love
Answer the question after the reading
Fernando de Rojas. The Celestina.
Calisto is deeply in love with Melibean and when asked if he is a Christian proclaims that Melibean is his religion. In the Middle Ages, such expressions of affection was not uncommon and was witnessed in the tales by Don Quixote some decades later. However, Melibean is sexual driven and she has to master a lot of restraint when with Calisto. This represents a slight shift of morality in the Middle Ages especially with the perception that women were supposed to act as ladies and avoid public embarrassments (Rojas & Bush, 2009).
Garcilaso de la Vega. “Eclogue”
The writer is the shepherd to talk about love since his expressions have no political or social undertones. The theme is clear from the first instance and is expressly directed towards the affection he deeply emphasizes (Grossman, 2006).
Bucolic love is the type of love usually expressed by shepherd or that e living within the countryside and is often used in disparagement or humorously.
Saint Teresa of Avila. “I die because I do not die.”
The religious love portrayed in the poem is unyielding and is not afraid to suffer for the course it believes in. it is filled with hope even in the face of clear torment. According to the poet, even in the worst conditions, she still believes that the Lord will not forsake her and that she lives since eventually death will still come to her.
The Indiscreet Jewels by Denis Diderot.
The text by the author claims that the sultan has a magic ring that makes women confess their sexual exploits. According to him, he extracts such confessions through their genitals since he believes that through this, thy cannot lie to him. Such a text from one of the brightest minds from the Enlightment is unexpected since it shows a complete deviation from what is expected from such caliber of a writer. Therefore, the text can be viewed from a creative angle and such figures (Thomas & Temchin, n.d.).
The most shocking aspect of the text is the claim by the author that the Sultan can obtain the truth from women through their genital parts. It’s even more shocking that one of the greatest minds makes such suggestions in the Enlightment period.
The Sorrows of Young Werther By J.W. von Goethe
Examples of Werther’s obsession with Lotte includes the instance where he asks her not to sprinkle the letters she sends him with sand to preserve them. As his affection grows, he brings great affliction to Lotte over the course of the novel and does not seem to care how his actions affect her (Goethe & Boylan, n.d.).
From the text, it is obvious that Lotte has some affection towards Werther. She is emotionally mature than Werther and understands his shortcomings. Her feelings are portrayed by the temptation to replace Albert’s quiet affection with Werthrer. As his fillings continue to grow, she increasingly pities him and makes it even more difficult to break off their relationship. Her inability to reciprocate Werther’s affection drives his petulance as he seeks to hurt her even more for rejecting his love.
Don Juan Tenorio, by José Zorrilla
Dan Juan rejects societal norms and decides to curve his own path in life. This is shown by his love for gambling which is frowned upon by society. Romantic lovers usually face judgment form the society that wants to dictate how they should conduct their affairs. Such often leads to rebellion especially from the lovers who prefer to listen to their hearts instead.
Don Juan feels the society does not understand the individual as the individuals understands himself hence their harsh judgment. Thus, he feels the need to challenge those who want to get into issues that do not concern them.
He was a hero for the romantics since he went against societal expectations and faced up to those passing judgments within the society. The romantics felt their actions were under constant surveillance with most of their activities frowned upon. Hence, the rebellion by Don Carlos helped to partly justify their actions.
Don Juan dies and is about to be led into hell. However, he protests and cites his action s in life while professing his love for Dona Ines. She comes up and drags him into heaven instead, showing his final vindication.
Dona Ines is kind hearted and is a more gentle character when compared to Don Juan. She is used in the play to bring out the goodness in Don Juan from the previous rebellious and outlaw nature shown in the first half of the play.
Camille (La Dame Aux Camilias) By Alexandre Dumas, fils
Armand and other men find it easy to fall in love with a prostitute since they do not act like other women who chose those who they fall in love with based on their culture or social class. The prostitutes also seem to understand the men and offer a caring ear to their problems.
It is not fair to fall in love with someone and ask him or her to change later. This puts pressure on them to become someone they are not. The men in the article seem to enjoy being who they are and don’t like being changed in their relationships hence their preference for prostitutes.
Dumas considers her contract a terminal diseases since it will eventually ends in some form of disappointment. This affects the story in a sense that the reader is conscious of the fact that the story ends in some form of disappointment.
Dumas portrays prostitutes as kindhearted as and more understanding than most ladies do in the society. They are not judgmental and are more accommodative to different members of the society.
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The novel was not well received at the time due to the conservatism experienced in the society at the time. The novel used obscenities and other frowned-upon methods such as burnings on the stake to relay its messages.
Love and romance is exhibited by the romanticism that is seeping in the society at the time. It is exhibited through various erotic works of art that are starting to come up in the society. Emma’s regret for not taking advantage of romance when it was staring her in the face fills her with regret and unhappiness. She is too realistic in her romantic expression which makes it impossible to implement. Such over-realistic expression finally lead to her romantic downfall. Her upbringing and experiences makes it impossible for her to control her beliefs.
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910). Extracts From Adam’s Diary.
Adam falls in love with Eve after seeing her for the first time as she was the only other similar creature to home in the world.
Twain portrays the story of Adam and Eve as a clear expression of how ladies are controlling in relationships. Such involves great compromise as witnessed by their relationship.
The purpose of humor in the story is to make it acceptable and less offensive to different people in the society who hold extreme viewpoints.
D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930) Lady Chatterley’s Lover (Chapter 12)
Lady Chaterley’s husband is portrayed as paralyzed to present the burden of women taking care of their husbands.
At the time, the obligation of women was to care for their husbands and families and therefore a woman being individualistic was not common.
The society holds very extreme views of sexuality in the society hence it is considered a greater issue than class differences.
Further, the society frowned against the use of obscene languages
as they considered this the greatest propellant to immorality.
Reference
Goethe, J. & Boylan, R. The sorrows of young Werther ; Elective affinities. [Place of publication not identified]: [publisher not identified].
Grossman, E. (2006). The Golden Age. New York: W.W. Norton.
Rojas, F. & Bush, P. (2009). Celestina. Sawtry: Dedalus.
Thomas, C. & Temchin, S. The indiscreet jewels.