderly and aging in general.

In their first teenage relationship they had been torn apart because of their irrational youthfulness and juvenile behavior. In their attempt to make their relationship work they encounter issues that are the opposite of immaturity, and instead relate to the decomposing of their lives. Through this one sees that Dr. Juvenal

Urbino loves his wife till the end of his life. This passionate love is the ultimate reason why he continues living through the pain and humiliation of aging. The love he has for his life and wife, Fermina Daza, never ends. Shown when he fell off a ladder into his death he then confesses to Fermina, Only God knows how much I love you! (43). I have waited for this opportunity for more than half a century, to repeat to you once again my vow of eternal fidelity and everlasting love (5). Although, love may offer hope to the many characters of the story, love never conquers the problems brought about by aging. In addition to the dying population, the novel, quite often presents the idea that love is like a violent disease decomposing the internal body and mind. In the beginning of the novel, the innocent teen Florentino Ariza suffers from a atrocious case of lovesickness for his first love, Fermina Daza. This exemplifies the theme of love being an illness much like cholera. Florentino goes through a lot of pain and suffering from being anxious that his mother calls a doctor to see him. Initially the doctor mistakes the suffering as cholera. His examination revealed that he had no fever, no pain anywhere, and that his only concrete felling was an urgent desire to die his mother concluded that there were the symptoms not of cholera but of love (62). As the story unfolds and Fermina and Florentino end their love affair, Florentino continues to be followed by the trauma of lovesickness, and is literally plagued by love.

The effects of Cholera correspond to the clear barrier of the novels underlying theme of love, and also presents a major illness that various characters must overcome and conquer. The first of which is Dr. Jueval Urbino, who wages a

successful campaign to fight the rampant plague. However, it is far too late for hundreds of lives have already been lost. Many of the cemeteries have been packed to the maximum capacity with victims of Cholera. To avoid a judgmental society, Florentino and Fermina put up a yellow flag on their riverboat, which signifies that the passengers on the boat have cholera and must be quarantined. For the first time in the novel Cholera serves not only as a reminder of death and death, but also as a facade for love. The two are destined to live out the rest of their lives together. The love of Florentino and Fermina was finally consummated, For they lived together long enough to know that love was always love, anytime and anywhere, but it was more solid the closer it came to death (345). This serves as the final testimony that while age and death surrounds humans at every moment, love is inexpressibly timeless.