Is romantic love a code, a script, a narrative or a delusion Essay

Is romantic love a code, a script, a narrative or a delusion - Essay Example The paper "Is romantic love a code, a script, a narrative or a delusion" analyzes is romantic love a code, a script, a narrative or a delusion, or, all of the above. Romantic love can be viewed in different ways, often depending on each individual, his experiences, his status, and his perceptions. Romantic love can therefore be viewed as a code, also a script, a delusion, or all of the above. As a script, love is not original, as it proceeds from others, including books and friends. Love is a amalgamation of amorous declarations, and it mimics images and representations from films, literature, text, poems, biology, and spirituality. As a script, it enacts rituals and conventions. It also arises from books and encounters where the same things are read, heard, and spoken. Love has a settled discourse because it is supported by historical elements, making it an adventure in some ways. Stages relating to love include instantaneous rapture, then a series of encounters. The encounters incl ude various encounters where individuals go on dates, exchange calls and/or letters, and have brief trips. At which point, the ‘lovers’ explore the perfect qualities of the other person. There are sweet qualities at these beginnings of the relationship, and this is the interval period during idyllic moments. These moments take on an identity based on its opposition to the period which follows where there are moments of pain, anxiety, suffering, distress, embarrassment, and deception. At this point, there is a persistent threat. of a possible downfall which may overcome a person. In some ways, love is also a delusion and a madness. Love often takes place with the amorous subject indicating that he is going mad with love, and that he is mad to be in love. He admits that he is insane in his own eyes and is also conscious in his madness. All lovers are mad at some point, delusional too (Barthes, 1984). As such, they are likely to do mad things. There are many incidents in f ilm and in literature illustrating such madness. Romeo and Juliet were mad to reach the point in their life where Juliet agreed to take in a potion to stop her heart and feign death, and Romeo has taken on qualities of madness as he too reaches a point where he commits suicide in the hope of joining Juliet in the afterlife. Delusions are associated with love, especially in terms of the feelings and thoughts which people associate with it (Barthes, 1984). People in love may be deluded enough to think that the other party is also in love with them. As such they are prone to make interpretations of the other person’s actions and words in order to fit their delusion of love (Turkle, 2011). This may be seen in overly eager fans of celebrities which often believe that the words, songs, and actions of their favourite actors or singers are meant for them. John Hinckley, Jr. for example attempted to assassinate Pres. Ronald Reagan in an attempt to impress Jodie Foster (Buss, 2000). He was delusional in the belief that he would be able to prove his love to Foster by assassinating President Reagan. Love is also a catastrophe in the sense that the lover views himself in a trap where he cannot escape, in a trap where he is doomed to destruction. Under these conditions, the lover is likely to be carried away by his emotions, asphyxiated by it, likely to feel