Love, Sex and Desire in French Movies and Novels Essay Example

For the complete understanding of the ideology of romantic love, it is necessary to trace back to the philosophy of Aristotle or Plato, when initial research and examination was performed. According to philosophical research, it is found that "the idea of romantic love was initially started by the Platonic tradition, which states that love is a desire for beauty that is a value which transcends specificities of the physical body. Romantic love is considered a higher metaphysical condition more than only physical or sexual attractiveness" (Scott). In light of this statement, this paper discusses several approaches to the concept of love and eroticism found in "The Lover" by Marguerite Duras.

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The affair that is defined in The Lover is majorly based on the bodily as well as sexual interaction between the two mistresses. For example, the love affair between the two lovers starts when the girl meets with the Chinese man while crossing the river on the ferry on her way back to the city after school holidays when she meets with the son of a businessman. On their first encounter with the girl, the Chinese man though he has a look he does not have the self-assurance of the playboy that he imagined himself to be; he is only fascinated the first time he sees the girl standing by the rail on the crowded ferry cross the Mekong River (Scott). In this case, the Chinese man romantic love is clearly found on the cultural heritage that was initiated by Plato through his ideologies regarding love as a mystical pull, which exceeds the borders of the corporeal reach that is a complex expression with unification of the personalities a ideas that is vividly illustrated by Duras in the novel.

After the two lovers getting into an awkward conversation, the Chinese man offers to give the young girl a ride to Saigon in his limousine car, which she accepts, even though the two barely speak to each other during the drive. In this essence, the lack of communication between the two indicates that the Chinese man takes advantage of his higher status to force love toward the young girl. On the other hand, the girl falls for the man's love because of loneliness at home since her mother is weak-willed and her elder brother is violent. Consequently, the surrounding at home denies her the family love which makes her fall for the Chinese man's love. Accordingly, this is shown through the girl's exaggeration of her years when asked her years she lies to be seventeen years when her real age is fifteen as a strategy to make the man not look at her as an underage. The following day the chinse man waits for the young girl outside her boarding school, and on meeting, they go to his rented room to entertain her mistress, where they have sex. Certainly, the affair between the Chinese man and the girl is found on physical, sexual intercourse (Williams). The relationship between the two is developed over their sexual meetings, and it is clear that their affiliation is restricted within the limits of the bedroom. Indeed, the affection between the two lovers is unthinkable because Chinese man is scheduled to travel to France where arrangements are underway for him to marry a Chinese heiress (Williams). Consequently, due to the awareness of the limited period together, the two fall into a relationship where they shed all their responsibilities, which come with commitment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, although at first the love between the Chinese man and the girl seems to be a bodily fascination, which is hurriedly satisfied with erotic encounters, toward the end it appears to be through this sexual closeness and association that both lovers develop how their emotional state start developing. Indeed, love is built on corporeal and sexual passion like it was realised through the Platonic research.

Works Cited

Scott, Kassie Ann. "Raising the Woman Question: Duras's Trans* gender Child." (2018).

Williams, Linda R. Sex in the Head: Visions of Femininity and Film in DH Lawrence. Routledge, 2016.