“Love in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a heart touching book. The world where we live in is in need of sacrifice and the book entails an intellectual author like Garcia Marquez to save it from destruction. This novel is based on life, love, death and old age. The best roles are those of the main characters: Florentino Ariza, Fermina Daza, Dr. Juvenal Urbino Lorenzo Daza and Aunt Escolastica.
The best message this book teaches us is that love is not to be disappointed with. Life is full of chances. One should not be disappointed when he runs into obstacles in his life even though he spends half of it suffering from sorrows. The most beautiful thing is to wait for the right time. One should try his level best to be patient as one day or another they will bear the fruit of their patience. This is a similar lesson one gets after reading the book. The best roles in this regard are performed by Florentino as he is seen to have kept his patience. He ultimately receives the reward for it. He swears to stay faithful and waits for his beloved to return to him.
True Love
True love never ends. It matters not how far two lovers are and keep distance from each other. If they keep pure feelings for each other in their hearts their love never vanishes rather becomes stronger. To get something one has to lose a lot of things in return, like time, age and much more. Florentino shows a very similar type of transition. He wasted his youth and time and suffered when he was young but at the end he gains his love in old age. There is no shortcut to getting something; if one stays firm and committed, the reward is his.
Class and Caste
This a great lesson for readers and an example of many societies. This little bit really attracts one’s attention towards thinking that the souls of one God are divided into classes. These castes create conflict. For instance, in the book the main hero is not liked by Fermina’s Father because of their class difference. He was even called “Son of a bitch” by Lorenzo Daze and asked not to meet his daughter again because of him belonging to a lower class family. Our society also in a similar way thinks that lower class families affect their image and there is no respect for them. In many communities they are not even considered human beings. All in all, the book reflects every such society where class systems exist in today’s ‘modern world.’
No Rights for Girls
There is no participation for girls for making decisions and deciding their future. They are considered inferior in all fields of life especially in some conservative societies. This concept is wonderfully illustrated when Fermina’s father becomes aware about her love for Florentino. He forces his daughter to stop seeing Florentino immediately but she refuses to do so. Resultantly, she is punished in the shape of moving from her current place to her native place. Regardless of the distance and being far away from each other, Florentino and Fermina still continue to communicate through telegraph and exchange of letters. On the other side, her cousin Hildebranda also confronts the same issue. She too does not get her love and gets no right to decide her future. It is a highlighted message for readers to comprehend and be able to learn to give value to females as well.
Wealth and Unhappiness
This is a praiseworthy theme. Mostly people have lots of commodities and access to enough facilities to live but keep wishing for more and more, making themselves a victim of depression. They think that gaining in wealth will make them happier. Fermina had all the necessary things to lead a good life. However, being the wife of Dr. Butt, a wealthy man, she still said, “I am unhappy there is not enough room for things. The doctor replied, “Always remember that the most important thing in a good marriage is not happiness, but stability.” It is a great message that whatever Allah has blessed us with, we should be thankful for it and accept it in order to lead a happy life.
Thus, ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’ is an outstanding piece by Garcia Marquez based on subjects and themes that are too closely tied to our societies and still need more discussions. Readers of this book understand almost many aspects of life. Over all, “Love in the Time of Cholera” is a praiseworthy piece of work which I consider a must read for everyone.
The reviewer studies in I-WELL Academy Turbat, Kech
Published in Daily Times, November 15th 2017.