Top 10....

Top 10 Reasons (in no particular order) Why Fermina and Florentino's relationship in old age is much healthier than their relationship in their youth.

1. When Florentino and Fermina are both adults, they have more control over their own lives. Fermina is free of the restrictions her father once placed on her personal relationships, and Florentino is free of his mother's well-meaning, but often bad advice (such as the time she advised him to enjoy his suffering instead of allowing himself to concentrate on things in life which did not cause him so much pain and anguish.) Therefore, it is easier for them to court and spend time getting to know one another.

2. Since both Fermina and Florentino are both old and wrinkly, their love must be based on something more substantial than each other's appearance or physical attractiveness.

3. After his initial faux pas of showing up at Fermina's house just after Urbino's death, Florentino tries to appear less obsessive and more charming. While he is still secretly just as obsessed with Fermina now as he was fifty plus years ago, his attempts to give her some space and not to simply shower her with compliments. He no longer places her on an impossibly high pedestal as he once did.

4. They do not need to worry about money or future success. Their lives are in order so they can devote more time to one another than they could when they were younger.

5. Florentino's methods of courtship are much less creepy than they used to be. Instead of corresponding with Fermina via letters hidden randomly around their city, they simply use the post to communicate (although he does take certain precautions when doing so.) Also, they have much more face-to-face interaction. Florentino comes to Fermina's house once a week and they talk or play cards together. Fermina's son even interacts and develops a positive relationship with Florentino.

6. Their letters are no longer about blind (emphasis on blind) passion but instead about more adult topics that go beyond their relationship itself. For instance, Florentino helps her recover from the loss of her husband even though he had secretly been awaiting Urbino's death since his and Fermina's marriage.

7. They are older and wiser. While they have not lived life together and had the experience of growing old together, both are significantly more mature and therefore able to connect on a deeper level than they did when they were young.

8. Because of their age, neither has to worry about the other potentially falling for someone else. At this point in their lives, either the two of them will get together, or they will both be single for the rest of their lives. The competition factor that existed in their youth has disappeared.

9. Florentino's impulsivity is not as catastrophic as it was once; since their next day might be their last they care less about their actions. For example, allowing the captain to fly the cholera flag on their boat was an impulsive and unwise decision; however, even in the worst case scenario, nothing terrible can really come of it for Florentino and Fermina--they'll be dead soon anyway :-D.


I lied. I could only come up with nine reasons. Can you think of any that I didn’t mention that perhaps I should have added? (WC 549)