Love Essay 3 Pages 5 Sources
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ScribdTranslationsLove Essay 3 Pages 5 Sources
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ScribdTranslationsLove and its definitions
One of the most important themes in human life is love. We see it as the core.
principle in the stories told by cinema, literature, and poetry. It is a frequent element in
our daily lives. You recognize the concept when we see it represented in hearts,
photographs of couples or in iconic names like Romeo and Juliet. Although love is something
universal, we cannot generalize it. This is why I want to present a series of reflections on
based on works and definitions that propose a specific definition.
Ambrose Bierce, in his Devil's Dictionary, includes more than nine hundred definitions with
satirical character. Its intention, as stated in the title of the book, is to propose a
alternate, malicious and amoral meaning of commonly used concepts or words. Among
I take up the definition of Love on its pages due to the curious way in which the word is stated:
Temporary insanity curable by marriage, or by removing the patient from
the influences under which he has contracted the illness. This disease, like the
caries and many others, only spreads among the civilized races that live in
artificial conditions; the barbarian nations, which breathe fresh air and
They eat simple foods, they are immune to their devastation. Sometimes it is fatal,
although more often for the doctor than for the patient (Bierce, 1911,
p.11).
The definition presents love as an illness. The interesting part lies in the cure: the
marriage or separation is the way to end the symptoms of love. Such a solution
proposes some limits for the state, or in this case, the suffering. The meaning is clever.
due to the realistic burden it represents. 'Love is over' is a recurring phrase among those who
They feel heartbroken. We can infer that, in marriage, routine deteriorates emotional bonds.
just like the distance.
Not only is there romantic love. One of the most recognizable types of love in our
society is maternal love. Edith Badinter addresses this topic in her article Does love exist
maternal? It questions the sacredness of maternal love according to current themes such as
the morality of women's work or abortion (Badinter, 1981, p.223). The role of the wet nurse in
The story also questions this maternal love that is apparently linked to women.
Badinter questions the naturalness of the human being when reviewing these historical particularities.
Is it possible that nothing in love is natural? As human beings, we feel and share
feelings like anger, sadness, happiness, or love, but to what extent can we
to think of those emotions as inherent to our species?
From a religious point of view, one of the verses can be found in the Old Testament.
more known and cited in the Bible. It presents love as a feeling worthy of
purity
Love is patient, it is kind; love does not envy, love is not
boastful, does not become vain; does nothing improper, does not seek its own, does not
he/she gets irritated, does not hold grudges; does not rejoice in injustice, but rejoices in the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never
it will cease; but prophecies will end, and tongues will cease, and knowledge
it will end. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
The religious definition is harsh and excludes the most natural human behaviors.
like jealousy, envy, or anger. If we analyze the sacred words, the meaning of love
try to list words that refer to the sentimental realm, but not to concrete actions. The bible
It proposes, inferring the set of related words, love as a feeling.
The RAE (Royal Spanish Academy) defines love in its first three definitions.
like a feeling. The first, out of necessity; the second, out of attraction; and the third, for
affection or devotion. The other definitions listed focus on sexual appetite, weakness or the
common agreement. This general trend of interpreting love as a feeling is relevant because
It limits the concept to something abstract. It confines itself to what is felt, but little thought is given to the
action. This makes us reflect on Bierce's definition. Love is similar to the
sickness because the one who is in love feels it, but there is nothing tangible to prove it.
In case the love/feeling is pleasant as described by the Bible, something in the
sacred definition leads us to think, once again, of Bierce: "Love is enduring." Such a sentence
It can be described in the words of Shulamith Firestone:
But the ecstatic love is not usually frequent. For every love experience
positive in our days, for each brief
enrichment period, we found ten experiences loving
destructive, periods of much longer 'prostration' after-love
and that often lead to the destruction of the individual, or at least, to a
emotional cynicism that makes it difficult or impossible to love again. Why
that events must follow this course, if in reality none of this is
inherent to the love process itself? (Firestone, 1973).
Firestone reaffirms the uncertain nature of love. It strengthens the definition of the Bible regarding
suffering and, consequently, Bierce's pessimistic character when compared to the disease.
Therefore, one cannot ignore the negative consequences that love brings.
represented in commercial stories and children's tales represents an obstacle, a
deception that dissolves with the experience of the lover. However, Firestone does not deny the
the possibility of experiencing the ecstasy of love. Unconditional, pure, and happy love is possible, but
it is not a general case as is believed when starting the romantic process.
References
RAE. (2019). Love. Retrieved from:Unable to access the provided URL.
Bierce, A. (1911). The Devil's Dictionary. Infotematica. Retrieved from
Recovered fromUnable to access the content of the provided URL.
The Holy Bible. (1960). Reina Valera. Corinthians. United Bible Societies.
Badinter, E. (1981) Does Motherly Love Exist? Paidós. Barcelona.
Recovered fromUnable to access the provided URL for translation.
The Dialectic of Sex
Unable to access the content of the provided link.
in-defense-of-the-feminist-revolution-2.pdf
