Time Waits for No Man

Gerontophobia is a recurring motif in “Love in the Time of Cholera” that is part of the larger themes of time and death. As old age is a result of time and leads to death, it is frequently tied to both of those ideas. Jeremiah de Saint-Amour took his own life due to gerontophobia and seems foolish at the beginning of the novel. His later years are a striking contrast to those of Florentino Ariza. Florentino fears his old age because he does not want to die before he can be with Fermina Daza and achieve his desired purpose in life. Once he and Fermina are together, he is able to realize that his lifelong courtship of her gave his life meaning and feels content to finally have her. When Jeremiah de Saint-Amour takes his own life, he had essentially accomplished all that he set out to do in life. He became a successful photographer and was happy in his clandestine love affair of many years. By the time his life ended, he was ready and felt no need to fight the ravages of time.

Dr. Urbino displays slight gerontophobic tendencies early in the novel when he remarks that “there is nothing more dangerous than the innocence of age”. The innocence to which he refers is the assumption of infinite wisdom that comes with age. Dr. Urbino is convinced that he is prepared to handle whatever may happen when he goes to visit the lover of Jeremiah de Saint-Amour, but alas his world view is shaken by the complacency to which she acts to Jeremiah de Saint-Amour’s suicide. In addition, he takes numerous pills throughout the day in order to make himself more comfortable. He follows his own version macabre humanism by trying to help himself “die without fear of pain”. Since he continues to work and go about his life as though he were still young, it apparent that he is unwilling to accept his own age and eventual mortality.

Florentino Ariza fears his age most of all. As he reclines near the graves of his mother and Olimpia Zuleta, he realizes how much time has passed since his love affair with Fermina Daza and contemplates the purpose of his existence. The fear is heightened by the memories of his mother’s final years when age incapacitated her mind and caused her to forget her own identity. He does not want to forget and therefore lose the ardent and martyr-like love he has for Fermina so that he will be able to devote himself to her when her husband dies.

The gerontophobic character represent a futile desire to control time. Jeremiah de Saint-Amour’s desire to slow it down coupled with Florentino Ariza’s desire to hasten it while keeping vestiges of the past heightens the drama of the intricately-woven story. (469)