Love in the Time of Cholera
question
Is Love in the Time of Cholera really about love or is it a satire with love being a metaphor for something else?
Somi wrote:
The only real love in that book was the love of Dr. Urbino for Fermina Daza.
Eh? On what grounds can you argue this? When you long for someone, is that not love?
Florentino Ariza to me is kind of a silly man, hung up on his idea of Fermina, which is not even close to who she really is.
But the novel demonstrates that all of our relationships are based on not knowing who another person really is. As do many other great novels.
Ariza wins her in the end; and to me that says his vision was correct. He may have been silly during his long wait, but I see nothing wrong with hanging on to a dream. Gatsby did that, too.
Don't forget that Fermina fell out of love with Florentino. She saw him as a sad, pathetic creature, even before she met Dr. Urbino.
But she later changed her mind. Anyway, I want to raise this point with you: its been established (via survey) that today's modern women take a dim view of 'lovers who refuse to give up'; but in previous eras it was seen as the highest form of loyalty. You might unconsciously be affected by this when you render your judgment on Ariza. Times change.
Maybe the book is really about relationships, how some grow and become stronger ..... and how some just hold you back e.g Florentino's lifelong relationship with his idea of Fermina.
On the contrary, I think his love gave him life; rather than restricted it from him.
Aisha wrote:
Florinto was a sexual predator.
No, he wasn't. He is a character very deftly written to represent the way people are in real life (actual people have many sides to them, they are multi-dimensional).
He even states that when a women says no she just needs to be presuded.
So what? He can say that, he and other Latin males (whether real or fictional) can express lots of similar beliefs, without being incorrect. Its part of their culture and valid for their culture. Its at least as true for them as suggesting that " 'no' always represents some kind of American-legal-system 'no'" (taken from our country).
He actively hides the fact that he was having sex with a 14 year old girl (his God daughter) when he is 65 years old,
But he wasn't hiding it exclusively--or even primarily--for the reasons you imply. As I recall, he was hiding it simply for reasons of discretion; not because of her age. Such things were common around the globe for a long, long time...and you will notice that in the story, the society depicted is not up-in-arms about the concept. Perhaps you need to travel outside the United States a bit more.
(similiar to that of Humbert Humbert of Lolita though personally I think that book was a love story).
Wow. And 'Cholera' is *not* a love story?
Then when the young girl kills herself because he tossed her aside as nothing all because he could get his "first love" back, he treated it like she was just a fly. He had no respect for women at all.
Women --in general--don't get a lot of respect around the world and certainly in South American countries and its nothing new. But, disrespect from someone who has been your lover is different than a man disrespecting towards women as a gender. Ariza seems no more disrespectful than any other man of his era and in fact, seems to me to be extraordinary high-minded about women in general.
But nevermind. The real question here is, do you realize that people in other countries have valid cultural traditions, customs, behaviors, and psychology which doesn't match our childish and immature 'American way' of seeing the world?
America is a couple hundred years old; meanwhile how old is Latin culture? These individuals should change because we say so?
The only real love in that book was the love of Dr. Urbino for Fermina Daza.
Eh? On what grounds can you argue this? When you long for someone, is that not love?
Florentino Ariza to me is kind of a silly man, hung up on his idea of Fermina, which is not even close to who she really is.
But the novel demonstrates that all of our relationships are based on not knowing who another person really is. As do many other great novels.
Ariza wins her in the end; and to me that says his vision was correct. He may have been silly during his long wait, but I see nothing wrong with hanging on to a dream. Gatsby did that, too.
Don't forget that Fermina fell out of love with Florentino. She saw him as a sad, pathetic creature, even before she met Dr. Urbino.
But she later changed her mind. Anyway, I want to raise this point with you: its been established (via survey) that today's modern women take a dim view of 'lovers who refuse to give up'; but in previous eras it was seen as the highest form of loyalty. You might unconsciously be affected by this when you render your judgment on Ariza. Times change.
Maybe the book is really about relationships, how some grow and become stronger ..... and how some just hold you back e.g Florentino's lifelong relationship with his idea of Fermina.
On the contrary, I think his love gave him life; rather than restricted it from him.
Aisha wrote:
Florinto was a sexual predator.
No, he wasn't. He is a character very deftly written to represent the way people are in real life (actual people have many sides to them, they are multi-dimensional).
He even states that when a women says no she just needs to be presuded.
So what? He can say that, he and other Latin males (whether real or fictional) can express lots of similar beliefs, without being incorrect. Its part of their culture and valid for their culture. Its at least as true for them as suggesting that " 'no' always represents some kind of American-legal-system 'no'" (taken from our country).
He actively hides the fact that he was having sex with a 14 year old girl (his God daughter) when he is 65 years old,
But he wasn't hiding it exclusively--or even primarily--for the reasons you imply. As I recall, he was hiding it simply for reasons of discretion; not because of her age. Such things were common around the globe for a long, long time...and you will notice that in the story, the society depicted is not up-in-arms about the concept. Perhaps you need to travel outside the United States a bit more.
(similiar to that of Humbert Humbert of Lolita though personally I think that book was a love story).
Wow. And 'Cholera' is *not* a love story?
Then when the young girl kills herself because he tossed her aside as nothing all because he could get his "first love" back, he treated it like she was just a fly. He had no respect for women at all.
Women --in general--don't get a lot of respect around the world and certainly in South American countries and its nothing new. But, disrespect from someone who has been your lover is different than a man disrespecting towards women as a gender. Ariza seems no more disrespectful than any other man of his era and in fact, seems to me to be extraordinary high-minded about women in general.
But nevermind. The real question here is, do you realize that people in other countries have valid cultural traditions, customs, behaviors, and psychology which doesn't match our childish and immature 'American way' of seeing the world?
America is a couple hundred years old; meanwhile how old is Latin culture? These individuals should change because we say so?
The only real love in that book was the love of Dr. Urbino for Fermina Daza. (Only God will ever know how much I have loved you.)
Florentino Ariza to me is kind of a silly man, hung up on his idea of Fermina, which is not even close to who she really is.
Don't forget that Fermina fell out of love with Florentino. She saw him as a sad, pathetic creature, even before she met Dr. Urbino.
Maybe the book is really about relationships, how some grow and become stronger e.g Dr. Urbino and Fermina Daza..... and how some just hold you back e.g Florentino's lifelong relationship with his idea of Fermina.
Florentino Ariza to me is kind of a silly man, hung up on his idea of Fermina, which is not even close to who she really is.
Don't forget that Fermina fell out of love with Florentino. She saw him as a sad, pathetic creature, even before she met Dr. Urbino.
Maybe the book is really about relationships, how some grow and become stronger e.g Dr. Urbino and Fermina Daza..... and how some just hold you back e.g Florentino's lifelong relationship with his idea of Fermina.
I couldn't figure this book. Maybe something is wrong with me, but I thought is was just plain stupid.
Florinto was a sexual predator. He even states that when a women says no she just needs to be presuded. He actively hides the fact that he was having sex with a 14 year old girl (his God daughter) when he is 65 years old, (similiar to that of Humbert Humbert of Lolita though personally I think that book was a love story). Then when the young girl kills herself because he tossed her aside as nothing all because he could get his "first love" back, he treated it like she was just a fly. He had no respect for women at all.
You can't take a book like "Love" too seriously--it's magical realism, remember. I love this book because it renews my hope in love. It doesn't matter how old we get; love is always a possibility. Getting to that love maybe fraught with difficulty--but you get there, and it's worth it. I can understand why some people wouldn't like it (not because of the old people sex, either). The style is difficult; you have to be able to suspend your disbelief. Garcia Marquez isn't for everybody, and that's OK.
Reader has own perspectives and is free to draw his own conclusions.The metaphor if any is not same as in The Plague(Albert Camus) or in Metamorphosis(Kafka).Love is also sickness and its remedy is Love. The emptiness created for want of love is deep and exhibits in many ways...no one has ever said it better than Marquez.
I always have found this novel to be wonderful—a variation of the Romeo and Juliet tragedy. And, in some ways, Marquez' conclusion is more tragic.
Interesting how men and women read this novel differently. Per the above post, Florentino is seen as despicable. I guess I'll have to review it—make a close reading of the text to see if I missed some intention on Marquez' part.
Hmmmm . . .
Interesting how men and women read this novel differently. Per the above post, Florentino is seen as despicable. I guess I'll have to review it—make a close reading of the text to see if I missed some intention on Marquez' part.
Hmmmm . . .
It is a story of a great love that lasts through a lifetime.
Care to elaborate on what annoyed you?
Maybe something's wrong with me, but I quite liked it.
I didn't find love to be a metaphor but for illness, and various other destructive forces in the novel to be metaphors for the debilitating pains of love.
Maybe something's wrong with me, but I quite liked it.
I didn't find love to be a metaphor but for illness, and various other destructive forces in the novel to be metaphors for the debilitating pains of love.
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