Don Quixote Pt. 1: Romance Addiction

“Of all those that he devoured none pleased him so well as the ones that had been composed by the famous Feliciano de Silva, whose lucid prose style and involved conceits were as precious to him as pearls; especially when he came to read those tales of love and amorous challenges that are to be met with in many places, such a passage as the following, for example: ‘The reason of the unreason that afflicts my reason, in such a manner weakens my reason that I with reason lament me of your comeliness.’ And he was similarly affected when his eyes fell upon such lines as these: ‘…the high Heaven of your divinity divinely fortifies you with the stars and renders you deserving if that desert you greatness doth deserve.’”

-Don Quixote, Cervantes, 2226

            If you’re going, “What…??,” then you got it exactly. In this passage, Cervantes is commenting on the ridiculous nature of the writ of love. The circular speech and repetitive wording in both of the quotes Cervantes tells us that Don Quixote adores dizzies and confuses, and we see a commentary on obsessive love and romance addiction, because certainly if Don Quixote is taken by such verse as these, he has some level of addiction to romance. Cervantes himself is quick to point out that the lines make little to no sense whatsoever, and that even the greatest minds could not unravel their meaning. Not to claim myself among those greatest minds, but I did try, and eventually I got through them, I think able to glean something akin to what they may have been intended to mean, but  honestly, I am still not sure.

            The overdone sap that drips from these lines reminds me of many lines in Twilight, but a few, for example, might be: “His voice was like melting honey. I could imagine how much more overwhelming his eyes would be” (102); “I was consumed by the mystery Edward presented. And more than a little obsessed by Edward himself” (67); and: “It was hard to believe that someone so beautiful could be real. I was afraid that he might disappear in a sudden puff of smoke, and I would wake up” (87). But none so clearly overly obsessed as the passage that reads: “ About three things I was absolutely positive. First Edward was a vampire. Second there was a part of him—and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be—that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.”

            Romance addiction is an affliction suffered by many, at differing levels. Some mild cases simply yearn for the un-reality that “I must get butterflies in my stomach every time I see him, no matter how long we’ve been together,” while the more extreme cases involve violence and abuse to themselves and/ or their “loved” one. It may be the difference between caffeine and heroine, but addiction—to substance or romance—is dangerous regardless.

            The purpose of this blog is to find beauty in things, and so, the beauty I find in these passages from both Don Quixote and Twilight is this: We see through them that obsessive love is consuming, maddening, ultimately unhealthy. Through them we learn to seek what is true love: giving, service, and kindness.

“Love is, above all, the gift of oneself.” –Jean Anouilh

Hamlet Act V Scene 2: Anger and Revenge

“Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe, Osric;

I am justly killed with mine own treachery.”

                        --Hamlet, William Shakespeare, 2497

            Simply put: karma’s a b***. In this scene, Laertes has been poisoned with his own sword, poisoned to kill Hamlet. Laertes grew angry, losing sight of his composure, and in the course of the exchange, Hamlet switched swords with Laertes and returned the offence (drawing blood in what was supposed to be a playful game)—an eye for an eye and all that…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oStWixf19OM (0:00 – 0:17)

            After all, is not turnabout fair play? Laertes received his just desserts, just as Mr. Yin in the Psych episode Yang 3 in 2D. http://movies.netflix.com/WiPlayer?movieid=70153394&trkid=2361637&t=Psych#MovieId=70153394&EpisodeMovieId=70152179 (35:54 – 37:54)

But as Laertes lay there, dying, he realizes this was not brought upon by Hamlet’s hand, but by his own vengeful spirit. And, instead of holding onto that spirit in death, he apologizes to Hamlet for his perfidy. 

Certainly there is insight in his actions. Buddha said, “Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” As I see it, that vengeful, unforgiving anger is the poison, and it will fester and stew inside of your soul, darkening it, eating away at it, and ultimately destroying it. The moral of Laertes story? Thus: when we fuel our anger with exacting revenge, no one gains… 

And everyone dies in the end.

Hamlet Act II Scene 2: Eternal Love

“To the celestial, and my soul’s idol, the most beautified Ophelia,

….In her excellent white bosom, these,

…. Doubt thou the stars are fire;

          Doubt that the sun doth move;

Doubt truth to be a liar;

But never doubt I love.

O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers; I have not art to reckon my groans: but that I love thee best, O most best, believe it. Adieu.”
–Hamlet, William Shakespeare, 2436

          Let’s be honest—no one writes love poems like Shakespeare, and this passage is no different. In a letter from Hamlet to his adored Ophelia, he expresses such strength in his love that he tells her that he should doubt everything she knows to be truth before she doubts his love for her. How powerful is that? And then he goes on to say his words aren’t even ample to 

cover it… Now what girl doesn’t want to hear that?

The world we live in today is one in which cohabitating and “starter marriages” are accepted—even normal, because we, as individuals in a relationship evolve separately and distinctly from our relational counterparts. And with an almost 50% divorce rate, it would seem that no relationship is sure. So how much more poignant would words such as these—if said in earnest and truth—be. If two loving and loyal parties could pledge such love and devotion as this, and make good on that pledge, how much less doubt and worry we would feel for our relationships! How much deeper would be the vulnerability and, therefore, intimacy shared between partners!

As I read this particular passage, I was reminded of the Song of Solomon. Similar to Hamlet’s reference to Ophelia’s “excellent white bosom” (2436), oft is the breast referenced in Solomon’s Song, as in chapter 7, verse 3: “Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins”, or chapter 1 verse 13: “A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.” But more similarly is the avowal that in no way will this love burn out: “Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: of a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned” (Song of Solomon 8:6-7, KJV).  

From there, my mind goes to Princess Buttercup’s declaration “Westley and I are joined by the bonds of love, and you cannot track that—not with a thousand bloodhounds, and you cannot break it—not with a thousand swords…” (The Princess Bride). (Interestingly enough, Westley also mentions the exquisiteness of his love’s breasts as well: “There’s a shortage of perfect breasts in this world—t’would be a pity to damage yours…”)

And then I’m onto All-for-One’s classic love song, I Swear. “I swear by the moon and the stars in the sky: I’ll be there. And I swear, like the shadow that’s by your side I’ll be there. For better or worse, ‘til death do us part—I’ll love you with every beat of my heart. I swear.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDtTerDzoXA

   I guess my point is this: Just like Renee Olstead, we all “want a love that will last.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgDwCh94yp0 We all want assurance that if we are going to put our hearts one the line the way love requires us to, we want a guarantee that it will be forever. What a blessing that we know how it can!