The Emotion of Love

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The far-reaching effects of love are often underestimated. It is a powerful emotion that dictates other extreme emotions, and influences decisions, thoughts and actions. Women are constantly exposed to romantic love, and because of that, women crave love from men. Love causes women to do things they would normally never do. The experiences that come from acts of love also lead to other emotions of passion. This is evident in female literary characters. The women in literary works seek love. But, as they fall in love, other conflicts arise. From these conflicts, other emotions, such as pain, anger, hatred or happiness, emerge and these emotions influence their lives. In Memoirs of a Geisha, written by Arthur Golden, Sayuri’s love for the Chairman affects every aspect of her life. Every decision she makes is based around her undying love. In Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte, Jane is constantly seen making sacrifices for Rochester, the man she loves. Her love for Rochester determined every outcome and resolution in her life. In Medea, written by Euripides, Medea’s obsessive and passionate hatred for Jason evokes a murderous desire for revenge. This terrifying hatred originally sprouted from a radical love. Sayuri, Jane and Medea, from Memoirs of a Geisha, Jane Eyre and Medea, base their decisions on strong emotions, which stem from a deep, romantic love for another person, which cause them to make significant sacrifices.

The strong emotion of love influences decisions that can forever change a woman’s life. In Memoirs of Geisha, Sayuri’s early life was hopeless and blind. After being ripped away from her parents and sister, she was left alone without family or friends to trust or love. She was told that the okiya was her new...

... middle of paper ...

...ynn M. Spampinato. "Medea." Drama for Students 1 (1998):

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Golden, Arthur. Memoirs of a Geisha. New York: Signet Classics, 2008. Print.

Hamilton, Carole L. "An Overview of Medea." Drama for Students (2009): Gale Virtual

Reference Library. Web. 8 Jan. 2010.

Lonac, Susan. "Jane Eyre." World Literature and its Times: Profiles of Notable Literary

Works and the Historical Events that Influenced them (2001): 213-222. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 Jan. 2010.

Moss, Joyce. "Medea." World Literature and its Times: Profiles of Notable Literary

Works and the Historical Events that Influenced them 8 (2006): 219-227. Gale

Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 Jan. 2010.

Smith, Jennifer. "Memoirs of a Geisha." Novels for Students 19 (2004): 203-217. Gale

Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 Jan. 2010.

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