A Wuthering Love

The trivial arguments. The brutal affections. The withered memories. Wuthering Heights is a love novel at its core, a book about the love between unstable and reckless people. So clearly it is a viable resource in the answering of my big question. The most inspiring love affair occurs between the tender Catherine and rowdy Heathcliff. Heathcliff musters all his strength to getting the girl that it corrupts him. When the girl marry's another, Heathcliffs heart changes and spends her whole life in flaunts of revenge and romantics. When Catherine dies a tragic death Heathcliff utters that Catherine's soul must not be at peace as long as he lives, going on to say, "'Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!... I cannot live without my life!'" He wants her soul to be restless until he dies. Yet all he wants is her, and if she does not leave him, then at least he can live, because if she were to leave him he would die. His maddened love has sapped the strength from him, forcing Heathcliff to rely on talks of ghosts and spirits as a source to his life. Heathcliff in the end is the embodiment of a weakness that thrives in the depths of love. Catherine also provides an interesting statement on love. Her famous quote, "'I am Heathcliff!'" creates a distinct balance between love being strong or weak. She is Heathcliff. The weakness of love is shown as she trades away all her individuality with this statement. She essentially loses her self, losing Catherine, which would be a distract downfall and weakness. More optimistically, however, this quote evokes an images of soul mates and kindred spirits. Their souls are bound together and exist as one, which relates to the previous quote about Heathcliff. In this case they're love provides strength for both of them, they are connected and bound on a deeper level then the romantics of others. Catherine's 3 letter statement lends my question a fascinating answer. In this example love is both a strength and a weakness, love is a double edged sword, one side gives strength, the other side fuels weakness. Maybe this will be the ultimate answer to my question. Or maybe not.

Love: A Regal Inconvenience

As is the deal with most things in my life, my question is derived from Game of Thrones. Cersei Lannister, the beautiful, cunning, power hungry queen states that the more people you love, the weaker you are. When that song was first sung to me, I thought nothing of it. Love was strength, love was courage, love was all that was needed in life. Her quote was just words, and words are wind. Though soon the winds rose and gusted into my mind. And when I pondered, those words cut deeper than any sword could. I have witnessed first hand people spending so much time and energy on a single person, only for them to love another. I have seen men and woman become whole new people, both inside and out, all for the sake love. In so many stories, death comes to those that love, and the love is what stabs them in the back. I have been the fool. All these things I have seen, and I believe what I see. But I have also seen and read about love that lasts, seen people that are the happiest when they are around the people they love. I have seen what a soul mate looks like. Both these truths I have seen. So with this big question I would like to explore if the good really does out weigh the bad. I want to know if love is truly a weakness.

The Many Loves Of Oedipus Rex

Oedipus was cursed. Oedipus lost his eyes. Oedipus went into exile. Oedipus loved. A possible correlation. In Oedipus Rex, the great tragedy written by Sophocles, is littered with love. From the beginning of this tale, love has proved to end in despair. The original love of the story was between Laius and Jacosta, the love that created Oedipus. The love that created the monster that murdered his own father. The love Laius bore Jacosta, as represented by Oedipus, proves to be his death in the end. Love is weakness. The second love, was quite different, involving the love a mother has for her own child. Jacosta was forced into murdering her own son. The love she had for Oedipus prevented her from carrying out the action, causing Oedipus to live. This love shames Jacosta in the end, but saved her child's life. Love is strength. The third love, between Oedipus and Jacosta, leads to the demise of them both. This forbidden love between mother and son, unknowingly yes, undoubtedly ruins them both in the end. The love hurting Jacosta so much, she hangs herself. Love is weakness. Last is the fourth love, the love Oedipus holds for his two daughters. He feels deep remorse for having them being born into a family of sin. He begs Creon to protect them while he is in exile. The last love shows that through darkness and wrath, love can protect. Love is strength. The similarity between the loves that prove useful only involves the warmth and trust between child and parent. The fatal attractions between normal people with no real connection is where the weakness stems from. Yet from just these examples a conclusion is impossible. Love is a complex beast, giving both life and death, transforming into both a strength and a weakness. A labyrinth that must be traversed, not knowing the truth until the walls cease to form and the exit is all that remains. The question persists.