Lust, Love and Marriage…

As a literature graduate, I try to read as many books as possible. I like to compare different writing styles and understand the perspectives of various authors about similar topics. One of the best explanations and descriptions of love, lust and marriage that I have come across is Louis de Bernieres’.

In Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, the character of Dr. Iannis questions his daughter Pelagia’s love interest in Captain Corelli. He provides her with a coherent and concise description of love and the importance of realising whether it is fit to pursue another person or not:

“Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion, it is not the desire to mate every second minute of the day, it is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every cranny of your body. No, don’t blush, I am telling you some truths. That is just being “in love”, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree not two. But sometimes the petals fall away and the roots have not entwined. Imagine giving up your home and your people, only to discover after six months, a year, three years, that the trees have had no roots and have fallen over. Imagine the desolation. Imagine the imprisonment.”

What do you guys think? This is the best explanation I’ve got – any thoughts on this?