How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
He thought that the world would make more rapid progress without the burden of old people […] He foresaw a more humanitarian and by the same token a more civilized future in which men and women would be isolated in marginal cities when they could no longer take care of themselves so that they might be spared the humiliation, suffering, and frightful loneliness of old age. From the medical point of view, according to him, the proper age limit would be seventy. (6.113)
The theories on aging put forth by Fermina's son, Dr. Urbino Daza, while lunching with Florentino are disturbingly resonant of the pro-eugenics reading that the elder Dr. Urbino was doing on the day he died. The good intentions of these two medical professionals, both advocates of social progress, have a frightening dark side.