Bella Rivas - Four Loves
In C.S. Lewis's 'The Four Loves,' Lewis talks about four types of love that are a part of man. The four types are affection, friendship, eros, and charity. Affection is storge, or familial love. Friendship is platonic love. Eros is erotic, romantic love. These three are considered the natural loves - loves that man is bound to experience in his lifetime. However, charity refers to the foundation of the three natural loves - Lewis describes the as the love of God. This love transcends all human boundaries and understanding, it is incomprehensible. The beautiful part of this love is that it is an invitation. Lewis writes than when we experience this charity love, when we experience communion with the Holy, it is an invitation to transform and elevate our natural loves. Suddenly, every action and thought, regardless of what type of love it is rooted in, has purpose and meaning. This charity love is definitive - man has a new identity when he experiences it. This new identity is one of security and freedom.
In his introduction, Lewis writes, "We need others physically, emotionally, intellectually; we need them if we are to know anything, even ourselves." He states that we do not know ourselves outside of connection. We do not exist in our vacuum. On some level or another, every identity we hold, every thing we do, every thought we think, is rooted in connection. Connection dictates all aspects of human life.
It has been interesting to see how this theme of connection and how these types of love have been portrayed in film. In Donnie Darko, we see the transformational aspect of connection - Donnie dies happy because he is known and loved. In Eternal Sunshine, Clem and Joel find happiness in one another despite their imperfections. In Babett's Feast, we see Babett give all that she has to show abundance and love to a broken community. In other films, such as Thin Red Line, we see the consequences of lack of connection as manifested in war. It is just so interesting to see our primal need to connect, despite our shortcomings and imperfections. It is also interesting to ponder how this aforementioned 'charity love' changes our natural loves and our connections with one another.
In his introduction, Lewis writes, "We need others physically, emotionally, intellectually; we need them if we are to know anything, even ourselves." He states that we do not know ourselves outside of connection. We do not exist in our vacuum. On some level or another, every identity we hold, every thing we do, every thought we think, is rooted in connection. Connection dictates all aspects of human life.
It has been interesting to see how this theme of connection and how these types of love have been portrayed in film. In Donnie Darko, we see the transformational aspect of connection - Donnie dies happy because he is known and loved. In Eternal Sunshine, Clem and Joel find happiness in one another despite their imperfections. In Babett's Feast, we see Babett give all that she has to show abundance and love to a broken community. In other films, such as Thin Red Line, we see the consequences of lack of connection as manifested in war. It is just so interesting to see our primal need to connect, despite our shortcomings and imperfections. It is also interesting to ponder how this aforementioned 'charity love' changes our natural loves and our connections with one another.
Comments
Post a Comment