Dr. Urbino Chapter Summary

1. Describe the novel’s opening scene. Who are the characters? Where is the action taking place? What is happening?
a. The novel opens in the residence of Jeremiah de Saint-Amour, who had committed suicide because he feared growing old. The characters are Dr. Juvenal Urbino, the deceased, a police inspector, and a medical student. The scene begins with Dr. Urbino making observations about the room in which they found the body and then briefly observing the body as well. He quickly decides that there will be no need for an autopsy because cyanide leaves behind an unmistakable smell and Saint-Amour was too knowledgeable to have done this accidently. The medical student is disappointed with this conclusion because he wanted to study how cyanide
The first reference to religion is when Dr. Urbino hears bells tolling and realizes he is going to miss Pentecost Mass. There are also references to first Communion and Dr. Urbino comments that he’s only missed three Sunday Masses.
4. Describe Dr. Juvenal Urbino. What does his name mean? What is he like? What does he do? What is his house like? What was he famous for?
a. My best guess is that Dr. Urbino’s name is a reference to youth because it has the same root as the word “juvenile.” Dr. Urbino is 80 or possibly 81 and his age is starting to take its toll, so the connection to youth could be that he wishes he could relive his earlier days. He is a well-respected individual and is quite religious. He seems stubborn and sure of himself as well. As his title would suggest, he is a medical doctor, but he also enjoys chess and reading. He lives in a large, expensively furnished home with his wife, a parrot, and a tortoise. His house also contained an enormous library. He was known for being able to “tell what was wrong with a patient just by looking at him” (9-10). His was famous for his contributions to his city, such as reorganizing the fire department to be more efficient and encouraging them to learn how to respond to emergency situations other than fires. He was also famous for organizing “the construction of the first aqueduct, the first sewer system, and the covered public market that permitted filth to be cleaned out of Las Animas Bay”
The first reference to Europe is the books that Dr. Urbino reads from sellers in Paris and Barcelona. There is also a mention of Dr. Urbino traveling to Europe. The open sewers located in the area where de Saint-Amour’s mistress lives are said to have been “inherited from the Spaniards” (12). The house of Dr. Urbino contains some European architecture and furnishing, such as Doric columns and rocking chairs from Vienna. Dr. Urbino and his wife also adopted “the Roman strategy against heat” (19) in order to keep their house cool in the summer. Some of the changes to the fire department that Dr. Urbino suggested were based off of things that he witnessed in the cities of Hamburg and Naples. The home of Dr. Olivella was designed by an architect from Florence.
10. Who is Florentino Ariza? Describe him.
a. Florentino Ariza is a man from Fermina’s past, perhaps her first love. He is described as being 73 years of age and clean-shaven except for a mustache. He appears for the first time at the funeral of Dr. Urbino and helps run smoothly from an unnoticed position behind the scenes. When everyone else has left and Fermina finally notices him standing there, he declares that he has waited more than 50 years to remind her of his love and fidelity to her.
11. This chapter is framed between two deaths. Describe its