Do you Think That The Concept of Love Changes Through the Generations? | Three Eras of Eros
You know this is one of those questions that you never really consider prior to coming across them, but then after you see them, you realise oh wait this really is happening. Love really has evolved--or at least transformed--over the course of centuries. I suppose it's because it's such a subtle and gradual evolution in the way it took place. Yet the effect, when you look at it and become conscious of it, and decide to examine it, is really very apparent and tangible.
So yes, LOVE REALLY CHANGES THROUGH THE GENERATIONS!
You only have to pick up a Jane Austen novel, an Oscar Wilde novel and an E.L James novel (any of the terrible Fifty Shades) to realise oh my god love really has evolved. So what I'm going to do is I'll use those writers and their books and the era in which they were written for a little game of compare and contrast.
Lets start with the remarkable and forever immortal Jane Austen, who lived during 1787 - 1811--the era before the Victorians. Some of her novels are Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield and Emma.
Jane Austen's novels obviously deals with the trials of women and their "dependence... on marriage in the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security". So love in Jane's era is pretty much find a man to be with, so you can be safe and enjoy some of those real estate cash.
It isn't to say it was all boring though. Of course Jane Austen's novels are full of eclat. The men there really do fall in love with the ladies even though they know that most of the time they want them for their economic reason, but granted this reason is NOT the only one. And the ladies too do fall madly in love with admirable devotion.
And of course it goes without saying that there was little side hook-ups then, way less than there is now, and girls took chastity uber seriously. Talking as a 21st Centurian we might say it all looks pretty bleak and boring, but despite all the British formality and rigidness, some of those folks then really did seem to have fun--the concrete peaceful kind.
Moving on then to the late Victorian era, via the witty and extremely humorous but fundamentally serious novels of Oscar Wilde, who lived from 1854- 1900, we'll find that we come across, with great sadness, some of the greatest prigs in human history.
I'm not exactly a fan of the Victorian period to tell you the truth. I mean I have nothing against them and some really good advances were made for human kind in that community. Plus of course their books were the bomb and all, but like if I had a choice between going back to the Stone age and the Victorian age, I'd choose the Stone Age without thinking twice.
One man who loved to satirize the rigidity and superflousness of that era was Oscar Wilde. His books mostly criticized their extreme conservativeness, ESPECIALLY regarding sexual topics. So much so that they sent him to jail for it--poor Wilde.
So love in the Victorian era was basically flirt a little on the outside but go hard when nobody is looking. I picture them as horny college kids walking around with their skirts and pants dragging on the floor too scared to show how horny they are and get laid. Just to appear pious on the outside while on the inside they're like the weirdest bunch you'll ever come across.
Then to the twentieth century!!
What can I say about this century of ours! We're weird, we're free, we're rash, we're aggressive, we're pretty dumb most of the time and what's more--we glorify our dumbness!
If it isn't obvious from my rhetoric all these while, I'd like to make it clear that I freaking love this century. I'd rather it to any of the ones in the past to tell you the truth (except some of the classic civilizations). And I know this kind of question always generates some conservative answers, so I'm also kinda glad I'm choosing to defend and glorify our era.
Lord knows we're fucked up in a lot of aspect and still have ways to go, but I say we're still among the best generations when it comes to love. A more appropriate reference than E.L James would be the art of Lorde--a musician. Her albums are the perfect representation of the rebellious and imperfectly perfect nature of love in our generation.
But since we're talking about books, well Fifty Shades of Grey is enough to show you just what love is now. If only for exemplifying that weirdness I was talking about. And what's more, we love it and we're proud of it.
(P.S I hate that book by the way.)
So yeah, love definitely has evolved over the years. Our objects of affection are also changed. We're in love now with fame and Hollywood and cars. Again Unapologetically. And it's probably this unapologetic and rebellious nature that mostly fascinates me, seeing as I mostly don't subscribe to most of it anyway. But I just love the fact that we rebel and we don't care. It's pretty great if you ask me.
And of course there's more freedom regarding whom to fall in love with. Although again like I said, still have a lot of rooms for improvement in these aspects.
Cheers.
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