When writing about love

When writing about love, there is usually a tendency to emphasize romantic love, and thus view love as primarily a feeling, directed exclusively towards the perfect person known as the "lover". But of course, as often pointed out, there are many different types of love. One of the most common ways of answering the question of the nature of love is to confess ignorance, by arguing either that no one can define love, or that everyone has their own definition, so that there is no single, all-encompassing definition. In one respect, there is no doubt that this is true: of all the experiences human beings have, love is certainly one of the most mysterious; and because each of us must rely primarily on our own experiences, there are indeed almost as many different ideas about love as there are different people who have given and received love. What, then, is this elusive thing called love that everyone so desperately needs? The obsession that most people have of finding the perfect companion is not love. It is better known as "infatuation", and there is a vast difference between infatuation and real love. William Faulkners A Rose for Emily is an excellent example of infatuation. Emily hides behind a psychological dysfunction of infatuation and unknowingly labels it love. Miss Emily, the main character of this story, lives for many years as a recluse, someone who has withdrawn from a community to live in seclusion. "No visitor had passed since she ceased giving china-painting lessons eight or ten years earlier."(Faulkner 73) Faulkner characterizes Miss Emily's attempt to remove herself from society through her actions. "After her father's death she went out very little; after her sweetheart went away, people hardly saw her at all."(74) The death of her father and the shattered relationship with her sweetheart co! Miss Emily may have wanted seclusion, but her heart longed for companionship. Her desire for love and com...