his mother’s own fickleness and infidelity leads Hamlet to reject romantic love in general and to spurn his betrothed Ophelia specifically. “Get thee to a nunnery!” (3.1.131) he commands Ophelia before ranting about the knavishness of man (and woman). In many ways, his rejection of romantic love is the real tragedy of the play. It leads to Ophelia’s death and to the stack of corpses that litter the stage at the end. Had Hamlet simply found a better way to cope with his mother’s quick re-marriage, the events of the drama might have unfolded differently. For even in the midst… Continue Reading...
part of that equation. The rise of the idea of romantic love in modern society has led to the pursuit of intimacy in relationships outside of marriage and in different forms than what has typically been traditionally accepted in society. As the rate of marriage has declined over the past century and the rate of divorce has risen, it can be surmised that the nature of society and its attitudes towards intimate relationships have substantially changed to effect this long-term trend. There is now more diversity and variation in intimate relationships than in centuries past. This paper will analyze the… Continue Reading...
the development of romantic love between women. Romantic love remains confined to the dictates of heterosexual marriage. Yet Clarissa talks about “falling in love with women,” and when referring to Sally Seton states, “Had not that, after all, been love?” (Woolf 26-27).
One of the main reasons why Clarissa loves and admires Sally is for her carefree attitude and her indifference to social norms. Clarissa underestimates her own nonconformist tendencies, and instead projects her feelings onto her friend. “Sally’s power was amazing,” Clarissa notes, after musing on the nature of “falling in love… Continue Reading...
called in Roman mythology) has long been associated with romantic love. Aphrodite was also worshipped as the goddess of fertility (most likely because she had so many lovers and so many love-children). So whenever a devotee wanted a child, worship of Aphrodite was the best course of action. So powerful was this devotion, in fact, that today what is called a love potion or aphrodisiac is named so after Aphrodite. An aphrodisiac is something that seduces the senses and arouses one’s sexual passion or lust for another. Aphrodite, because of her immense beauty, was said to be able to… Continue Reading...
