"Alfredo, how should you understand all the love that’s in my heart. How
should you know that I’ve proved it even at the price of your contempt? But the
time will come when you’ll know. And you’ll admit how much I loved you. God
save you then from all remorse. Even after death I’ll still love you."
-La Triviata, Verdi, 1:31: 30
Love hurts. Or at least it can. And still, true love continues to love even
whilst the loved one hurts the lover. Verdi has shown this throughout his opera La Triviata. Violetta is
beautiful and wealthy, and she lives a life of parties and glamour, searching
only for the next great “pleasure” in her life. Until Alfredo comes along,
confessing his undying love to her, after which, she begins to fall in love
with him. But, hesitating, she at first refuses him, indeed causing him great
pain. After a time, however, she gives in to her true feelings for him, and
they run away together for three months. At the end of these three months,
however, Alfredo’s father shows up and tells Violetta that she must leave
Alfredo, and that they can no longer be together. Violetta is heartbroken, but
agrees, because she believes it to be in Alfredo’s best interests. After she
does so, Alfredo finds her and causes her great harm out of jealousy and rage.
And while she lies there, broken of heart and of body, she sings these words.
She tells Alfredo that she did this all out of love, and that she not only
forgives him of what he’s done, but she will love him until she dies, and
beyond.
It’s Moulin Rouge. Or, I
suppose more accurately, Moulin
Rouge is La Triviata…
It’s the same—down to the
singing—and it is a beautiful story both ways.
But, let’s be honest, this same kind of story has been told a
thousand times.
In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth
first refuses and spurns her love, but later, she repents and receives Mr.
Darcy.
Or in The Notebook, Ali comes from a
wealthy family, and her parents don’t think Noah a suitable match, so they take
her away, where she falls for another man, only returning to Noah when she
realizes how deeply he still loves her.
So why is this story so pervasive? What is it about this tale that is so
universal? I suggest that it is because Violetta is a type of Christ. She
came from wealth—Christ from Heavenly Royalty. Violetta sacrificed everything
and ultimately died because of what her beloved had done to her. Christ
“suffered these things [the Atonement] for all, that they might not suffer if
they would repent” (D&C 19:16), and, by His own people, was hung on a cross
to die for sins He never committed. Violetta even begins to convalesce for a
short time in the opera, where I saw a strong connection to Christ’s
resurrection on the third day. Surely, Verdi did not do this by accident or
coincidence. Surely, he meant Violetta to symbolize Christ’s charity for each
of us.
As imperfect beings, we hurt each other, and it seems most especially the ones
we love. But if we are to become one with Christ and live as He did, truly we
must LOVE as He did, being willing to sacrifice all for those we love—our
families and friends, our neighbors, strangers on the street—even our enemies.
For me, a strong example of this love is every person that serves in the
military. They willingly and dutifully risk their lives to protect everyone in
the nation—those they love, and those they despise, so that we may have the
freedoms we enjoy today. I am so grateful, so blessed by their service to me… I
feel forever indebted, with no way of ever repaying them. And so I send this
out into the universe: Thank you, all of you that serve and have served in the
military, for the sacrifices you have made on my behalf. They are not
forgotten, nor are they wasted. You exemplify charity in your willingness to
serve.
In summary: true love is
not selfish and, even when it hurts the giver, true love does not end.
(Fittingly enough, it’s in
Italian—sorry, I couldn’t find it in English.)
Translation: Odette: Will you
love me, Derek? –Until the day I die?
Derek: No, Odette, much longer.
Much longer.
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