In world practice, there is probably no other topic, common, provocative, diverse, or centuries-old, as love or its absence. Hence, it is essential to consider how different authors have described love. Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway, depicts the story of a man and a female waiting for a train in Spain while having a beer and anise liqueur. The protagonist attempts to persuade his beloved to have an abortion, but she is doubtful. Their short, caustic conversation adds to the story’s intensity and overall retrospect to the concept of love (Damrosch 57). Therefore, in these two stories, the theme of love is portrayed in the same way; it is illuminated because of sadness and problems.
In many ways, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love is the story of family life. At the beginning of the creative reading, one can read about several married couples sitting around a table, drinking gin, and the consequences of “what is love” (Damrosch 54). There is nothing supernatural about Carver’s stories, except that he writes about ordinary people. The author portrays lovers and family life as men tired of their wives, work, and suspicious bills and wives tired of their husbands, of their perpetual drunkenness.
In the short story Love in L.A., the topic of love is depicted differently. The main character is lonely, which is why he meets a woman and flirts with her. Thus, in Love in L.A., the theme of love is represented because of the protagonists’ desire to relieve loneliness rather than receive authentic feelings. The short story does not present pure and genuine love. However, in What We Talk About When We Talk About Love and Hills Like White Elephants, the authors describe authentic feelings, even if they have significant problems. The theme of the oppressiveness of marriage is described in Story of an Hour. The characterization of love and marriage is similar to the one Carver presented (Damrosch 82). Therefore, marriage and love are portrayed negatively, and Mrs. Mallard’s weak heart symbolizes the weakness of feelings and their union. In the sonnet Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? Shakespeare portrays the stability of love, which distinguishes it from previous authors. Accordingly, Shakespeare described love as the best feeling that could help overcome all challenges. Thus, all the authors except Shakespeare portrayed love through sadness and suffering.
Work Cited
Damrosch, David. How to Read World Literature. John Wiley & Sons, 2017.