We Always Want What We Can't Have

What is it about the unknown that makes it so desirable? As human beings, wanting what we can’t have is quintessential to our nature. In Love in the Time of Cholera, Florentino Ariza’s heart and soul burn for Fermina Daza, the one woman he is unable to make love to. I have often heard people say that they enjoy the chase rather than the actual catch itself. For this very reason, I believe that Florentino’s love for Fermina Daza was sparked by curiosity, and further elevated by her mysterious nature and unresponsiveness.

Despite the fact that he is irresistible to women, Florentino Ariza does not succumb to their calls because he is undeniably a hopeless romantic. Even though he is “the most sought-after young man in his social circle” (54), he insists on pursing a woman who has no desire for his acquaintance. All the women that call on him in the Transient Hotel mean nothing to him because they are much too available. “But Florentino Ariza did not accept: he was a virgin, and he had decided not to lose his virginity unless it was for love” (63). Florentino is attracted to Fermina because she is not instantly attracted to his charm. Although Fermina’s first meeting with Florentino is terse, he manages to run away like a love-struck puppy. When he first lays eyes upon her, her only reaction is a “casual glance” (55). From that moment onwards, Florentino Ariza dives head over heels into the abyss of “devastating love” (68).


Even at the age of fragile age of seventy-six, Florentino Ariza is still infatuated by Fermina Daza’s cold, distant nature. Her reaction to his vow of everlasting love and fidelity immediately after her husband’s death, her bitter words and the length at which it takes her to respond to his daily love letters, and her impersonal demeanor only cause Florentino to fall even more madly in love with her. Florentino continues to write letters to Fermina, despite receiving no response, because although he knows she is capable of ignoring them, he will not allow her inaccessible nature to deter him from achieving his life goal. Instead of being turned off by her stand-offish behavior, he is attracted to it. He knows that no other woman can be as disconnected as Fermina, “he did not believe that the woman who could resist her curiosity about half a year of almost daily letters when she did not even know the color of ink they were written in, but if such a woman existed, it had to be her” (296).


Throughout the course of the novel, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza continue to run into each other. Each time they meet, she greets him casually, making sure not to speak. In contrast to Fermina Daza, Leona Cassiani shows Florentino utmost affection. For this very reason, his relationship with Leona consisted of “a love that had been extinguished before it was born” (257). Ultimately, Florentino’s desire for love and to be loved allows him to continue the never-ending pursuit of Fermina Daza. In the end, his undying determination to woo Fermina Daza does not fail him (524).