Week 11

Love In The Time of Cholera

"Love in the Time of Cholera", directed by Mike Newell, is based upon the novel written by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Márquez.  The story takes place in the late 1800's and early 1900's in Colombia.  Florentino, a poor young man, falls helplessly in love with Fermina, the daughter of a rich mule owner.   After exchanging love letters, they confess their love and agree to marry.  Fermina's father discovers her love letters, confronts Florentino and threatens to kill him if he does not stay out of Fermina's life.  Florentino responds to this threat by saying "there is no greater glory than to die for love."  Fermina's is sent away to live in her father's village located far into the mountains.  In spite of their distance, their love doesn't dwindle while they are apart.  Upon her return, Fermina's father gives her the keys to their house and declares that she is in charge of their home.  In doing this, Fermina becomes the lady of the house and has acquired a higher social status. Fermina and Florentino run into each other at the market and Fermina rejects and denounces their relationship by saying that their love was an illusion.  Florentino is devastated and heartbroken to the point he becomes physically ill.  Florentino's mother sees his physical symptoms and declares he has cholera to which Florentino replies, "Mama, you confuse cholera with love.

Fermina becomes ill and fearing cholera, her father sends for Dr. Juvenal Urbino, who specializes in treating cholera patients.  Upon seeing her beauty, he falls in love with her.  They eventually marry and have children.  Dr. Urbino states that "hapiness is not the most important, but stability."  Although their family has money, power and status, their marriage lacks fulfillment.

Meanwhile, Florentino vows to remain faithful to Fermina and continues to suffer with his loveless heartache.  Seeing Dr. Urbino and Fermina upon their return from their honeymoon, Florentino comes to understand that he will be nothing to Fermina if he does not improve his social and financial status.  Florentino visits his uncle, Don Leon, to ask for a job so he can become rich, just like his uncle.  Don Leon responds by saying, "I am a poor man that has money.  It is not the same thing as being rich."  Over the years Florentino eventually becomes the president of his uncle's riverboat company and achieves wealth and social status.  During this time, in an effort to mask his heartache, Florentino begins a lifelong habit of seducing women into casual sex and journaling these encounters, all the while, still remaining hopelessly in love with Fermina. 

While trying to capture a pet parrot, Dr. Urbino falls off a ladder and dies.  After the funeral, Florentino visits Fermina and announces that he has for over 51 years, remained eternally faithful and declares his everlasting love for her.  She yells at him to get out and leave her alone.  Unwilling to be defeated, he writes her letters and eventually, Fermina agrees to see him where they develop a friendship.  Now, in their 70's, they board one of Florentino's riverboats and take a trip together.  Breaking all family, society, and cultural boundaries, they finally end their torture and give themselves to each other.  In order for them to be alone without any outside influence, Florentino orders the captain to raise the cholera flag so that the two of them can be alone on the riverboat.  Their love finally fulfilled, Florentino says, "Think of love as a state of grace; not as a means to anything, but the alpha and the omega, an end itself."

Love in the Time of Cholera and Freire's Philosophies

There are many of Freire’s philosophies illustrated throughout this movie.  Freire believed that humans are incomplete beings and have the internal desire to become complete.  Florentino could only become complete with the love of Fermina. In the movie, Florentino was told to “enjoy your pain.  Take advantage of it now.  These things don’t last you your whole life.”  Florentino’s life experiences along with his pain, provided him with the awareness to bring about personal change. Additionally, Freire worked to break class barriers through the education of poor and rural people.  Through Florentino’s life experiences, he realized that in order to win Fermina, he must become rich and therefore went to his uncle to request a job.  Tired of being rejected by Fermina, he devoted his professional life to improve his social status.  Freire believed that oppression was a term used to describe someone who was not heard.  Florentino was oppressed because Fermina was rejecting his love (not hearing him) and society would not accept him because he was poor and uneducated.  Additionally, there are many other illustrations of social and gender oppression throughout this movie.

A Human Story that Transcends Borders

One of the main reasons this story transcends borders is because of its analogy to cholera.  During this era, cholera was uncontrollable.  The illness was random and people contracted the disease regardless of social status, wealth or education.   Love is universal and is also uncontrollable.  During the scene in the movie when Florentino asks for Fermina’s hand in marriage, Fermina’s aunt/companion says, “Love is strange.  You can’t control who you love.  If you say no, you’ll be sorry for the rest of your life.” Fermina was ultimately remorseful that she did not marry Florentino resulting in both Florentino and Fermina entering a period of eternal suffering in their lives.  Similarly, cholera was a death sentence for many who contracted the illness, just like Florentino’s death sentence when Fermina rejected him.  A part of him died, but he still remained hopeful – almost persistent – that he would one day reclaim her love.  Just like a family watching their loved one suffer from cholera.  They suffer as they watch this person with the illness, all the while, hopeful that they will recover.  With death, all opportunities to make changes in life have ended. As long as Florentino was alive, he refused to give up on Fermina and was willing to do what he could to make changes to win her love.  The story proves that “it is life not death that has no limits".

Review of Classmates work of Week 10

Alyssa wrote about Cesar Chavez and how he wanted people to become aware of the struggles of labor workers. 

Brandon noted that Cesar Chavez was dedicated to his dream of helping farm workers.

Candace researched post modern music.  Nueva canción was a new type of music during this Era that seemed to me to be a statement of how artist's and people felt.

Jamison  also researched Cesar Chavez.  He noted that Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association.

Kim wrote about Maya sign languages and noted that they are used in Mexico and Guatemala in communities with unusually high numbers of deaf residents.

Maria wrote about the The Nicaraguan Sign Language and noted that
in the 1970's, deaf students established a permanent sign language so that they could all understand each other.

Melissa wrote about Carlos Fuentes, a Mexican novelist, playwright, essayist and journalist. His most famous international breakthrough came in 1962 with the novel La Muerte de Artemio Cruz or The Death of Artemio Cruz.

Paul wrote about the Maya sign language and that it is more of an expression of the mental ideas so it is just as complex and diverse as the spoken language.

Sara researched the Bracero Program.  This program was designed to bring migrant farm workers from Mexico to the US as temporary migrants. More than 4 million Mexican farm laborers came to work the fields, converting the agricultural fields of America into the most productive in the world.

Susan reserched Rigoberta Menchu who promoted indigenous rights in the country.