TOPIC: LOVE
QUOTATION
Aye me! for aught that I could ever read, Could ever hear by tale or history, The course of true love never did run smooth…. (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1. 1. 132-34)
PARAPHRASE
Dear me! In spite of anything I could ever read or ever hear in any fictitious or factual story, in reality true love was never given or received without some complication.
COMMENTARY: A Tragic Caribbean Love Story
When a famous Hollywood actor jumped on Oprah’s couch several years ago while discussing his love life, did he “explode from too much pleasure,” as Shakespeare puts it? Perhaps! An old proverb of unknown origin describes love as “a wildly misunderstood although highly desirable malfunction of the heart which weakens the brain, causes eyes to sparkle, cheeks to glow, and blood pressure to rise.” And that is when love is reciprocated. Imagine when it’s not. The ancient Greeks used several words to convey the idea of love, among them agape, philos, and eros. Whether the spiritual, idealized agape, or the dispassionate, Platonic philos (filial), or the passionate love between lovers (eros), love is a powerful driving force, as Shakespeare reminds us. Too often we find ourselves torn in giving our allegiance to our spouses or lovers, while our relatives demand equal (sometimes greater) allegiance. An incident that occurred many years ago in the Caribbean illustrates a dilemma that resulted from the clash between filial (brother/sister) love and erotic love. The day opened bright and refreshing in the beautiful island of Montserrat over sixty years ago. A blaze of excitement ignited and engulfed the young people in the large, exotic village of Salem. The long¬-awaited day for the exhilarating cruise around the island had finally arrived. The young people could hardly contain themselves because in a few short hours, they would be aboard a large boat with their boyfriends, girlfriends, lovers, and best friends. The boat arrived in the harbor at dawn. It rested on the crystal blue water waiting for its jubilant, euphoric young passengers to fill its interior. At around ten o’clock in the morning, the boat pulled out of the harbor amid deafening applause from its occupants who ranged in age from sixteen or seventeen to the twenties. They waved goodbye to their fathers, mothers, and older relatives who were pleased to return home and let the young people enjoy their scenic cruise. Lively, rousing steelband music filled the air on the boat. The young people moved and grooved to the resonant strains of several popular calypsos—among them“Island in the Sun”—as they consumed mounds of rice and peas, curried meats, puddings, and gallons of ginger beer and sodas. Laughter was spontaneous, giggles abundant, and all that youth epitomizes defined the atmosphere on that boat. Unfortunately, after approximately two hours, the sky suddenly turned dark grey. In less than no time, a violent storm developed. Mountainous waves enveloped the boat and tossed it around violently for a while. Each time the distressed boat leaned to one side, the terrified young people rushed instinctively to the other side. Eventually, the boat capsized. At around five o’clock in the afternoon, a time when the mothers of Salem were fixing dinner and waiting for their youngsters to return home, a menacing scream pierced the stillness of the village. Loud moans, wails, and shrill cries violated the peaceful life in Salem as the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and all the extended family members in this closely-knitted community gathered to come to grips with the heart-wrenching news that most of the happy young passengers on the boat had drowned. This was the blackest day in the history of Salem. Even the lush vegetation, that is characteristic of the island, seemed to droop in sympathy that day. Many mothers thrashed around on the ground, wailing and bawling. Suddenly, all eyes were on Mrs. Sarah Brown. She had collapsed, sprawled on her back, with her arms flailing and legs kicking. Her son Tom Brown was one of the few fortunate survivors who had swum to shore after the boat sank. But now, instead of embracing her son, Mrs. Brown was pushing him away and striking him and screaming at him: “Where is she! Where is she! How dare you! How could you! Where’s my child? Me warn me chile!” She mourned pitifully. Those who managed to penetrate the crowd that had gathered around Mrs. Brown discovered that Tom Brown had saved his girlfriend, but his sister had drowned. No one knew the circumstance that produced this sad outcome. Tom was as devastated as the rest of Salem. To this day, no one knows whether he deliberately chose his girlfriend over his sister. Perhaps Tom himself was not sure. It is quite possible that he simply grabbed the one person next to him, as he desperately tried to stay afloat. But in her grief-stricken condition, Mrs. Brown envisioned the two girls floundering in the ocean while Tom consciously and methodically reached for his girlfriend instead of his little sister. Mrs. Brown was inconsolable. It is said that she did not forgive her son until the day she died. Fortunately, many of us rely on agape love—God’s healing love—to help us survive tragedies such as this one.
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