This novel(la) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a fictional autobiographical account of a man’s first love at the age of 90. The elderly, scholarly narrator has lived a life where he’s made a point to only sleep with whores, or at least, pay for any woman he’s bedded. He describes his life, frequently in brothels when not writing for the newspaper or teaching, as it was; that is, when he discusses his personal history, there is very little negative or positive applied, but rather, he speaks about how he has responded to aging. In that sense, it is very much a story about aging, about how an elderly person sees himself and how those around him see him differently. As usual, Marquez proves adept at presenting a sexual theme in a respectable and even ethereal light, even when that sexual relationship is presented in the first line as, “the year I turned ninety, I wanted to give myself the gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent virgin” (1). The fact that the setup and execution of this affair works is not necessarily expected, similar to the effect Lolita had, but I want to discuss two main points that allow Marquez to create such a beautiful and emotional story.
First, the more puritanical element is the lack of consummation. Although he is seeing a young girl naked, lying with her, touching her, there is never an actual sexual act. What makes this interesting is that our narrator gives us his sexual history, which could be considered at least prolific, if not sordid; however, against the advice of madams and other prostitutes, he never does wake her up each night as he sleeps with her. And because of this, he experiences love, true love, and I believe it is this first physical fact, the continuation of her virginity that allows the reader to accept the relationship as real and beautiful.
Another choice Marquez makes in the narrative that I found very interesting is a somewhat reversal of another Puritan belief, that sex is a byproduct of love. And perhaps that’s not even fair; while it’s unusual in our contemporary time to be a virgin at marriage (or at least not as commonplace as it has been historically), it’s not an entirely conservative view that love produces a better relationship, both physically and overall. However, this is a man who has known a lifetime of sexual exploits without ever experiencing love. And ultimately, although it’s a story about aging, it’s also a celebration of love, as a man is transformed by it, and even transforms others’ lives through his column in the newspaper. He even goes to the button factory, looking for his love, which is presented as almost a wasteland for youth, where the beauty of women risk being lost. At the factory, a young girl asks if he is “the man who writes love letters in the paper” (89). It’s almost a surreal moment, where this old, notoriously ugly man is recognized for something that has never been a part of his life for 90 years.
It’s tough to say the story is not about love, although aging is discussed so much by the narrator, especially in light of the ending. What is love without a blow-up, a moment where the passion of love threatens to destroy it? However, though this is arguably the first time the girl has ever seen the scholar, the story ends with the affirmation of her love for him, and the lengths to which he will go to ensure that love for the rest of his days. The use of a brothel, a notorious madame, and a child prostitute is perhaps a bit of arrogance on Marquez’s part, taking on the challenge and succeeding in showing his reader that love can conquer all, whether it be age, station, or even social constructs that are seemingly unbreakable. And, in the novel(la), love does conquer all, and, in the most pure sense of the phrase, shows that it is never too late.
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