Gabriel Garcia Márquez in Love in the Time of Cholera, depicts a man hopelessly in love with a woman whose father forbids them from marrying. Fermina Daza finds herself in a loveless marriage with Dr. Juvenal Urbino de Calle, someone who will provide her with financial security. Zora Neale Hurston in Their Eyes Were Watching God portrays Janie Mae Crawford in her search for love. Janie is a young black woman who seems to be to be the talk of the town when she returns from her hometown of Eatonville, Florida after nearly a two year absence. She marries several times for many reasons, all except for love. The women in both, Love in The Time of Cholera, and Their Eyes Were Watching God, suffer in that they marry for advantage rather than …show more content…
During a long career of liaisons, seductions, and work for the River Company, Florentino persists in his unquenchable hope for life with Fermina. Juvenal Urbino, an eminent doctor, civic leader, and staunch Catholic, dedicates his life to eradicating cholera by introducing modern science to putrid swamp areas (Jennings 1).
Jennings describes the differences between Florentino and Dr. Urbino. Florentino is a loyal romantic who endlessly seeks the love of Fermina whereas, Juvenal Urbino is set in his ways and dedicates his life to putting an end to cholera. With this Dr. Urbino has status and wealth. This brings light to Lorenzo Daza’s reasoning for taking Fermina away and promoting a relationship with Dr. Juvenal Urbino. When Janie is young, she looks for nothing more than love in a relationship. Janie’s grandmother, Nanny, catches her kissing Johnny Taylor across the gatepost. The kiss outrages Nanny and she then arranges a marriage between Janie and Logan Killicks. Janie expresses her grief and Nanny responds with, “Better leave things de way dey is. Youse young yet. No tellin’ whut mout happen befo’ you die. Wait awhile, baby. Yo’ mind will change” (Hurston 24). Janie wants love more than anything in a marriage, Nanny claims that it is best to marry for security and love will come later. It is because of Nanny’s influence that led Janie to marry Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and
When Janie is about sixteen her grandmother finds her in the act of kissing a boy, and afraid for Janie, she arranges for Janie to be married to Logan Killicks, who is an older man with vast property to his name. Nanny, as Janie calls her, is unable to wrap her mind around the idea of marrying for love and mocks Janie saying, "So you don't want to marry off decent like, do yuh? You just wants to hug and kiss and feel around with first one man and then another, huh?" (Their Eyes Are Watching God, 13). Her grandmothers’ gift of life is different from the life that Janie wants to live. She tells Janie, “De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see.'” (Their Eyes Are Watching God, 11). Nanny doesn’t believe that trying to find love and make a better life for you will succeed, she tells Janie that marrying and older man with land to his name will bring security, and she shouldn’t want more than that. Because of this Janie agrees and goes along with the plan. She is depicted as very compliant and rarely speaks her mind, even saying “But Ah hates disagreement and confusion, so Ah better not talk. It makes it hard tuh git along” (Their Eyes Were Watching God, 90).
The Florentine Chronicle is an interestingly organized piece of work, in which Stefani mixes a chronicling of the presentation of the bubonic plague and its effects with the wider effects on Florentine society. Written in the late 1370s and 1380s, Stefani begins by describing some of the effects of the disease, and how it would alienate families from each other. He goes on to explain how the sick were abandoned in droves,
Lorenzo de’Medici had passed away leaving the city under control of his heir, Peiro. This took a huge toll on their lives once Peiro was ousted and the French King prepared to march his city through Florence. Alessandra, along with all the other unmarried girls, were forced to move out to convents for their own protection. However, this was an idea that Alessandra could not bare so she proposes that a marriage contract be made for her. It was important for Alessandra to stay in Florence, being a city that is the center of an explosion of artistic enterprise, she was eager to know about the latest news. So Alessandra was married off to an elegant middle-aged man named Cristoforo, who is very well-versed in art and literature. Cristoforo promises Alessandra freedom to do all that she wants, but on her wedding night, Alessandra soon finds out that her marriage is just a lie. Infact, her husband only married her so that his homosexuality wouldn’t be discovered. Cristoforo was actually in love with Alessandra's brother, Tomaso. At times, Cristoforo would leave home for a while and during one of his times away, he came back with Alessandra's brother. Alessandra, realizing that her marriage was anything but normal, became depressed and had an emotional breakdown. Cristoforo believed that her crying was due to a miscarriage, so he turned the nursery into an art studio for
After seeing Janie kiss Johnny Taylor under a romantic pear tree, Janie’s Nanny insists on her to wed an old man named Logan. This is where the battle begins. Should Janie be submissive to Nanny and marry Logan, or should she let her self-reliance win and stay away from marriage? She definitely shows signs of wanting her self-reliance to win by stating, “Naw, Nanny… Ah ain’t no real ‘oman yet” (Hurston 12). With all her might, Janie is trying to refuse Nanny’s offer by pleading that she is not matured enough yet, displaying how she desires to be self-reliant. However, Nanny counters this by replying, “T’aint Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have, baby, it’s protection” (Hurston 15). As a child, Nanny instills this idea that Janie, without a doubt, needs a man by her side to give her safety and stability. In other words, Nanny wants Janie to be submissive to men because her time is almost up. Janie ends up following her dear Nanny and marries Logan, even though she was previously reluctant to do so. Submissiveness wins this first round of this battle. With Logan, Janie finds out that marriage does not necessarily equate to love. She tries her hardest bowing down to every command of Logan in hopes that doing so will make them love one another, but it simply is not possible; although it is true that Janie is granted a stable lifestyle with Logan, she is also
She now knew that Janie was a woman and was ready to start her life and be wed. Soon after, Nanny quickly arranged Janie to be married to an older, wealthy man, Logan Killcks. Nanny thought this was best for Janie, she could live a comfortable, secure life, where she would not have to worry. Janie on the other hand did not want to marry this man; she wanted to marry someone she loved.
Janie’s first husband is Logan Killicks, an old, unattractive man whom Janie marries while trying to appease her grandmother. Logan is a farmer with 60 acres of land and a comfortable house. Nanny believes in marrying for financial stability, not for love: “Tain’t Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have, baby, it’s protection” (Hurston 15). Instead of following her heart and insisting on not marrying someone she doesn’t love, Janie consents due to the pressure and marries Logan. He wants to keep her firmly under his control so he forces her to work in the field with him and clean the house. In addition to physically oppressing Janie, Logan also mentally oppresses her by showing Janie no affection during their marriage. Due to
At the same time, however, Janie begins to confuse this desire with romance. Despite the fact that nature’s “love embrace” leaves her feeling “limp and languid,” she pursues the first thing she sees that appears to satisfy her desire: a young man named Johnny Taylor (Hurston 11). Leaning over the gate’s threshold to kiss Johnny, Janie takes the first step toward her newfound horizon. Nanny sees this kiss and declares Janie’s womanhood. She wants Janie to marry Logan Killicks, a financially secure and well-respected farmer who can protect her from corruption. The marriage of convenience that Nanny suggests is “desecrating … [Janie’s] pear tree” because it contradicts her ideal vision of love (Hurston 14). Because she did not have the strength to fight people in her youth, Janie’s grandmother believes that Janie needs to rely on a husband in order to stay safe and reach liberation. Ironically, Janie’s adherence to Nanny’s last request suppresses her even more because it causes her to leave behind her own horizon.
As she protests against her guardian Nanny’s decision, she says, “Ah wants things sweet wid my marriage…” (Hurston 24). Janie hesitantly expresses her true feelings about her current relationship to Nanny, and her guardian tells her that love isn’t important in the relationship. Nanny clearly wants Janie to have wealth and status in the society, something that Nanny never had for herself. But even after Nanny passed away months later, Janie is doubtful if she will ever get his love. And as she leaves Logan for Joe hoping for a fresh start, her desire for love in a relationship grows stronger. She always though“Husbands and wives always love each other, and that [is] what marriage mean[s].” (Hurston 21). Janie knows that in her society she will have to submit under her husband, but her dreams of acceptance and love overshadow the negative aspects of being tied into marriage.
In order to understand Janie’s journey to discover love and herself, one must first define love from her perspective and analyze its origins. Janie’s adult concept of love is influenced by many things, including her grandmother and her childhood concept of love. Janie thinks there is a standard for love because her grandmother had standards for who she loved. Nanny’s concept of love, which shapes Janie’s, is heavily influenced by her slave background. Nanny was impregnated by her master, then witnessed her daughter, Janie’s mother, get raped by a school teacher (16-20). Because of the trauma both she and her daughter faced, Nanny ardently begs Janie to marry a man who will keep her safe from harm. Not only does Nanny want a protector for Janie, but she also wants a provider for her. If Janie is to have a husband who is well-off, she will not want the way her mother and grandmother did. Thus, Janie figured that she could marry a person for the security they
The plan for Janie’s future begins with her lack of having real parents. Hurston builds up a foundation for Janie that is bound to fall like a Roman Empire. Janie’s grandmother, whom she refers to as “Nanny” takes the position as Janie’s guardian. The problem begins here for Janie because her Nanny not only spoils her, but also makes life choices for her. Nanny is old, and she only wants the best for her grandchild, for she knows that the world is a cruel place. Nanny makes the mistake of not allowing Janie to learn anything on her own. When Janie was sixteen years old, Nanny wanted to see her get married. Although Janie argued at first, Nanny insisted that Janie get married. “’Yeah, Janie, youse got yo’ womanhood on yuh… Ah wants to see you married right away.’” (Page 12). Janie was not given a choice in this decision. Her Nanny even had a suitor picked out for her. Janie told herself that she would try to make the best of the situation and attempt to find love in her marriage to Logan Killicks. But, as time went by, Janie realized that she still did not have any feelings of what she had considered to be love in her husband.
Nanny makes Janie believe that marriage makes love and forces her to wed a much older man, Logan Killicks. Jones believes that Janie?s first efforts at marriage show her as an ?enslaved and semi-literate? figure restrained to Nanny?s traditional beliefs about money, happiness and love (372). Unfortunately Janie?s dream of escasty does not involve Killicks. Her first dream is dead. Janie utters, ?Ah wants things sweet wid mah marriage lak when you sit under a pear tree and think? (Hurston 23). Logan began to slap Janie for control over
Nanny did not give a clear answer except for giving it time to evolve between them. Janie tried to argue that Logan was not meant to be loved but Nanny disagreed, I think because she wanted Janie to have a name and a good life when she was gone which Logan could provided her with. Janie did not seem to like this answer so she wondered, “Did marriage compel love like the sun the day?” (Hurston 21). This simile seemed to make Janie wonder if marriage meant two people were forced to love one another just because of the title of Mr. and Mrs. This question from Janie made me see a theme of confusion in this chapter; Janie keeps coming back to asking what marriage is and what love feels like. This made me think she has never been in love before causing her to find it unclear. I think Janie was nervous that she would not love Logan, which makes sense since she was told to marry him, and did not want to never get that chance to feel true love for someone she picked. The first chapter of the novel tells us of a man named Tea Cake whom Janie ran away with. When I reflected on this I knew Janie must have either been cheating on or divorced Logan Killicks. Could this have been because she wanted to truly love someone? I think Janie did this to please herself with true love and not feel forced to love someone just because they are
Janie's grandmother was one of the most important influences in her life, raising her since from an infant and passing on her dreams to Janie. Janie's mother ran away from home soon after Janie was born. With her father also gone, the task of raising Janie fell to her grandmother, Nanny. Nanny tells Janie "Fact uh de matter, Ah loves yuh a whole heap more'n Ah do yo' mama, de one Ah did birth" (Hurston 31). Nanny's dream is for Janie to attain a position of security in society, "high ground" as she puts it (32). As the person who raised her, Nanny feels that it is both her right and obligation to impose her dreams and her ideas of what is important in life on Janie. The strong relationship between mother and child is important in the African-American community, and the conflict between Janie's idyllic view of marriage and Nanny's wish for her to marry for stability and position is a good illustration of just how deep the respect and trust runs. Janie has a very romantic notion of what marriage should be. "She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace . . . so this was a marriage," is how the narrator describes it (24). Nanny's idea of a good marriage is someone who has some standing in the community, someone who will get Janie to that higher ground. Nanny wants Janie to marry Logan Killicks, but according to her "he look like some ole
With Giovanni’s death in 1429, there were those who tried to capitalize on the opportunity to displace the Medici family from its place in the social and political landscape of the time. One such opportunity was taken with the help of a wealthy rival, the Albizzi family, who put in motion a plot to have Giovanni’s son, Cosimo de Medici, arrested on accusations of treason and banished to Venice. This did not happen without consequences. With Cosimo’s exile he took with him a large source of Florentine capital, the Medici Bank. The Pope intervened and restored the Medici’s to power. Thus began Cosimo’s restoration of Florentine pride and the support of great artists that many admire today.
This essay is about the novel “The Medici Seal“written by Theresa Breslin in the year 2006. The novel is written in the beginning of the sixteens century. The boy Matteo was raised by his grandmother. When he was around ten years old, he was found by Leonardo da Vinci, where he spend his youth traveling with his companions. When living with his grandmother, which was a herbalist until her death, he gained prior knowledge about herbs and nature. He picked up knowledge of Philosophy and Social etiquette when traveling with da Vinci. The reader gets to know the development from Matteo throughout the novel.