How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"The problem in public life is learning to overcome terror. The problem in marriage is learning to overcome boredom." (4.130)
A few years after her marriage to Dr. Urbino, Fermina Daza reflects on marriage and high society, realizing that both are merely social systems that one has to learn to navigate.
Quote #8
It was already complete, with Gothic stained-glass windows and marble angels and gravestones with gold lettering for the entire family. Among them, of course, was that of Doña Fermina Daza de Urbino de la Calle, and next to it her husband's, with a common epitaph: Together still in the peace of the Lord. (5.23)
Is marriage a contract that lasts into the afterlife? Will Fermina and Dr. Urbino still be together after they die? What if she falls in love with someone else after her husband passes away?
Quote #9
Suddenly she sighed: "It is incredible how one can be happy for so many years in the midst of so many squabbles, so many problems, damn it, and not really know if it was love or not." (6.165)
Fermina seems a little surprised by the success of her marriage, especially because she never felt for her husband the same mushy gooshy feelings that she felt for Florentino when she was a teenager.