Florentino Ariza

Florentino Ariza is the protagonist of the story and the tale of his never-ending love for Fermina Daza over half of a century is chronicled. Florentino is a quiet man, even in his youth, who is the illegitimate child of a wealthy shipping mogul. Florentino is raised by his mother alone as his married father refuses to recognize him publicly. He sees the face of the teenage Fermina Daza when he delivers a telegram to her home and it alters the course of his life forever. He spends the next several years courting Fermina through secret letters and the two makes plans to marry. His dreams are shattered, however, when Fermina returns from a long trip with her father and discovers that she is not actually in love with Florentino. Despite the fact that Fermina rejects him and ends up marrying another man, Florentino makes it his...