In Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez makes it pretty clear from the beginning that the love affair between Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza is doomed. There are many signs that are like bright, flashing lights to tell the reader that this relationship will be difficult for the two lovers. Numerous things go wrong in the beginning stages of Fermina and Florentino’s relationship that are signals that there will be problems between these two lovers. However, in my opinion, there was never any true love between these two characters. Florentino Ariza has an unhealthy physiological obsession for Fermina Daza that he mistakes for love while Fermina Daza was merely being a rebellious teenager who faked a love for Florentino Ariza.
Many instances in the first two sections of the novel portray Ariza’s obsession for Fermina Daza. This obsession is a physiological condition that is quite different from true love. The reader first notices Florentino’s intense fixation for Fermina when he begins to stalk Fermina in the park. Florentino watches Fermina walk by on her way to school every day for weeks while pretending to read the newspaper. Waiting for Fermina to walk by each morning is an act of unhealthy obsession, not true love. This action is creepy. In addition to thinking about Fermina every moment of the day, Florentino composes a seventy-page letter of compliments about her! While writing a love letter may be viewed as a cute act of devotion, the long narrative that Florentino composes is once again creepy. Similarly, Florentino literally stalks Fermina by watching her through the window of her house. These actions of Florentino’s part appear to the reader as an obsessive devotion that is not true love. A true lover of Fermina would make better choices and not act so obsessively to win Fermina’s heart. Also, Florentino’s love for Fermina stems from the wrong reasons. He immediately becomes devoted to her after taking a quick glance at her while delivering a package to her father. This quick glance does not seem like a sufficient cause of falling in true love with somebody. It makes Floretino’s feelings seem similar to a sickness, like cholera, not true love. Florentino appears to be mentally obsessed with Fermina, not truly in love with her.
Fermina, on the other hand, appears to not actually love Florentino, but merely claims to love him in an act of teenage defiance. For much of this section, Fermina outwardly expresses that she does not love Florentino. She refuses to accept the camellia, “the flower of devotion” from Florentino. This act symbolically displays that Fermina is not willing to commit to Florentino as a true lover. From this point forward, Fermina acts as a distant and sometimes uncaring lover to Florentino. In this section, the reader also notices that Fermina’s affection toward Florentino greatly intensifies when the love becomes forbidden. Fermina begins to have stronger feelings toward Florentino when she is expelled from school for writing a love letter to him. Her passion of love for him increases as soon as this love is deemed taboo. Loving Florentino becomes a rebellious act. Fermina’s teenage mind has an urging for rebellion so she fakes a true passion for him. Likewise, Fermina’s love for Florentino also increases when the act is forbidden by her father, Lorenzo Daza. Fermina wants her father to have no control over her so when Mr. Daza forbids her to love Florentino, she increases her devotion to Florentino. Fermina feigns true love for Florentino in order to rebel against her father in an attempt to display that he has no control over her life. Fermina’s love for Florentino is an act of rebellion, not a feeling of sincere love.
While Florentino has a mental obsession for Fermina, Fermina fakes a love for Florentino in order to defy her school and her father. This feigned love contrasts the true love between Dr. Urbino and Fermina. Urbino and Fermina had a true passion for one another. When Dr. Urbino was dying, his only hope was that Fermina would come quickly enough so that he could tell her how much he truly loved her. Likewise, Fermina’s biggest regret about Urbino’s death was that she never had a chance to express how much she truly loved him. Urbino and Fermina displayed true love for one another in wishing to express their respective devotions before death. This true love contrasts the forged feelings that Fermina and Florentino feel for one another. (749)
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2 comments:
Gray--Even though I don't agree with some of what you wrote, I like the fact that you take a stand, declare your position, and explore why you are reacting the way you are to the characters, especially Florentino. I guess the only thing I'm not sure about is what the other decisions are that he might have made. If he doesn't watch her from the bench in the park across the street, it seems to me he never sees her at all. Would that be preferable in your view?
Gary Gold, I particularly enjoyed your views on Fermina's reasons for love. Often times we find that the most exciting things in life are those that are forbidden from society. You express a strong opinion of dislike for Florentino's style of "love," but I urge you to look at it through an open mind. As you progress through the novel, you will undoubtedly come across a different Florentino and Fermina.
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