Character Development of Fermina Daza in Love in the Time of Cholera
Fermina Daza leads a turbulent life, receiving the unbridled affection of an excited youth, only to have this relationship forcefully pushed away by her father. She then meets what she considers the perfect “husband”, a man who fulfills her needs and wishes, only to have this gift snatched away by death. With both Florentino Ariza and Dr. Juvenal Urbino, Fermina is able to find happiness and pleasure, despite the many differences in regards to their character, personality, and even appearance. In fact, it is through these differences that the several different aspects of Fermina are nurtured and expressed. In Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Marquez employs the contrasting static traits between Florentino Ariza and Dr. Juvenal Urbino in developing Fermina Daza as a dynamic and round character. The development
…show more content…
Juvenal Urbino, and through this, Marquez develops traits dissimilar from ones Fermina possessed as a girl. The first of these her independence. For the largest part of her youth, Fermina Daza had been under the strict control of her father and rebelled against his wishes, but as a wife, her independent nature is allowed to flourish. As a wife, she controls her household, and is able to direct it where she wishes, and as recognized by herself, “in nothing was she more demanding or less forgiving than in the management of her house”(144). Although she relies on servants to carry out her tasks, Fermina directs what happens, and maintains complete control of the house’s functions, independent of her husband or any other individual. Fermina also rejects Catholicism, her husband’s faith, stating that “men and women of the Church lacked any virtue inspired by God”(160). This open rejection provides insight into Fermina’s value of independence, a value so ingrained that she refuses the concept that higher power guide her actions, or of