The perceptions of the triangular relationships are constructed in different way in both of these novels. In both novels they have the common theme of separation. However the separation in both novels is a different type of separation. The separation in Doctor Zhivago is one that is set in on a very political basis. This could be interpreted as a physical boundary to love in the triangle, whereas in Love in the Time of Cholera love is viewed as mental separation and is also referred to as an ‘illness.’ Florentino has caught the disease of love and is longing for Fermina. He describes himself as ‘nothing but a poor lover.’ The story of Zhivago is based during the dark ages of the Russian revolution which is an unlikely place for love and romance to flourish. However there is a political force behind the novel and affects the relationship between Zhivago and Tonya because he is called to serve in the war as medical officer in the army. Even through he has departed her, he is still thinking about her as he says that he has ‘not given up believing that you [Tonya] are alive.’ Showing the feelings and possible longings that he still has for her even through they have been physically separated. This contrasts with Love in the Time of Cholera, where Fermina is ‘longing for Florentino’ while she is on a trip with her father to ‘forget’ about Florentino. This is because two of the lovers in the triangles are longing for each other.
As I have already discussed, there seems to be relationship triangle because of the separation of the characters in each of the two novels. In Love in the Time of Cholera Florentino is so love sick for Fermina that he starts ‘using’ other woman. He started sleeping with ‘innumerable women’ even though he is convinced that he is ‘saving himself’ for Fermina. Florentino is sleeping with others but is obsessively, and in some cases verging on the borderline of criminal activity, with his obsessive watching and following of Fermina, as he is in love with Fermina. This can therefore suggest that he is using sex as a weapon and antidote against Fermina. Sex has become a drug in the eyes of Florentino to protect himself from the love that he has for Fermina. He uses sex as an addict would use a narcotic. There seems to be a parallel here with the noel Doctor Zhivago. In this novel when Tonya and Zhivago are separated from each other Zhivago meets Lara. However, Zhivago seems to be still in love with Tonya as he talks about ‘not giving up believing that [Tonya] is still alive,’ along with ‘the regrets’ of the past. This suggest that he is still very much in love with Tonya and the fact that he has not given up believing suggests that he still keeps her close to his heart and must surely think about her all the time. This could suggest that he is using Lara in a similar way that Florentino is using ‘other women,’ as a drug. In the same way that Florentino uses other women to try and forget Fermina, or at least reduce the longing and the thoughts, Zhivago could be using Lara as a drug to try and stop him thinking about Tonya and where she is.
In both novels and both triangles certain characters can be perceived as drunk with love for each other. In Love in the Time of Cholera Florentino is drunk with love with Fermina. When someone is intoxicated or drunk with alcohol then tend to relax and this affects their instincts and sense of danger and wellbeing but the effects of alcohol overrule this natural senses and cause the person who is drunk to do things which they would normally not consider or try to do. Being drunk with love is much the same. This is because instead of the alcohol taking control, the love does and this is what has happened to Florentino. The love that he has for Fermina has taken control of him and, just like alcohol, it has caused him to do things that he would not normally do. The drunkenness has caused him to lose his concentration at work which has lead him to sit at his desk and write ‘romantic poetry’ and ‘love letters’ to Fermina instead of the business letters that he should be writing. The drunkenness has also caused him to break the law by watching her house and follow her and ‘serenading her with his violin,’ in effects to lure her. Zhivago could be seen as ‘drunk with passion’ as he dedicates much time of his life trying to find his family and more specifically Tonya. This may be seen as quite a normal thing to do. However one must remember that there is a war going on and that adds a significant amount of danger to the task at hand. This is a dangerous thing to do but as we have seen with the lengths that Florentino goes to, this is what happens when you are drunk with love.
Both novels feature the suffering for love that the characters in their love triangles try to look for. Therefore we can perceive triangular relationships as a fight to try and get the person that we want but still over coming the temptations that we and the characters may have.
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