Finding a “soul mate” doesn’t seem like such an easy task. Meeting someone with whom we can unravel the whole ball of yarn (dialogue, gaze, fun, desire, family, work, pains, joys…), in short, someone with whom we can share life, may initially depend on luck, but over time it requires much more than that. Relationships are collaborative constructions, and probably the most crucial factors are the investment of energy, love, patience, and many other attributes.
But just as romantic literature once gave way to other trends, has romantic love come to an end? The notion of romantic love that once prevailed was closely related to literary romanticism. It’s impossible to know how much literature has influenced the ideal of love that Western culture has celebrated over the past few centuries, but it can be said that today, more than ever, fiction and reality mix in each of us.
By explaining and proposing fantasy worlds, literature, like cinema, shows, for example, how all the love in the world can be contained in a single loving gesture.
Ana Maria Machado and Moacyr Scliar discuss love in a stimulating discussion full of good stories and much beauty.
