An Interpretation Of Love In The Time Of Cholera From The Perspective Of Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs

Gabriel Garcia Marquez(1927-2004),a Colombian writer,journalist and social activist,won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982.His masterpiece,One Hundred Years of Solitude pushed the magical realism literature of Latin America in the twentieth century to a climax,which established the brilliant position of Latin American literature in the literary world.In his more than 40 years of writing,Love in the Time of Cholera(1985)is the first novel devoted to love.Although many scholars at home and abroad have interpreted this work from various angles,few of them analyze it from the perspective of humanistic psychology.Therefore,based on Maslow's theory of hierarchy of needs and the social background at that time,this thesis analyzes the different processes of seeking for self-actualization of the main characters Fermina,Urbino and Florentino.This thesis is composed of five parts: Introduction,Chapter One,Chapter Two,Chapter Three and Conclusion.The introduction gives an account of Garcia Marquez,the research status of Love in the Time of Cholera at home and aboard and the theoretical foundation of this thesis—theory of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.Chapter One analyzes the deficiency and satisfaction of Fermina's needs and how she integrates into the upper-class step by step and finally achieves her self-actualization.Chapter Two discusses the gratification of Dr.Urbino's physiological and safety needs,and his efforts for the satisfaction of belongingness and love needs.He assists people to conquer the spread of cholera and devotes his passion to making contribution to the social affairs.Finally,he wins the respect from others and realizes self-actualization.Chapter Three explores the humble origin and the hard process of self-actualization of Florentino who is the first love of Fermina.As an illegitimate child,his physiological,safety and belongingness and love needs are unsatisfied.However,not trapped by his identity,he works hard and achieves self-actualization in career.He regains Fermina's love after the death of Dr.Urbino.The conclusion points out that this thesis broadens the research vision of this work.Meanwhile,the analysis of the three main characters' needs is meaningful to the contemporary people.On the one hand,the processes of Fermina and Florentino's self-actualization remind us that we should strive to realize self-actualization with clear goals and firm faiths and have the courage to break social prejudice without being trapped by age,identity and environment.On the other hand,Dr.Urbino assists people to fight against cholera with his remarkable medical skills.His selflessness and perseverance not only set a good example to the contemporary physicians,but also motivate them to pursue self-actualization in the ordinary position.It is obvious that there will be setbacks on the way to self-actualization.As long as people have confidence and strive to pursue self-worth like the protagonists,they will be able to have a more wonderful life.