The True Nature Of Love In The Chaser By John Collier

There are several themes that can be found revolving around “The Chaser” by John Collier. For example one of the themes for the story is the revelation about the true love of nature, and another theory is that Alan, the main character of the story, is motivated for the search to fill his self-centered love. One of the themes that I find most prevalent in the multitude of interpretations, is the fact that, love is supposedly won through hardships, and not bought cheaply. Readers are given plethora amount of choices to interpret the story’s theme, here are some of the ways the readers can interpret John Collier’s story. The true nature of love, can be interpreted as a temporary illusion us humans believe love to be. When Alan buys the “love potion” he finds himself excited for the first time. How exciting would it be for Diana, Alan’s love interest, to be devoted to his being and only his alone. This provides a conundrum. If we were to force a person to act a certain way, we essentially destroy the personality that had made the

Love is an intangible element, yet in “The Chaser” love can be bought for a dollar. "Oh, that," said the old man, opening the drawer in the kitchen table, and taking out a tiny, rather dirty-looking phial. "That is just a dollar." Yet, the old man refers to the “love-potion” as something that is insignificant, the readers can also infer that the “love potion” is insignificant by the “dirty-looking phial” it comes in. This significant information, displays love can be bought cheaply, but the readers can also infer that the love you receive from the “love-potion” is something people wouldn’t want, due to the customers returning and buying the “life-cleaner” when they are tired of the love they receive from the potion. In the end, this dark theme helps us realized that love is something recieved naturally and not something that can be received from a third-party