Cholera" is imbued with the magical realism for which García Márquez is renowned. The narrative includes fantastical elements such as a doll that appears to grow and a ghostly apparition, though the supernatural aspects are more restrained compared to those in "One Hundred Years of Solitude." This subtle infusion of magic enhances the novel's atmosphere, creating a world where the extraordinary coexists with the everyday.

The novel's structure defies linear storytelling, opting instead for a multifaceted narrative that shifts between characters and timelines. The story begins on the day of Dr. Urbino's death, then delves into the history of Florentino and Fermina's initial meeting. García Márquez masterfully navigates these shifts, layering perspectives and backgrounds to enrich the reader's understanding of the characters and their intertwined lives.

Exploring the Theme of Love

At its core, "Love in the Time of Cholera" is a meditation on love in its myriad forms. Love permeates every corner of the novel, manifesting as carnal, obsessive, invented, convenient, and unrequited. Most importantly, it celebrates the triumph of true love. Through Florentino's unwavering dedication and eventual conquest of Fermina's heart, García Márquez conveys the profound satisfaction and endurance of genuine love. The novel suggests that, despite the various guises love may take, it remains the driving force that shapes human existence.

The Journey Over the Destination

Unlike traditional narratives, the novel's climax is subtle and understated. Instead of building toward a dramatic peak, it emphasizes the significance of each moment, each scene, and each character interaction. The journey itself becomes paramount, mirroring Florentino's patient pursuit and the reader's engagement with the unfolding story. This approach requires a reader willing to savor the process, to appreciate the intricate details, and to embrace the diverse manifestations of love presented throughout the novel.

In "Love in the Time of Cholera," García Márquez has crafted a work that, although perhaps overshadowed by "One Hundred Years of Solitude," stands as a testament to his literary mastery. It invites readers to immerse themselves in a world where love reigns supreme, transcending time, circumstance, and convention.

Colombia

Situated in the northwest region of South America, Colombia is a Spanish-speaking nation that was part of the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century. Its landscape features the Andes Mountains to the west, the plains to the east, and the lowlands along the Caribbean coast, where much of the action in Love in the Time of Cholera occurs. Early Spanish explorers Rodrigo de Bastidas and Francisco Pizarro were the first to map the Colombian coastline, and the port city of Cartagena was established by Pedro de Heredia in 1533. During the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries under Spanish rule, native populations were subjugated into slavery or placed under the encomienda system, which kept them in a state of indentured servitude through taxes. Intermarriage between Spanish colonists and natives led to the erosion of many unique tribal characteristics, but also gave rise to a growing class of mestizos, or people of mixed-race descent. Today, nearly 60% of Colombia's population is mestizo.

Spanish dominance persisted in Colombia and much of South America until the early 1800s. Colombia, part of the viceroyalty of New Granada (which also included parts of Venezuela and Ecuador), seized the opportunity presented by France's invasion of Spain to expel their Spanish officials. A Bogota uprising on July 20, 1810, is now commemorated as Colombia's Independence Day. Despite Spain's attempts to reclaim the territory in the mid-1810s, military leader Simon Bolivar led a coalition of South Americans to several crucial victories over the Spanish in 1819, 1821, and 1822. The Republic of Colombia was established, achieving its current borders after Venezuela and Ecuador seceded in 1830 and Panama in 1903.

Throughout the 1800s, Colombia experienced numerous periods of civil unrest as Liberal and Conservative parties clashed over government structure, the church's role, and power distribution. The nation endured civil wars from 1840 to 1842 and again from 1899 to 1902. During these tumultuous times, several constitutions were enacted, and internal political strife often dominated the country's focus. The most recent constitution, adopted in 1991, establishes a system similar to that of the United States, with a popularly elected president, a bicameral legislature, and a supreme court. Although Colombia's drug trafficking has garnered significant attention, the country now boasts a diversified and stable economy, with key industries in oil, textiles, food processing, clothing, chemicals, and beverages like coffee.

Colonialism and Postcolonialism

Love in the Time of Cholera, set in an unnamed coastal town in Colombia, spans the period from the late nineteenth century to the 1930s—a time marking the shift from colonialism to modernity. On the town's outskirts lie old slave quarters, where buzzards scavenge the remains from the slaughterhouse. Corpses are scattered everywhere, some victims of cholera, others casualties of war. The novel explores not just the past but also the outdated lifestyle that persists amid the ruins of nineteenth-century progress. In this way, the novel embodies the fin de siècle, or "end of century," atmosphere prevalent in much contemporary Latin American literature.

The novel's social landscape is divided into two main groups: the Social Club (upper class) and the Commercial Club (middle class). The three primary characters reflect their respective social backgrounds—Dr. Urbino, with his prominent family lineage, represents the old colonial elite; Fermina, a symbol of the new capitalists striving for status in the young republic; and Florentino, born illegitimate but tied to a modern, reputable shipping company that nonetheless devastates the forest communities it serves. To provide context for Florentino, Fermina, and Juvenal's backgrounds, the novel delves sixty years into the past. Simultaneously, it captures the key social changes shaping the community's life during this period and surveys Colombia's political history since gaining independence in 1819. The narrative also extends further back to the era of Spanish colonial rule, covering a wide temporal range.

The novel addresses themes of history, politics, class, race, and culture, both literally and symbolically. Through a detailed historical lens, the story recalls the era of Spanish colonial rule in the mid-sixteenth century as a prosperous time for the local merchant class and, on a broader scale, a period marked by slavery and Inquisition abuses. The dangerous open sewers inherited from the Spanish serve as a stark reminder of the colonial legacy in a city that "had now existed on the margins of history ... for four hundred years." This sense of stagnation persists into the postcolonial era, as illustrated by Juvenal Urbino's family experience: "Independence from Spanish rule, followed by the abolition of slavery, precipitated the circumstances of honorable decline in which [Juvenal] was born and grew up." Marquez dramatizes this historical moment for families once influential, now seeking refuge in the artificial constructs of social snobbery, racial prejudice, and political corruption.

In "Love in the Time of Cholera," Gabriel García Márquez paints a vivid portrait of a Colombian landscape that serves as a compelling backdrop for the novel. The story unfolds in a bustling port city and along a symbolic river that both reflect and enhance the novel's themes of love, class, and the relentless passage of time. Through these settings, García Márquez explores the complexities of human emotions and societal structures, bringing his characters’ internal and external journeys to life.

Cartagena: A City of Contrasts

Though García Márquez deliberately refrains from naming the city, it is unmistakably Cartagena, a Colombian port city with a rich historical tapestry. The city sits on the Caribbean Sea, providing a vibrant setting ripe for the novel’s drama. Historically, Cartagena was a center of prosperity in the Caribbean during the eighteenth century, marked by its booming slave market and its role as residence to the viceroys of the Spanish colonial Kingdom of New Granada. Founded in 1533, it gained prominence when Spain's mercantile fleets began making annual stops to collect riches bound for Europe, inadvertently making it a hub for the slave trade.

García Márquez’s choice to leave the city unnamed enhances its mythical quality, allowing the reader's imagination to breathe life into its streets and neighborhoods. The novel intricately depicts the opulent colonial houses in downtown Cartagena, home to characters like Juvenal Urbino, juxtaposed sharply against the impoverished shanties on the city’s outskirts, where the descendants of former black slaves reside. This stark division is brought into focus when Urbino is lost in the maze-like outskirts, a world apart from his elite existence. Yet, he becomes entangled in this world through an affair with the captivating Barbara Lynch, revealing the geographical and social structures that underpin the narrative.

Love, Disease, and Geography

Central to the novel’s thematic exploration is the cholera outbreak, emerging from the city’s swampy peripheries. Dr. Juvenal Urbino, taking after his father, dedicates himself to combating the spread of the disease, although he is as unable to halt its advance as he is to resist the allure of Barbara Lynch. García Márquez ingeniously parallels love and disease, suggesting they share certain contagious and consuming qualities. Florentino Ariza’s infatuation with Fermina Daza becomes a metaphorical illness, manifesting in insomnia, loss of appetite, and debilitating rashes, leading his mother to suspect genuine cholera.

The Magdalena River: A Symbolic Journey

The Magdalena River, coursing its way from the Andes to the Caribbean, serves as a vital symbol within the novel. It mirrors the rhythms of life experienced by the characters, embodying both the passage of time and the enduring nature of love. As Florentino and Fermina embark on a twilight river journey, the river itself bears the marks of age, much like the couple. Their voyage represents a retreat from societal norms, culminating in a private odyssey aboard the New Fidelity. With the yellow flag of cholera displayed as a decoy, their ship navigates "straight on, straight on, to La Dorada," uniting the novel’s motifs of travel, love, and the pandemic in a poignant finality.

Florentino's patient wait—spanning over half a century—for this moment of reconciliation with Fermina is a testament to the novel’s deep examination of time and enduring affection. Through the interplay of Cartagena’s vibrant yet divided landscape and the timeless flow of the Magdalena River, García Márquez masterfully weaves a narrative rich with symbolism and emotional resonance, capturing the essence of love’s multifaceted nature against the backdrop of history and change.

Narration

In Love in the Time of Cholera, although the story is narrated in third-person using the impersonal "he" or "she," Garcia Marquez often limits omniscient insight into his characters. The novel suggests the unknowability of one's true emotions and the corresponding difficulty of fully encapsulating a relationship. Its six chapters follow a linear progression, interspersed with frequent asides and numerous flashbacks. A single narrative voice recounts certain events multiple times to illustrate the overlapping experiences of its various protagonists.

Florentino's letters are a key narrative device that highlight the emotional complexity of romantic experiences. They serve to balance and connect the elements of truth and deception in romance. His early letters, paired with Fermina's eventual rejection of him, highlight the dangers of delusion. However, in the long run, the impulse behind these letters is validated when he discovers a more realistic way of expressing himself. Florentino learns that the bubble of romance bursts when its truth is too crudely relied upon or made too literal. Fermina is so moved by the wisdom in his later letters that she decides to keep them as a series, thinking of them as a book. This use of correspondence, which becomes Garcia Marquez's book, serves as a reminder of the novel's origin in the epistolary genre—the novel of letters—from the eighteenth century.

In the eighteenth century, this device often explored levels of sincerity in a character's self-portrayal while maintaining an illusion of reality. Though Marquez does not use the letters as the primary narrative medium, he firmly places them within his third-person narrative framework. Instead of reinforcing the realism of the narrative, the letters offer a brief escape from it.

Through the use of letters, the narrative unfolds in a series of flashbacks. From one perspective, Urbino and Fermina's marriage is merely a fifty-year interruption of Florentino's courtship. The flashback technique treats it as such. However, it also serves as the pathway to the final romance, as both characters undergo significant development during this time. The marriage provides Fermina with a realistic approach to romance, making it more than just an obstacle. The narrator humorously acknowledges the ongoing struggle between romance and reality and their inseparable connection. This is evident in the young Florentino's business letters: "Florentino Ariza would write anything with so much passion that even official documents seemed to be about love."

Structure

Distinct patterns of time and structural symmetries play a crucial role in shaping Love in the Time of Cholera. The narrative begins with a death in the "present," around the year 1931. Following this, a lengthy flashback spanning over fifty years occupies chapters 2 through 4 and most of chapter 5. The concluding pages of chapter 5 then reconnect with the storyline from chapter 1. Chapter 6 continues with the final stages of courtship and romance.

Numerous parallel threads are intricately woven into the fabric of the novel. Among the most significant is the deflowering of Florentino and Fermina, both occurring in chapter 3 during their respective boat trips, each with more experienced and assertive sexual partners. Their eventual consummation of love also takes place aboard a ship, three chapters and fifty years later. The initial suicide of Jeremiah de Saint-Amour, driven by a disdain for old age rather than love, is contrasted with the suicide of the spurned lover America Vicuna towards the novel's end.

Setting

Although set between ten to twenty years before the turn of the century, Love in the Time of Cholera exudes a distinctly modern sensibility. The narrative focuses on an urban society rather than a rural one, depicting it with less mysticism and more social detail compared to Garcia Marquez's earlier works. Set in an unnamed Caribbean city, described as a "sleepy provincial capital" believed to be a blend of the real Colombian cities of Cartagena and Barranquilla, there is a notable shift from the imaginary village of Macondo in One Hundred Years of Solitude. While Macondo, fully realized, can represent broader universes, it primarily remains itself. Conversely, the unnamed coastal Caribbean city in the later novel feels too real to remain purely imaginative. It carries the weight and reality of numerous deaths before the story even begins. This city, with a history of slavery, civil wars, and cholera epidemics spanning over half a century, serves as a desolate backdrop against which the fates of the main characters unfold. Decay is a part of this landscape, filled with putrefying swamps, old slave quarters, and cadavers.

Colombia: Home to nearly 37 million people, Colombia boasts a life expectancy of 72.8 years, an infant mortality rate of 25.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, and a literacy rate of 91.3%.

United States: With a population exceeding 266 million, the United States has a life expectancy of 75.95 years, an infant mortality rate of 6.7 deaths per 1,000 live births, and a literacy rate of 97%.

Colombia: Colombia's economy, largely driven by oil and agricultural products, has a gross domestic product of $5,300 per capita, making it one of the strongest in South America.

United States: The United States, with its diverse economy that includes technology, industry, and agriculture, boasts a per capita gross domestic product of $27,500, the highest among major industrialized nations.

Colombia: Colombia's history, marked by Spanish colonial rule and numerous civil wars, has shaped its population, which is 58% mestizo (mixed white-Indian), 20% white, 14% mixed black-white, 4% black, 3% mixed black-Indian, and 1% Indian.

United States: The United States, influenced by the forced importation of African slaves and waves of immigration, reports a population that is 83.4% white, 12.4% black, 3.3% Asian, and 0.8% Native American. Increasingly, there is a call to include "mixed-race" as a category in the next census.

The novel, told through a single narrative voice, features a nonlinear structure that grants Garcia Marquez significant freedom to develop the plot. The first chapter conveniently removes the impediment to true love, Dr. Urbino, and concludes with Florentino's return. The middle chapters delve into the characters' pasts and the fictional setting, immersing the reader in a broad panorama of social and cultural history. The final chapter reunites the two lovers, allowing them to court and consummate their enduring love.

Combining social realism with elements of popular romance fiction, Love in the Time of Cholera represents Garcia Marquez's deliberate effort to craft a nineteenth-century novel "as if it were actually written at that time." Consequently, it has been likened to the naturalistic fiction of Emile Zola and Gustave Flaubert, as well as the romantic works of the Bronte sisters. Moreover, the novel embodies the sentimental literature characteristic of the folletin, a nineteenth-century genre also utilized by contemporary Latin American authors such as Manuel Puig, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Carlos Fuentes. Love in the Time of Cholera stands out as one of Garcia Marquez's most ambitious literary endeavors and is critically regarded as one of his most significant works of fiction.

Two out of the six films released under the title Dangerous Loves (Amores Dificiles) were partially inspired by Love in the Time of Cholera. These films are Letters from the Park, directed by Cuban filmmaker Tomas Gutierrez Alea, and The Fable of the Beautiful Pigeon-Fancier, directed by Brazilian filmmaker Ruy Guerra. Guerra is well-known in the United States for his film Erendira, which is based on a short story by Garcia Marquez.

Sources

Paul Bailey, "The Loved One," in The Listener, Vol. 119, No. 3069, June 30, 1988, p. 29.

Michael Bell, Gabriel Garcia Marquez Solitude and Solidarity, St. Martin's Press, 1993.

Gene H. Bell-Villada, Gabriel Garcia Marquez: The Man and His Work, University of North Carolina Press, 1990.

Angela Carter, "Garcia Marquez Sick with Love and Longing," in Washington Post Book World, April 24, 1988, pp. 1, 14.

Jean Franco, "Memento Mon," in The Nation, New York, Vol. 246, No. 16, April 23, 1988, pp. 573-74.

S. J. A. Minta, "In Praise of the Popular," in The Times Literary Supplement, No. 4448, July 17, 1988, p. 730.

Thomas Pynchon, "The Heart's Eternal Vow," in the New York Times Book Review, April 10, 1988, pp. 1, 47, 49.

Mona Simpson, "Love Letters," in London Review of Books, Vol. 10, No. 15, September 1, 1988, pp. 22-24.

Michael Wood, "Heartsick," in The New York Review of Books, Vol. XXXV, No. 7, April 28, 1988, pp. 6, 8-9.

For Further Study

Isabel Alvarez Borland, "Interior Texts in 'El Amor en los Tiempos del Colera'," in Hispanic Review, Vol. 59, 1991, pp. 175-86.
Alvarez Borland explores the texts within the novel and concludes that Love in the Time of Cholera is about writing—both in the literal sense and as a post-modern, self-reflexive piece.

M. Keith Booker, "The Dangers of Gullible Reading: Narrative as Seduction in Garcia Marquez' Love in the Time of Cholera," in Studies in Twentieth Century Literature, Vol. 17, No. 2, Summer 1993, pp. 181-95.
Booker argues that Love in the Time of Cholera is less about romance and more about politics and history, with its "saccharine surface" hiding a series of textual pitfalls.

Claudette Kemper Columbus, "Faint Echoes and Faded Reflections: Love and Justice in the Time of Cholera," in Twentieth Century Literature, Vol. 38, No. 1, 1992, pp. 89-100.
This analysis encourages readers to see Love in the Time of Cholera as a satire that critiques the sentimental ideas it appears to endorse.

Robin Fiddian, "Introduction," in Garcia Marquez, edited by Robin Fiddian, Longman, 1995, pp. 1-26.
Fiddian's Introduction discusses Colombia's national context, Latin American fiction, and magic realism. It also includes biographical details and a brief analysis of Love in the Time of Cholera.

Bernard McGuirk and Richard Cardwell, editors, Gabriel Garcia Marquez: New Readings, Cambridge University Press, 1987.
The editors compile essays from various perspectives on Garcia Marquez's works.

George R. McMurray, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ungar, 1977.
This is the first comprehensive English-language study of Garcia Marquez. It includes commentary on his fictional writings, plot summaries, a bibliography, and an index.

George R. McMurray, Critical Essays on Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Hall, 1987.
A collection of reviews, essays, and articles from the 1960s to the present, featuring a diverse range of critics and works discussed.

Kathleen McNerney, Understanding Gabriel Garcia Marquez, University of South Carolina Press, 1989.
This study aims to interpret Garcia Marquez's works in the context of modern and contemporary European and Latin American literature.

Stephen Minta, Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Writer of Colombia, Cape, 1987.
The book begins with an informative and helpful chapter on Colombia, offering an overview of Garcia Marquez's work within both political and literary contexts. It also includes a selected bibliography.

Mabel Morana, "Modernity and Marginality in 'Love in the Time of Cholera'," Studies in Twentieth Century Literature, Vol. 14, No. 1, Winter, 1990, pp. 27-43.
Morana suggests that the novel contrasts two different social projects embodied by the two male characters.

K. E. A. Mose, Defamiliarization in the Work of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, E. Mellen Press, 1989.
An intriguing analysis of the rhetorical devices Garcia Marquez uses to "defamiliarize" his subjects, presenting the familiar in an unfamiliar manner.

Bradley A. Shaw and Nora Vera-Godwin, editors, Critical Perspectives on Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Society of Spanish and Spanish-American Studies, 1986.
This volume is a collection of essays by various scholars on different works of Garcia Marquez.

Margaret L. Snook, "The Motif of Voyage as Mythical Symbol in 'El Amor en los Tiempos del Colera' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez," in Hispanic Journal, Vol. 10, No. 1, 1988, pp. 85-91.
Snook examines the numerous journeys in the novel, including the narrative's own journey, which experiences interruptions and later continuations.

Raymond Williams, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Twayne, 1984.
This work provides a brief biography and overview of Garcia Marquez's writings, including insights into his journalistic endeavors.