Love is something powerful that two people can share with one another. At times this love can exist for a period of time but one person can lose the feeling, while the other keeps their heart saved for that person as in Love In The Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza fall much in love in their youth; Fermina eventually leaves Florentino to marry a wealthy doctor, leaving Florentino devastated. Fermina moving on, outsiders who don’t allow them together, Florentino having many affairs and lastly the thought of old age for Florentino.
Florentino is deeply in love with Fermina so when she decides to marry Dr.Juvenal Urbino, he’s heart broken. Florentino waits until Fermina’s husband passes away to tell her once more what he has always felt for her. “Fermina,’ he said, ‘I have waited for this opportunity for more than half a century, to repeat to you once again my vow of eternal fidelity and everlasting love”(50). “I have waited for this opportunity” expresses that he must wait until something happens to Dr.Juvenal Urbino, in this case death, so he can express his love for her. Similarly, Fermina is falling for Dr.Juvenal Urbino and has just burned the things she has from Florentino. “For a moment she thought about Florentino Ariza, and even she was surprised at how removed he was from her life: poor man”(123). It’s ironic that it states “Poor man” when in reality that what most people would say as they realize how devastating it is to lose someone you love. Fermina moving on upsets Florentino contributing to their separation.
Another factor that contributes to them being separated is Fermina’s father. Lorenzo Daza is confronting Florentino because he is angry that he exchanged letters with his daughter. “[Lorenzo Daza] . . . lowered his voice. ‘Don't force me to shoot you,’ he said. Florentino felt his intestines filling with cold