The significance of Riverboat and Sea journeys in Love in the Time of Cholera

If Urbino’s life is not influenced by changeable and unreliable items as river or sea journeys, the other male protagonist, Florentino Ariza, bases his whole existence on these voyages. To make the difference between the two men even more obvious the author uses this recurring motif to show that Florentino, being led more by emotion rather than reason, is by far more affected by this element of change. Moreover, the character is defined by three situations which are all journeys, and even so, to show the strong liaison with the concept of journeys, Marquez makes his character work for almost all his adult life in a riverboat company. The first definitive element in the creation of the protagonist’s character, which could be in fact considered the intrigue of the novel, consists of Fermina’s riverboat journey to her cousin Hildebranda. The physical journey is of little value and it is only a proof of Florentino’s obsession with love, as he is prepared to go to any lengths to talk with the object of his affection, but the fact that, during the voyage, Fermina undergoes a serious change is by far more relevant in their love story. This river journey changes the woman’s mind about her love for Florentino and she realises that he is nothing more than a shadow: “Today when I saw you, I realised that what is between us is nothing more than an illusion”. The second constituent of Florentino’s character is the journey in which he looses his virginity, in a way not worthy of the romantic character of the novel, to the unknown woman. During this expedition, not only does he unwillingly trespass his own promise of staying faithful to Fermina, but he also understands that by bedding other women he can detach himself from Fermina’s image. Thus, this second journey is the one that converts Florentino from an innocent lover into a diligent and “furtive hunter”.  Last but not the least, the final element that influences his life, is the final journey which is in fact a blissful reward for all the years of obsessive waiting. Whether the character changes any further it is impossible to know as this voyage represents the dénouement of the novel, but during it he obviously displays a romantic behaviour, testimony of his love, or maybe of his obsessive self-imposed affection, for Fermina.

Traditionally, in many cultures, water is regarded as a symbol of purification, and apparently this is exactly what riverboat and sea journeys represent for the female protagonist of “Love in the time of cholera”, Fermina Daza. The only reason for which she is not as deeply and negatively affected as Florentino by these voyages, is that she is actually the one that undergoes them and that has a tendency to change and thus alter Florentino’s personality. Three journeys are of great importance in Fermina’s life, and they all become, in one way or another, a means of purification. When she is forced by her father to leave Florentino, she manages to disengage herself from the love she supposedly feels for the “poor man”. Thus she purifies herself from Florentino’s obsessive love. During her second water journey, her honeymoon, she leaves behind the life of Fermina Daza and embraces her new social status as Fermina Urbino. In the twilight of her life she undergoes one last journey with Florentino, and she then leaves behind the only thing that could still be discarded, society and family: “would it be possible to make a trip without stopping, without cargo or passengers, without coming into any port, without anything?” Thus, for Fermina the river and sea journeys are a way of leaving behind and starting again. Whether it is alongside Urbino or Florentino, these expeditions have the character of an incipit and after each and every one of them she is reborn, reconfigured and ready to start a new part of her life.

By way of conclusion, it would be safe to state that whether they are on sea or river, voyages represent an important part in the lives of the protagonists. Unconsciously, their character changes, or they trigger modifications in either other characters or in the course of the actions, and Marquez uses such a technique to show that the three characters are merely human. Like human beings, Florentino Ariza, Dr. Juvenal Urbino, and Fermina Daza, have flaws, can change or not change, can love or hate, can adapt or not, and all this is best shown through the recurring motif of river and sea journeys. In “Love in the time of Cholera”, voyages on water are converted into more than a physical process, they are in fact a mental and spiritual journey that will transform the characters involved forever.