Types of Love in the Stories
In both books that we studied in this course, the characters have all been affected by love. According to the Ancient Greeks, there are about eight different types of love: eros, philia, storge, ludus, mania, pragma, philautia, and agape. So, which of these types of love do we see throughout the course?
A Midsummer Night's Dream:
Eros: Passionate, desire, and lustful love.
We see this love between Helena and Demetrius. Helena aspires to be with Demetrius, but he does not want her, only Hermia. Eventually, when Robin gives him the juice, he falls in love with her, which causes them to become inseparable.
Philia: Friendship love.
This a love we see between Hermia and Helena. They grew up together, which makes it hard for them to disagree with eachother, "When we have chid the hasty-footed time for parting us—oh, is it all forgot? All schooldays' friendship, childhood innocence?"(Shakespeare 3.2.203-205). Unfortunately, Lysander and Demetrius cause them to have a slight falling out, but eventually, it get fixed. Also, Quince and his fellow actors have a philia love. They all work together to have a great play and support their work.
Storge: Family love.
There is much for this type of love, except for Egeus and Hermia. Although they have different wants (Egeus wants her to marry Demetrius, she wants to marry Lysander), they are still father and daughter, and they still love each other.
Agape: Selfless love.
Once again, there is not a lot for this one. You have to dig deep and read between the lines for this love. Oberon possesses this love, even though it may not seem like it. He decides to get rid of the spell that he put on Titania, instead of letting her suffer with loving a half-donkey, half-man.
Pragma: Realistic and practical love.
Lysander and Hermia possess a pragma love. They fell in love on their own, without others trying to force onto them. Also, Theseus and Hippolyta. Despite the fact that they are getting married because Theseus defeated her in battle, they still fell in love, and are happy together.
Philauta: Self-love.
The only character who appears to have a self-love is Bottom. He thinks that he is the greatest actor, and shows off his talents whenever he can.
Ludus: Playful love.
Robin, or Puck, is the only character with a playful love. He is a jester and a mischievous spirit which makes him enjoy playing tricks on others. He doesn't have a specific love for anyone else, but he does love working for Oberon, who also encourages his playfulness.
Mania: Obsessive love.
Mania might be the love that is most evident throughout the story. Oberon and Puck give a juice to other characters that make them fall in love, or become obsessed, with the first person they see. Lysander and Demetrius become obsessed with Helena, almost fighting to see who gets her love. Titania falls in love with Bottom, and wants to make sure he is constantly happy. This love can be seen as a curse, since it does not have a limit.
The Kite Runner
Eros: Passionate, desire, and lustful love.
Although there isn't much on this love, you could say that Sanaubar and Baba had this love for some time. Sanaubar seduced him, because she has a lust for men who are powerful, which can explain why she did not enjoy being married to Ali.
Philia: Friendship love.
The most evident philia love is Amir and Hassan. Although they have their differences, they don't let that get in the way of having fun and enjoying each others company. They understand each other, and would do almost anything for each other.
Storge: Family love.
Amir and Baba possess family love. When Amir is a child, though, him and Baba didn't have the best relationship. Amir tried, but Baba was not putting in enough effort. When they moved to America, Baba realized his mistakes, and tried his best to making their relationship strong again.
Agape: Selfless love.
Hassan has a selfless love for Amir, but unfortunately, it is not the same for Amir. Hassan allows himself to be raped by Assef in order to get the kite for Amir, because he know thats Amir wants this to redeem his relationship with Baba. Hassan would do anything for Amir, but unfortunately, Amir would not do the same.
Pragma: Realistic and practical love.
Soraya and Amir have a pragma love. They fell innocently fell in love at the flea market, without anyone pushing them to it. They get married, and decide that they want to spend the rest if their lives together. They are truthful with each other, and respect their boundaries.
Philauta: Self-love.
Assef has a strong self-love for himself. He thinks that he is the greatest man to exist, and that no one can outshine him. He uses violence as a way to make sure that people know he is in power, and thinks that he is doing good, when really, he is doing horrible things.
Ludus: Playful love.
Ludus isn't really evident in the book, but you could say that Amir and Soraya had a playful love at the beginning of their relationship. They were excited to see each other, and felt overjoyed when they were together. The ancient greek describe ludus as the love you feel when you first start falling in love with someone, which is what Soraya and Amir felt for each other.
A Midsummer Night's Dream:
Eros: Passionate, desire, and lustful love.
We see this love between Helena and Demetrius. Helena aspires to be with Demetrius, but he does not want her, only Hermia. Eventually, when Robin gives him the juice, he falls in love with her, which causes them to become inseparable.
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| Helena and Hermia. |
This a love we see between Hermia and Helena. They grew up together, which makes it hard for them to disagree with eachother, "When we have chid the hasty-footed time for parting us—oh, is it all forgot? All schooldays' friendship, childhood innocence?"(Shakespeare 3.2.203-205). Unfortunately, Lysander and Demetrius cause them to have a slight falling out, but eventually, it get fixed. Also, Quince and his fellow actors have a philia love. They all work together to have a great play and support their work.
Storge: Family love.
There is much for this type of love, except for Egeus and Hermia. Although they have different wants (Egeus wants her to marry Demetrius, she wants to marry Lysander), they are still father and daughter, and they still love each other.
Agape: Selfless love.
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| Oberon and Titania. |
Pragma: Realistic and practical love.
Lysander and Hermia possess a pragma love. They fell in love on their own, without others trying to force onto them. Also, Theseus and Hippolyta. Despite the fact that they are getting married because Theseus defeated her in battle, they still fell in love, and are happy together.
Philauta: Self-love.
The only character who appears to have a self-love is Bottom. He thinks that he is the greatest actor, and shows off his talents whenever he can.
Ludus: Playful love.
Robin, or Puck, is the only character with a playful love. He is a jester and a mischievous spirit which makes him enjoy playing tricks on others. He doesn't have a specific love for anyone else, but he does love working for Oberon, who also encourages his playfulness.
Mania: Obsessive love.
Mania might be the love that is most evident throughout the story. Oberon and Puck give a juice to other characters that make them fall in love, or become obsessed, with the first person they see. Lysander and Demetrius become obsessed with Helena, almost fighting to see who gets her love. Titania falls in love with Bottom, and wants to make sure he is constantly happy. This love can be seen as a curse, since it does not have a limit.
The Kite Runner
Eros: Passionate, desire, and lustful love.
Although there isn't much on this love, you could say that Sanaubar and Baba had this love for some time. Sanaubar seduced him, because she has a lust for men who are powerful, which can explain why she did not enjoy being married to Ali.
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| Baba and Amir. |
Philia: Friendship love.
The most evident philia love is Amir and Hassan. Although they have their differences, they don't let that get in the way of having fun and enjoying each others company. They understand each other, and would do almost anything for each other.
Storge: Family love.
Amir and Baba possess family love. When Amir is a child, though, him and Baba didn't have the best relationship. Amir tried, but Baba was not putting in enough effort. When they moved to America, Baba realized his mistakes, and tried his best to making their relationship strong again.
Agape: Selfless love.
Hassan has a selfless love for Amir, but unfortunately, it is not the same for Amir. Hassan allows himself to be raped by Assef in order to get the kite for Amir, because he know thats Amir wants this to redeem his relationship with Baba. Hassan would do anything for Amir, but unfortunately, Amir would not do the same.
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| Soraya and Amir. |
Pragma: Realistic and practical love.
Soraya and Amir have a pragma love. They fell innocently fell in love at the flea market, without anyone pushing them to it. They get married, and decide that they want to spend the rest if their lives together. They are truthful with each other, and respect their boundaries.
Philauta: Self-love.
Assef has a strong self-love for himself. He thinks that he is the greatest man to exist, and that no one can outshine him. He uses violence as a way to make sure that people know he is in power, and thinks that he is doing good, when really, he is doing horrible things.
Ludus: Playful love.
Ludus isn't really evident in the book, but you could say that Amir and Soraya had a playful love at the beginning of their relationship. They were excited to see each other, and felt overjoyed when they were together. The ancient greek describe ludus as the love you feel when you first start falling in love with someone, which is what Soraya and Amir felt for each other.
Mania: Obsessive love.
Once again, there isn't much for obsessive love. Amir has an obsessive love for Baba, where he wants to please him and feel accepted by him. So, Amir, does things that make him seem like a bad person, like allowing Hassan to get raped, or pushing him aside to get attention from Baba. He is obsessed with trying to get any sort of attention from Baba, which was not leading him to do good things.
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