Love In The Time Of Cholera

The Proper Mixture Amongst the various elements that make Love In The Time Of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez such a memorable literary work, the most influential of them is Márquez’s writing style. Although the novel had been translated from its original Spanish into English, and may have lost some of its true enchantment, it retains its ability to charm and continues to be revered because of Márquez’s particular diction. As demonstrated by the scene in which the rejected lover of the female main character observes her shopping in a town market, Gabriel García Márquez uses a healthy sprinkling of various literary devices such as imagery, metaphors, and personification, in order to engage the reader with evocative language, create

In the aforementioned passage, Florentino Ariza spies on the newly married Fermina Daza, and internally expresses his pining for her as he watches her shop. By showing Florentino 's thoughts and feelings in this moment, Florentino’s heart is presented through the author’s use of evocative language. Desperately trying to keep up with Fermina’s untroubled path, Florentino “tripped several times over the baskets of the maid who responded to his excuses with a smile, and [Fermina] passed so close to him that he could smell her scent” (Márquez 100). Through the use of such imagery, the author illustrates Florentino’s utter blindness by his infatuation for Fermina, since he is so focused on chasing his former lover that through his uncoordinated bumbling around the marketplace, he causes a disturbance. Furthermore, the author also uses metaphors such as “to enjoy in the house of love” to offer the reader a dual understanding

For instance, even though the passage is written from Florentino’s perspective, the reader is able to relate to Fermina as well as to Florentino. The moment in which Fermina “crushed leaves of sage and oregano in the palms of her hands for the pure pleasure of smelling them [...] and [...] walked away with tears of laughter in her eyes because the smell of the cayenne pepper made her sneeze so much” gives the reader several moments he or she can relate to (Márquez 99). The vivid imagery also allows the reader to remember the smells or appearance of the objects described, and through this way, the reader can become a part of the story as well. Likewise, metaphors such as “he pursued her breathlessly” invokes feelings, like sympathy, towards the character of Florentino (Márquez 100). It is a prime example of how besotted Florentino is with Fermina, and the reader can relate to his despair. Finally, the use of personification gives another layer of meaning to the text. Watching Fermina at the market, Florentino is awestruck with her every movement, and personifies her gesticulations as “the flight of her hands” (Márquez 100). Personification such as solidifies the extent of Florentino’s lovesickness, and his concept of Fermina as something above human, life springing from her very hands. This