So I have finally been motivated to write down some notes on a book I read, but only because I read the book for a Book Club (thanks Julie, Hilary, Laura & Ann). I'm not sure if my thoughts make sense, but I'm sure that my critical reading will improve after I finish the next nonfiction on my list.
I recorded these thoughts as I read, and they definitely include spoilers:
Section One----------- The first section reads like an epic introduction but does well to evoke the oppressive climate (both literally and figuratively) in which the story is based. The domestic animal bloodbath was a little over the top, but it certainly contributed to the ethereal feeling of the time and place.
I felt like I missed the weight of the letter left behind by Jeremiah – he admitted to being a criminal, but that made him a cannibal? I'm not sure if this is something that will be explained to us later, or if we were just supposed to realize that the note totally disrupted Dr. Urbino's feelings about the old man and further demonstrated his traditional nature. The scene where he visited Jeremiah's lover made me think of her as the most admirable character in the book so far.
I found myself wondering when the flashback was going to start that would tell us how Fermina ended up with Juvenal, only to realize that Dr. Urbino was not actually the afflicted lover. I didn't internalize that Florentino waited for more than 50 years until I understood that the description of Juvenal's age was in the present, not the future. I also had a hard time really liking Juvenal, despite his good nature and philanthropy... so on some level, I was glad when he turned out not to be the protagonist of the story. I was disappointed, however; when Florentino re-declared his love for Fermina so quickly that it was essentially during her husband's funeral. The depth of her love for Juvenal remains to be seen.
Her reaction hints at a climactic event that could have driven them apart and her dream hints at a glimmer or hope for Florentino after all these years.
Section Two----------- The second section has not raised my opinion of Florentino or Fermina and the plotline evokes such a typical romantic disaster that it is difficult to take it seriously. Once again, we readers are reminded of the life-altering repercussions of overzealous fathers who are trying to protect their daughters from young men who are just like they used to be. We have sympathy for Escolastica, who supported her neice through the throws of adolescence, and respect for Transito, who manages and protects her delicate son as much as possible. But we are not able to get any closer to Fermina. We see so much good and bad of Florentino that the only emotion evoked in me is pity.
I found myself rooting for Florentino in several situations with the expectation that he would not persevere, but he always did (i.e. he managed to maintain a job when all circumstances were against him and when he was doing nothing to help himself). I was also hoping that Fermina would not be discovered in her communications with Florentino, but I was amazed when that did not happen. It all seems for naught, now that Fermina has rejected Florentino and we know that he does not win her back anytime soon. On one hand, you can sympathize with Fermina, given the desperation of Florentino, but on the other hand, it is entirely tragic for Florentino and his unrequited love.
Section Three----------- Juvenal’s return to his hometown after an extended stay in Paris highlights the emotions that many of us feel about our childhood after seeing the world, but it is most interesting in comparison to Florentino’s exuberant return home after his journey up north along the river. Juvenal’s education and concern for society still doesn’t make me like him, but yet his brief flashback of his father’s selflessness gives me an immediate respect for him.
I found Fermina’s indignation about Juvenal’s advances odd and I couldn’t totally understand why she eventually accepted him. Was she merely jealous of her cousin’s reaction to the doctor or did she somehow realize the error of her ways? Was she as objective in her decision-making as her new husband?
One would think that Juvenal’s loving and tender approach to his new wife would redeem him, but he really just continued to sound like the over-polished doctor that is described throughout the story. I actually liked the Urbinos better through the eyes of Florentino. Their perfect and loving appearance was more appealing than the thoughts and emotions into which we had a window earlier in the story.
Everyone changes so much in this section of the book, even Florentino, which I did not expect. His violent introduction into sensual love doesn’t seem like a good introduction into a life-long coping mechanism, but does seem to keep him going for more than five decades.
Section Four----------- Everything is blurring together between sections so much that it makes me want to write down each thought I have as I think it and each conclusion as it is drawn. Marquez does an amazing job of recreating flashbacks in a pattern that lets us get to know the characters and even better integrates their stories.
I’m not sure if we are to like Florentino more or less given his innumerable exploits while he waits for Fermina and I’m not certain how Marquez defines “love” after reading about Florentino and all of his “little birds.” In several instances (Leona, Sara, and Olimpia) he certainly found other women to love – it seems the distinction lies in the lifelong obsession and dedication he feels for Fermina.
I was impressed by Florentino’s remorse at wishing for Juvenal’s demise after meeting him but much less impressed by the revelation that he sought out the women of his exploits (a far cry from his first encounter with the opposite sex!) and especially by the lack of an emotional reaction described at the murder of Olimpia.
Fermina’s fate is oh-so-common among historical heroines, though she comes through the sadness and trials of her youth better than most that we meet. I can empathize with her “guilt button” and I think many feel the same but never admit it – over-imagined guilt or true transgressions likely drives much of what occurs in this world. Her feelings as much as admitted that she married Juvenal for the money, but I think there is an important nuance here – she gave up and succumbed to what she saw as her fate. Her father had arranged their whole lives to set her up with a husband who would take care of her and then some, and at the late age of 21, she felt she had no choice but to accept that path.
I think it best that Transíto fades away rather than abruptly disappearing from the story. There could truly be no better reward for a woman so dedicated to her son than to forget the pain that they had both experienced in their lives. Fermina’s reaction to her father’s death can only be expected, as he so harshly and unreasonably affected her life to better his own goals.
Section Five----------- I was surprised at Juvenal’s indiscretion and Marquez’s depiction of the downfall of the story’s most moral and religious man seems to speak of an inevitability of indiscretion in long relationships. Even Florentino admits that he has loved many times over – physically and emotionally. So what did these men actually save for Fermina? From Juvenal, a willingness to renounce others when confronted and from Florentino a physical home? It is no wonder that she eventually comes around to Florentino, given her lifetime of experiences and lack of the love she craved, despite the provision of the life she craved.
The relentless descriptions of the downfalls of old age make me wonder how old Marquez was when he wrote the story. I cannot believe that Florentino’s last conquest is 60 years younger than he. Their relationship is wrong on so many levels, which even he seems to recognize.
On a comical note, it’s too bad that he gave up the shaved-head look for a combover… personal preference I guess!
Section Six----------- Finished at last. I don’t think I’ve ever read so much of a book before without finally smiling, as I did on page 331, when Florentino and Fermina finally succumbed to each other. It is remarkable to me how almost every thing that I start to think is proven wrong, then twisted around and proven right again. I initially thought that Fermina gave into Florentino after that first letter – wrong, but she was eventually won over. I feared for what América might do in her rage, then felt better when she directed it at herself, and then worse again for the violence.
It was remarkable to me how much more immediately likeable the protagonists became after they agreed to be together. It is like I was seeing Florentino through Fermina’s eyes all along and I could only accept him when she did. I’m not sure that reasoning applies to my feelings about Fermina, as Florentino loved her all along, but when we were permitted to see past her haughtiness and stubborn nature, she became likeable even to me. I still take issues with Florentino’s twisted love he for América…
I wonder how long the infidels kept up their journey or how they ever escaped. I was comforted to know that Fermina had memories of the journey, which at least makes me think that they survived long enough to look back on it. I was also surprised to see that my normal worries about the characters faded significantly once the match had been made… as Marquez hints to us with his fuzzy ending, the point is not that Florentino and Fermina had enough time to make up for lost time, but that they got together at all. The important thing is that they realized that their hearts and minds had been taking the journey called life as partners without them even knowing it.
Overall----------- I wondered until the very end why this book was about cholera, but that is just another theme that lies beneath the surface of the tale and only comes to greet us readers properly when we hear about Juvenal’s father. It snakes and twists among the story though – from the cemetery of the roses to the final decision that gives Florentino and Fermina the honeymoon they never knew to anticipate.
The dreamy feel that is reference on the book jacket is all too apparent to me, and occasionally seems misplaced and overdone. I had to wonder if that was a result of the inevitable cultural misunderstandings that come out of a translation, or if that feeling was purposely invoked as part of the story itself.
Perhaps the most remarkable part of the story is the grayness of the world that it presents. Fermina never seems to understand if she made the right decision to live her life with Juvenal. Florentino, while tortured by his love for her, seems to have made his own way, developed his own relationships, and actually lived while a part of him was suspended in wait for her. The rapid onset of old age, made more prominent by the never-ending flashbacks throughout the book, lets us readers understand more easily just how time – and life – can slip through our fingers when we think that we have everything in our control.
I identify with Fermina’s feelings about the letters from Florentino – reading what he has written as a neat package of all of the thoughts she had about life and aging as well. While she had the thoughts at one time or another, they were fleeting and difficult to pin down for her, but he was able to bring them together eloquently and make theses about the human situation. I feel that way in my attempts to record what I thought about this book – every time I have a spark of deep understanding or tying together the themes developed herein, I seem to forget them before I have a chance to record them. This recording/essay/report is my first attempt at getting a better handle on that part of my mind!
I am excited that we decided to read Eat, Pray, Love for the next month... I've been intending to re-read it and write down my thoughts ever since I finished it this summer and I think this is the motivation I need!
