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Article by Lisa Schindler (Published 18.02.2024)
“Nothing resembles a person as much as the way he dies.”
Lovesickness is a term ensconced in our dictionaries, unquestionably proving that illness and infatuation have a history of association.
Gabriel García Márquez takes this connection one step further in his esteemed novel “Love in the Time of Cholera” first published in 1985.
Late 19th century South America is filled with the scent of bitter almonds and a cholera-stricken society, supering incessant outbursts of the horrible malady. In this setting, the novel follows the obsession of Florentino Ariza with a woman called Fermina Daza. Márquez’ lyrical prose immerses the reader into the lives of both Fermina Daza and Florentino Ariza, as well as the life of Dr Juvenal Urbino as they grow old and one sees their lives consumed by obsession, love or malady. While the characters' struggles and hardships remain constant throughout the novel, their age does not, spanning their entire lives. Márquez masters time and pacing in his 20th century work of obsessive delight. The dynamic changing of perspectives opening different viewpoints for the reader immediately grips one’s attention to the 19th century endeavours of the heart.
One of the most striking aspects of Márquez's novel is the setting. Why would one set a story of love and obsession in a cholera-stricken town in South America? Why serve saccharine affection alongside sickening malady? Unquestionably the adversity of topics enhances the meaning of both, working to intensify the reader’s experience by telling a story of unrequited love in a setting of ever looming disease. When reading, one is struck by the similarities of illness and infatuation, demonstrated by Florentino Ariza, who upon the immediate rejection of his proposal to Fermina Daza becomes so incensed by sorrow that his mother almost mistakes his symptoms for cholera. Márquez’s brilliance in the setting created a story where the absurdity of hidden connections combined with incredible writing leads to inspire writers of fiction to this day.
The novel opens from the perspective of Dr. Juvenal Urbino, who later marries Fermina Daza, setting the tone for the reader. Dr. Juvenal Urbino is level headed in his naivety and most of all a talented physician in a sick society. He is widely respected for his talents and becomes the sole character in the novel that is at least partly spared the fate of the others.
Medicine plays an essential role in Márquez’s story of decay. The reader is constantly reminded of the perceived indecency of old age. Hence the importance of the doctor with counter-acting pharmaceuticals in hand. Dr. Juvenal Urbino is undoubtedly somewhat separate from the other characters. If this is caused by his rather merciful experiences with love, at least compared to the obsessive romance of Fermina Daza and Florentino Ariza, or his necessary and perhaps embedded emotional distance as a practitioner of medicine remains unclear. What appears as the most startling difference however, is the fact of his death. Not only does Dr. Juvenal Urbino die before the end of the novel, he dies what is deemed a very unremarkable death by society. This goes to the extent of Florentino Daza believing that “no death could resemble the man he was thinking about less than this one.” Yet it is essential that Dr. Urbino dies. In a novel where themes of obsessive love and unrelenting illness are presented as slowly and unforgiving wearing their victims down, death in stark contrast remains the single most merciful aspect. Especially a death like Dr. Juvenal Urbino’s; swift and devoid of dramatics.
While love is arguably the least important part of “Love in the Time of Cholera”, being overshadowed instead by decay and obsession, it is still notable that love remains to have an unquestionable importance in association with death. “There is no greater glory than to die for love.” is what Florentino Ariza says to Fermina Daza’s father, and he stands by it throughout the novel. Therefore also the implied significance of Dr. Juvenal Urbino’s death, who, while being of chivalrous character, dies an insignificant death. This potentially confirms Florentino Ariza’s dislike of him, beyond the fact that he was also married to the woman Ariza believed to be in love with. In addition, death can not be left out of the equation, as it has an integral role in the novel.
Most obviously, Márquez chose to start off with the death of the minor character, Jeremiah de Saint-Amour. When one has read the entire book, this beginning seems rather unimportant and slightly misleading. One of the only interesting aspects about it is that Jeremiah de Saint-Amour dies through suicide. More specifically because he does not want to grow old, deeply disgusted with the natural decay of the human body. Here one once again sees the recurring theme of the indecency of old age that is strung like a web throughout the entire novel. To begin the story with a character who so obviously portrays this may be considered Márquez’s way of presenting death as the most dignified way out of decay. This is what fundamentally defines the novel. It is not a love story nor any tale of romance, it is a story about decay and how it is dealt with. Márquez’s novel is an epic that takes the reader on an odyssey through a world where deterioration is the norm, be it through love or illness. It portrays how lines blur, and how persistent obsession is like inherent rot: Eating away at its victims and remaining infuriatingly, unshakably, present throughout lives.
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