love in the time of cholera by gabriel garcía márquez

This hints at the heavy use of magic realism throughout the rest of the novel. Daza, without emotion, simply tells him Ariza to go away and not return.

Florentino Ariza arrives and, after many of the guests have left, approaches Fermina Daza and once again declares his undying love for her. This is witnessed early on in the novel at the wake of Dr Urbino. Although the very concept of a force that endures the test of over half a century (Ariza’s supposed undying love for Fermina Daza) is already an abnormal concept, the magic realism of Marquez’s writing can be found in the reactions of his characters to the concept. When magical realism is employed in fiction, the two opposing natures of the fantastic and the realistic prevent each other from coming to their full fruition. With regard to a definition, Stephen Slemon makes note of the term’s oxymoronic nature and how it is itself a conflict between two forces (Slemon, 1988: 11).

Garcia Marquez’s penchant for magical realism is seen throughout the novel and elevates the story above the common romance tale. Besides this, an explanation of the context of the novel and how Latin American literature differs from its North American counterpart will be explored.

Special attention will also be paid to the main characters of the novel and how they amount to far more than simple mannequins placed in romantic scenes. This will be done by examining various excerpts from the book and identifying the use of magic realism within them. Thus, this essay will attempt to prove the credibility of the novel as a work of postmodernism. Yet if one were to fully examine the novel, one would find that Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s hailed masterpiece is exactly that, a masterpiece. The novel’s short length does nothing to discredit these accusations of frivolity either. Even the story’s main plot points appear to have been lifted directly from a shallow romantic novel or even its film adaptation - a love triangle that survives the test of time, a protagonist who makes it his life’s work to make himself worthy of his beloved, an ending which is ultimately a happy one. Ariza’s answer as the last line in the book and its placement as the conclusion to the tale make it, for less romantically inclined readers, all the more cringe-worthy. Thanks to this simple word - Florentino Ariza’s answer to the Riverboat captain’s question when asked how long he intends to keep the boat going - it is not hard to understand why many critics would label Love in the time of Cholera a love story of astonishing power.

Love in the time of cholera by gabriel garcía márquez