Unfaithful but not disloyal

“Unfaithful but not disloyal” is the motto that defines Florentino Ariza’s long, intermittent affair with the Widow Nazaret. It distinguishes sexual fidelity from a durable bond: neither lover is exclusive, but their connection persists for almost thirty years and culminates in Florentino’s taking responsibility for her burial.

The Motto and Its Context

Florentino recalls the phrase while remembering the many women who had remained part of his life. The Widow Nazaret stands apart from them: she is the only woman with whom he profaned his mother’s house on the Street of Windows, though it was Tránsito Ariza, not Florentino, who invited her in. Their relationship thus begins within a private family space, with Florentino’s mother helping make the encounter possible.

The motto gives a name to the contradiction at the center of their affair. The two are repeatedly unfaithful, yet the narrator describes them as continuing lovers rather than treating each betrayal as an end. Their arrangement does not promise exclusivity; it preserves attachment despite its absence.

Tenderness and Instability

Florentino is more understanding of the Widow Nazaret than of his other lovers. She radiates enough tenderness, in his view, to compensate for Fermina Daza, although he considers her sluggish in bed. That comparison places the affair in the shadow of Florentino’s enduring attachment to Fermina, while also recognizing a quality in the widow that made their bond meaningful in its own right.

Tenderness does not make the relationship faithful. The Widow Nazaret has the inclinations of an alleycat, which the narration presents as more indomitable than her tenderness; consequently, both lovers are condemned to infidelity. Their motto holds these opposing facts together without resolving them: betrayal recurs, but so does the relationship.

Responsibility and Aftermath

Among his many lovers, the Widow Nazaret is the only one for whom Florentino assumes responsibility. When he hears she has died and is destined for a pauper’s grave, he pays for her burial and attends the funeral as its sole mourner. The final act gives the motto its emotional weight: whatever their failures of exclusivity, Florentino does not abandon her in death.

The recollection also broadens the portrait of Florentino’s attachments. He has kept track of the lives of his countless lovers, and their memories accompany him when he is fearful. The Widow Nazaret’s story is distinctive within that history because the language of disloyalty is answered, at the end, by a concrete act of care.