The Darker Side of Love

Love is a concept that is often presented as a one-dimensional emotion that we associate with ultimate goodness. It is a word used to describe deep emotional bonds shared between individuals, and serves as a representation of many emotions in their most amplified form. There are many stages and various meanings that have come to define love, but all seem to reflect a positive theme of personal happiness. What some fail to recognize or acknowledge is the idea that love has a dark side, which counteracts the traditional take on the emotion itself. I feel that Othello introduces this dark side of love to its audience. The characters see how love can bring out jealousy and a need for revenge. This is portrayed in the relationship between Othello and Desdemona -- which ultimately presents love as a means to destruction and death.

The relationship between Desdemona and Othello was conflicted from the very beginning. This was the case because no one could understand or accept the mutual love that was shared between them. Iago knows how strong their love for each other is, and he uses this as his means to seek revenge on Othello. He does this by breaking the mutual trust that is initially present in their relationship. Although the relationship between Cassio and Desdemona is honest, the fear of her dishonesty consumes Othello's mind and leads him to do things that are completely out of character -- things he would never see himself capable of doing in a right frame of mind.

The thought of love often clouds our ability to think logically in the midst of our everyday lives. So although love is often associated with the positive aspects of life, including the things that we desire most, it can lead to the fear of loss and deception. As Othello has presented to us, love can lead to destruction in the sense that it is vulnerable and easily influenced by outside forces present in the world. Although love in its purest form is beautiful and innocent, the evil that is found in the natural world has a tendency to come between that love and to taint it to the point of no return. In reading the play, we uncover and expose the dark side of love, watching Othello subject himself to the influence of the outside world and allowing evil to overcome his heart and destroy his sincere love for Desdemona.

Is What You See Always What You Get?

Trust is often a concept that we only take time to consider after it has been betrayed. Humans tend to attribute trust with power and responsibility, as opposed to individual character and personal nature. Outward appearances and personal reputations often offer the most insight as to who is trusted and who is not in the broad picture of society.

Power comes into the picture with trust when, in actuality, the two often times conflict one another. For example, members of a nation place the most trust in their leaders because they trust them to run the country for the betterment of the people. However, there have been so many instances in the past where politicians have deceived the public for their own personal gain. They use manipulation to win the trust of the people, but secretly have their own selfish motives. It becomes hard to know who to trust in society and in life in general. It is easier for us to take on the viewpoints of others in regards to trusting an individual, than it is to take the time to form our own opinions about them.

Othello is a perfect example of the fault in associating trust and honesty with power and responsibility. Iago is the most vindictive character. He allows jealousy to overcome him, and uses manipulation to bring down those around him that were closest to him. Because Iago is a respected man in the society as a whole, the characters trust his word without hesitation. With power comes the ability and opportunity to deceive, and Iago takes advantage of this fact. Although he is evil on the inside, the act that he portrays to those around him is enough to get them to trust him in every sense. They begin to see things that are not true in actuality. For example, Iago is able to use his reputation to trick Othello into believed that Desdemona was unfaithful to him.

With instances of broken trust that lead to destruction, it becomes hard for us to know who to trust and when. The idea of trust is a difficult one to grasp, because every time it is betrayed, we become more and more hesitant to trust someone in the future. We tend to confuse those worthy of our trust from those unworthy because manipulation can often appear in the form of sincerity, as the character of Iago demonstrates.

The best thing that we can do is to learn to trust people for ourselves, and not base it on what others tell us or what society as a whole convinces us to believe. Acknowledging the fact that deception is prevalent within the world should cause us to open our minds and to trust people for reasons that go beyond power and responsibility.

Girl, Interrupted...

As I watched Girl, Interrupted for the second time, I began to look more closely at the role and background of Susanna Kaysen, analyzing the way that the title of the film directly applies to her life. As the film opens, Susanna has reached her breaking point. She has taken a large dose of aspirin in an attempt to end her life before it has really even started. As we look back on her past, we learn that Susanna was the only one in her graduating class that had decided not to attend college the following year. We also learn that she had slept with the husband of a close family friend. Susanna's future was uncertain to both her and to those around her. Her life was in desperate need of some change, some form of interruption that would allow her to put her life on the right track.

To me, the 'Interruption' initially refers to Susanna's failed suicide attempt, followed by her 18 month stay at the Claymore psychiatric institution. After she has been revived and released from the hospital, it is evident that Susanna has been given a second chance at life. The suicide served as her necessary interruption, and her admittance into Claymore is her opportunity to turn her life around and to give it some meaning.

As the plot continues to unfold, we learn that Susanna has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and depression. Claymore is the second 'Interruption' in her life, stemming from the suicide. In this, Susanna is able to find herself and to overcome her many challenges. She finally begins to appreciate life and makes the effort to get better. She finds her relief and voice by writing in her journal. Susanna begins to express what she is feeling, and isn't afraid or reluctant to think about her future.

When Susanna is released from Claymore after 18 months. she is a new person, anxious to begin living for something. She intends to continue her writing, work at a part-time job (for the time being), and live on her own. Therefore, it can be concluded that Susanna's breaking point interrupted her and caused her to rethink the way she had been living her life. She was a 'Girl, Interrupted', that took advantage of an opportunity to change her life for the better, and actually found direction and purpose.

Who Takes the Blame?

In Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper", the question arises about whether or not writing is the source of the narrator's conflicted mental state. For me, writing is meant to serve as a release; it is a way for me to formulate my own thoughts into words. As I had mentioned in a previous blog, my thoughts are pieces of information floating around in my mind, and writing is the way in which I can make some sense of these knowledgeable facts. However, I have always had the freedom to write my thoughts down and express them in a simple way. The modern world presents me with so many opportunities to express my opinions to the outside world, that having to suppress them would be indescribable.

The narrator, however, has this restriction imposed upon her in which writing is not a freedom she is entitled to practice. In her time, writing was not something that women were freely privileged to do. So, even though writing is meant to be used as an expression of thoughts and ideas, the narrator may find it to be more of a hardship than a luxury. Keeping her writing a secret takes away from the significance of it because she is only able to admit to herself how she feels.

When I write something down, I enjoy the feedback that I get from my audience, and this helps me look at my ideas in a more complex way or in a different light. The narrator, however, never gets to share her work with anyone. Her writing becomes more of a burden than a release because she is obligated to keep it from the world, even from those closest to her. Having to hide your true feelings from those around you would be hard enough, but having to hide the one way that your organize your thoughts and structured reflections would serve as an even more difficult burden to bear. So who or what is to blame for the narrator's conflicted mental state? Is it the burden of having to hide her written thoughts that drives her mad, or is it the writing that actually helps her cope with her already established conflicted state of mind?