।। Rahman M Mahbub ।।
Love is a universal force that has shaped human existence, transcending eras, cultures, and ideologies. From ancient mythology to modern science, love remains a subject of fascination and profound significance. This essay explores love’s multifaceted influences on human life, delving into its historical, literary, philosophical, and scientific dimensions.
Ancient perspectives on love
Greek mythology offers one of the earliest insights into love’s complexities. Eros, the god of love, embodies both the passionate and chaotic nature of love, often portrayed as capricious and uncontrollable. The tale of Orpheus and Eurydice illustrates love’s transformative power and its tragic potential. Orpheus’s descent into the underworld to rescue Eurydice highlights the depth of love’s commitment and the pain of its loss.
The philosophy of Aristotle provides a rational perspective on love. In his Nicomachean Ethics, he categorises love into three types: eros (romantic love), philia (friendship), and agape (selfless love). Aristotle emphasises that the highest form of love is rooted in virtue and mutual respect, fostering personal and societal growth.
In the eastern tradition, ballads like Shiri-Farhad and Legendary Folktale Behula-Lokhindar present love as a force that defies societal and cosmic challenges. Behula’s unwavering devotion to her husband Lokkhindhor, navigating the trials of the gods, underscores love’s resilience and spiritual depth. Similarly, the Persian tragic love story of Laili-Majnu epitomises love’s transcendence over worldly constraints, portraying it as a divine connection that borders on the mystical.
These Eastern love stories emphasise love’s enduring strength in the face of adversity. Behula’s journey through trials imposed by divine forces illustrates love’s power to challenge fate itself. The tale of Laili-Majnu depicts love as an all-consuming force, often leading to self-sacrifice. This narrative resonates across cultures, emphasising love’s universal appeal and its potential for tragedy.
Shakespearean perspectives on love
Shakespeare’s works provide a nuanced exploration of love, capturing its idealised, whimsical, and tragic aspects.
A. Love as transformative and idealised
In Romeo and Juliet, love is a transformative force, compelling the lovers to defy familial and societal norms. Juliet’s declaration: “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite”, romanticises love’s boundless potential, while simultaneously highlighting its impracticality in a divided world.
B. Love as unpredictable and capricious
A Midsummer Night’s Dream humorously portrays love’s whimsical and irrational nature. Lysander’s observation:
“The course of true love never did run smooth,” reflects love’s inherent unpredictability, often swayed by external forces, such as magic in the play.
3. Love as a source of pain and jealousy
In Othello, love’s darker side emerges through Othello’s destructive jealousy. His lament: “One that loved not wisely but too well,” reveals the fragility of love when tainted by doubt and manipulation.
4. Love and lust
Shakespeare distinguishes between true, enduring love and fleeting physical desire. In Sonnet 130, he critiques idealised beauty in love poetry:
“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips’ red.” This grounded depiction emphasises affection based on authenticity rather than superficial appearances.
5. Love as eternal
Shakespeare celebrates love’s enduring nature in Sonnet 116:
“Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove.” This idealised vision contrasts with the transient nature of human life, positioning love as an eternal beacon.
Tagore and Jibanananda Das on love
Rabindranath Tagore viewed love as both spiritual and universal. In his poem “Unending Love “ or “Ananta Prem”, he writes:
“I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times, In life after life, in age after age, forever.”
He loved her for ages, forever. So, their love has a quality of timelessness. The last two lines of ‘Unending Love’ center on the “memories” that appear in a lover’s mind. Those memories of love merge into the singularity and become “one love”. It does not matter if they are physically apart, there is a sense of oneness. Lastly, he adores his beloved with the songs of every poet from the past and present. He tries to gift her the essence of their love through the lines of ‘Unending Love’.
Tagore’s concept of love transcends physical existence, aligning it with the divine and eternal.
Jibanananda Das, on the other hand, portrays love as melancholic and rooted in the mortal world. In Banalata Sen, he writes:
“For a thousand years I have been walking into the roads of the world
From Ceylon sea toward a darkling night declining upon the Malaya ocean
Much have I passed through in the grey world of Vimbisar and of Asoka
I was there; inside and beyond the darkness to the forgotten city of – Vidharva;
A weary soul I am, yet the oceanic foams of life throbbing all around
For a little while I was blessed with the serenity from Natore’s Banalata Sen. (Translation mine)
Here, love is intertwined with a sense of longing and timelessness, reflecting human fragility and yearning.
Philosophical perspectives on love
Plato explores the concept of love in The Symposium, where he presents love as a pursuit of the eternal and the ideal. According to Plato, love begins with physical attraction but ultimately aspires to the appreciation of pure beauty and truth.
Arthur Schopenhauer viewed love as a manifestation of the human will, driven by biological imperatives. He argued that love’s intensity stems from its role in perpetuating the species, though it often leads to suffering.
Rumi, the Sufi poet, celebrates love as a divine force that unites the soul with the eternal. His verses reflect the mystical and transformative power of love:
“The minute I heard my first love story, I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was.”
The treatment of love by Samuel Beckett and Albert Camus, two prominent figures of absurdist philosophy and literature, reflects their broader views on the human condition and the inherent tension between the search for meaning and the lack of inherent meaning in life.
Love in Camus’ works
Camus often portrays love as an experience that, like life itself, carries no inherent meaning but offers moments of connection and joy. Love, in his view, is not a solution to the absurd but a vital part of the human experience that reflects our persistent attempts to forge meaning.
In The Stranger (L’Étranger), Meursault’s indifferent attitude toward love highlights the absurdity of emotional connections when viewed through a detached lens. For example, he agrees to marry Marie without deeply caring about her, suggesting that love, like other human pursuits, is transient and ultimately insignificant in the grand scheme of things. However, in The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus acknowledges the beauty of human connections, including love, as part of the rebellion against absurdity. Loving deeply, even in the face of life’s lack of meaning, is an act of defiance.
Love in Beckett’s works
Beckett treats love with skepticism and often portrays it as fraught with difficulty, miscommunication, and unfulfilled longing. His absurdist outlook suggests that while love might provide a temporary respite from loneliness, it cannot overcome the fundamental isolation of the human condition. In Waiting for Godot, for instance, the relationship between Vladimir and Estragon can be interpreted as a form of love—a companionship that helps them endure their meaningless wait.
However, their interactions are marked by tension, dependency, and the inability to fully connect, emphasising the fragile and transient nature of love in an absurd world. In Endgame, the relationship between Hamm and Clov reflects a similar dynamic, where love and care are entangled with resentment and futility.
Love and the absurd
As a Temporary Escape: Absurdist thinkers often view love as one of the ways humans attempt to escape the absurd, seeking meaning and connection in relationships. However, they also recognise that love, like life, is subject to impermanence and uncertainty.
As an Act of Rebellion: In Camus’ framework, love can be an act of rebellion against the absurd. Loving deeply and fully, even when one knows it will not last, is a way of embracing life’s fleeting joys despite its lack of ultimate meaning.
As a Reflection of Isolation: Beckett, on the other hand, leans toward portraying love as a reminder of human isolation. Even in moments of intimacy, his characters often fail to truly connect, reinforcing the theme of existential loneliness.
For both Camus and Beckett, love is not a resolution to the absurd but an integral part of the human experience within it. Camus sees love as a potentially meaningful rebellion, while Beckett emphasises its limitations and inherent fragility. Both perspectives highlight the tension between our desire for connection and the absurd realities of existence.
Modern perspectives and scientific insights
In the modern era, science sheds light on love’s psychological dimensions. Neurochemical studies reveal the role of hormones like oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin in creating feelings of attachment, pleasure, and bonding. Love activates reward centers in the brain, akin to the effects of addictive substances.
Psychologists advocate for a rational approach to relationships. Collected love, characterised by emotional maturity, mutual respect, and understanding, fosters long-term stability and fulfillment. Unlike impulsive passion, collected love emphasises rational decision-making, ensuring that love enhances rather than disrupts life.
The imperative of rationally guided love
To make human life beautiful, love must be guided by reason and empathy. Rationally guided love nurtures:
i. Emotional Well-being: By balancing passion with understanding, love becomes a source of strength rather than turmoil.
ii. Mutual Growth: Partners who respect and support each other’s aspirations create enduring bonds.
iii. Societal Harmony: Love that transcends personal desires fosters unity and compassion within communities.
From the divine passions of Greek mythology to the rational perspectives of modern science, love remains a profound force shaping human existence. Shakespeare’s timeless portrayal of its joys and sorrows, alongside the philosophical and poetic musings of Aristotle, Tagore, and Jibanananda Das, highlights its multifaceted nature. Rooted in both reason and emotion, love enriches and transforms human life into a harmonious and beautiful journey. As Simone de Beauvoir aptly said:
“Love is a great privilege. Real love, which is very rare, enriches the lives of the men and women who experience it.”
* Rahman M Mahbub is a Professor & the Head of the Department of English, City University, and an academician, author, translator, researcher and poet. He can be contacted at rahmanmmahbub27@gmail.com
