What is a Love Story?

According to the dictionary, it is a story where the central interest is a love relationship.
Fair enough.
Right, so before you all go "Duh?" - let's carry on.

For now, let us break it into two words: LOVE and STORY.

Now a story could take on any form we want. It could be something told to children to put them to sleep, hopefully with fuzzy comfortable smiles on their faces; or a horrific picture we paint to teach them a lesson. I know I am using the precious little ones as an example, but then who is most susceptible?
So basically the word "story" could be whatever we want it to be. It may be fact or fiction, happy or sad, caring or brutal. The only boundaries to it's plot are the limits of our imagination.
Good.

Enter the four-letter word: LOVE.
That changes everything! The definition of the word also takes on different aspects, but no matter which, it boils down to the same thing: a deep feeling or desire. There is a love of chocolate, love for a specific sport or a favourite pet. And then there is the love for another peson.
Images of fireworks and dancing in the rain come to mind. But what happens once the sparks are put out, when we are left with the choice of what to do next? Yes, after all that has happened, we are faced with a decision.

Katharine Hepburn, in her book, said that "Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only what you are expecting to give - which is everything."

So we get back to the question: What is a love story?
If we take the equation (love + story = love story), then we can all come to our own conclusion.
Is a love story a tale of two people that meet on a Friday, denounce all previous ties on Saturday, and end up in bed on the Sunday? As popular as this viewpoint may seem, and as much as we may be able to sell it as truth, is it really what we accept? It all sounds tragic.

I, personally, choose to tell my kids a different story.

Now for the interesting part....
I invite you to give an opinion of what a love story is TO YOU.


Comments

  1. Unknown25 August 2013 at 14:40

    I know the post is about the literary concept of a love story, and many would immediately think of romance. But I couldn’t help thinking as I read this about the greatest love story ever told – which was not a romance. Any story that relates the love one has for another, whether it be the romantic love between two people or the love of a parent for a child, is a love story.

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