The story of love The saga of love and the way it is played out is fairly predictable

since eternity time immemorial. It includes the passage through adolescence and
calf-love, irrepressible physical desires, discovering the illusion of infatuation and
finally discovering the holy grail of love. Love spans all boundaries be it time, age,
space, distance, nationality, race and the like. Circumstances play a significant role
too in creating the right environment for love to blossom. And then there are
psychological nuances that form the driving force behind the love. Steven Heighton
s The Shadow Boxer and Sara Gruens The Water for Elephants delve into the
thirst for true love, through the tumultuous lives of Sevigne and Jacob, set in two
different eras of modernity and the Great American Depression. Infatuation, which is
loves impostor, and the resultant flings, which conjure create illusions of love, are
the usual stepping stones to finding true love as depicted in both novels. Servigne
and Jacob find their soul-mates in Ike and Marlena, but not before encountering the
illusions of love from various relationships that provide soul-searing bad
experiences. The song Rescue you sung by The Weeknd contains a theme in
similar vein where a lover sings to his loved one that he would love her forever and
rescue her from the abusive bad relationship she was suffering from.
Crazy.Stupid.Love is a movie directed by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra which
portrays the idea of every individual having a soul-mate and fighting for them if
you truly love them. Cal Weaver, the protagonist in Crazy.Stupid.Love experiences
a breakage in marriage with his wife Emily and goes through as many as nine
relationships before realizing that the love he had lost was his true love. He is
woken up to this truth by his son and in the end, there is a happy reunion with his
former wife again. In Indian history (as documented in Prithviraj Raso, folkloric
ballad), we see the king called Prithiviraj Chauhan gallantly rescuing his lover, a
princess called Samyukta, when she is being forcibly married off by her father. The
vagaries challenges of life and the challenges faced by the lovers before discovering
their soul mates is what makes life and loving so special. Anything hard-won,
especially love, is always sweet and endearing.
The timelessness of true love in the two novels, is underlined by the two contrasting
different settings for Sevigne and Jacob one in the modern world and the other in
the 1930s of the Great American Depression. In addition, the protagonists have
contrasting backgrounds Sevigne is a nifty boxer with a writers heart and Jacob is
a vet at a failing circus that is cast in gloom shadow behind its glittering front.
Interestingly, both Ike and Marlena, are elder to Sevigne and Jacob, and this shows
that love is between two individuals and age is but a number. That love can happen
even as one is in a current relationship, proves that love has a force that crosses all
has no boundary limits. Rescue you does not specify the era or the background of
the singer and his lover but does indicate that she is in an abusive relationship. Cal
Weaver and his wife Emily are like any other average normal husband and wife and
their background is quite like that of any other middle class family. That the saga of
love has been narrated across all ages, times and backgrounds, can be understood
from the above.
Like the way various items of interior dcor bring out the beauty of a home, a bevy
number of interesting characters inhabit the lives of Sevigne and Jacob and help to

accentuate highlight the events in their lives. Sam is the drunk father of Sevigne
and who also was a boxer. Be it Sam, the blustering and drunk father of Sevigne, or
Martine, his ambitious mother living in Egypt, or Amy, Meeka, Molly and Una who
form his various love interests, The Shadow Boxer is rich in providing characters
to illuminate highlight the events in Sevignes life. The bright lights of the city,
foreign countries like Egypt and the loneliness of an island all form captivating
backdrops scenes for Sevignes love story. Jacobs life is filled with the drunkard
Camel, the psychotic husband of his love Marlena called August, looters of his
virginity - Barbara and Nell, Rosemary- the kindly nurse who tends to him in his old
age, Uncle Al the gruff ring master and the moody Walter. Then there are the circus
animals and their love and abuse by various characters that further enhance the
backdrop of Jacobs love life. In contrast to the various characters in the two novels,
there is the invisible person causing misery to the lady love of The Weeknd, and
offers an interesting setting for the song. Cal Weavers son and the nine women
with whom Cal has affairs all provide suitable presence for his narrative to find the
depth it needed. Samyuktas treacherous father Jaichandra and Prithivirajs dear
poet friend Chand Bardai, offer suitable accentuation for the gallantry bravery of
Prithviraj to shine forth. What makes up a painting is not only the main object of the
painting but also the fine details and the play of light and shadow that cannot be
immediately discerned but become visible when looking long and deep in it.
Similarly, the various characters around the main protagonist provide the light and
shadow that make the protagonist stand out vividly.
Infatuation, loves delicious impostor, plays a significant part in the lovers life. It
causes illusion and bemuses confuses in equal measure. As illusion befuddles
confuses Sevigne, he wonders How can something be there one day, in however
spectral a form, and then gone, gone utterly, the next? Like love. Like a human
pulse (page 32). With raging infatuation, can unbridled desire be far behind? I
want to kiss her. I want to kiss her more than Ive ever wanted anything in my life.(Jacob, page 130). The illusion of love persuades one to believe what one wants to
She wanted to believehow naive it seems now, how self-destructive!that his
love for her was totally separate from those concerns.( page 207)
A persons love live is depending on the circumstances he or she grew up in.
Circumstances shape a persons personality and their approach to relationships.
Sevignes self-destructive nature seems to be modelled based on his father Sam,
who was a drunk (Enough, Sevigne wanted to tell his father, times like that
enough looking back, enough with the tears, enough drinking Page 10). His mother
Martine, brimming with lust and wanderlust, abandons Sam and Sevigne for a
throbbing social life in Egypt (She could pack up her kit bag and leave him
tomorrow, next wed d hear shed be living with some diamond baron in the
Transvaal Torrins, page 16). Sevignes failed relationships with women hint at a
possible avenging himself on other women due to his mother abandoning him. The
description of one of the women very closely resembles his mothers character
(She said she was twenty-seven, which made her eight years older; to Sevigne that
seemed worlds older and lent their evolving liaison a kind of sleazy, illicit glamour.
Page 96) His attraction to older women also indicates a possible latent Oedipus

complex and his finally finding solace in Ike, who is elder to him, might have
psychologically implied meant regaining his mothers affection. (years later when
they grew close again, she would talk to him about she would talk to him about
anything ; sex, money, her vexations, her dreams.. Page 36. ) The feelings felt of
Sevigne in Egypt, when he meets his mother, provide a hint of his latent emotions
(but hed felt the joy in her grip and the moist warmth of her cheek. Page
120).
Ike, his true love, yearns to have a child but has biological challenges. She may well
have found escape in finding that child in Sevignes insecurity by mothering taking
care of him. On the other hand, being orphaned at a young age seems to have
scarred Jacob, leading him to escape reality by running off and landing in a circus.
He develops insecurity in his relationships. He probably saw the same insecurity in
Marlena and offered her an emotional escape in his own comforting arms. It can be
presumed that The Weeknds composition was not out of thin air but possibly based
on a personal experience, as is the case with most artistes. The numerous affairs
that Cal Weaver has after his divorce indicate his need for assurance of his
desirability and for passing a message to his wife that she had erred made a
mistake in parting ways with divorcing him. That he finally reunites with her shows
that just as infatuation could be illusory, love too, could provide disillusionment due
to circumstances. The love missive from Samyukta to rescue her from her palace
guarded by her fathers guards, provides the psychological impulse to be a hero in
Prithviraj when he storms her fathers palace and whisks her away under the very
nose of her father Jaichandra. There are myriad many psychological underpinnings
foundation of any love relationship which and offer us interesting insights for
understanding the blossoming of love - or its wilting.
When love does happen, it provides an amazing feeling to the lover, who suddenly
rediscovers the zest for life and feels charged with new energy. The heart feels like
bursting with joy and everything around oneself just seems perfect. My heart
pounds so hard that, despite the roaring of the crowd, I am aware of blood
whooshing through my ears. I am filled to overflowing, bursting with love. (Jacob
202). For Sevigne, there is a different emotional experience when he falls in love.
For you, he whispers as rain rills slowly down his forehead and cheeks, chill
baptism into the next stage of his life. Tears follow like warm spring rain. Page
258). The great thing about love is that each partner cares for the other partner in
an intense and unselfish manner. As Jacob remembers his dead wife, he is actually
glad that she died before him and though this may sound seem shocking, his sweet
thoughts make us understand why. Although there are times I'd give anything to
have her back, I'm glad she went first. Losing her was like being cleft down the
middle. It was the moment it all ended for me, and I wouldn't have wanted her to go
through that.. (Jacob 13). Understanding the partner deeply is an essential feature
of true love. Where faithfulness to the partner is considered paramount, Jacobs
thought reveal poignantly as to how true understanding goes even beyond failing to
adhere to the seventh commandment. I was completely faithful to her. Not once in
more than sixty years did I stray, except in my imagination, and I have a feeling she

wouldn't have minded that. She was a woman of extraordinary understanding.

(Jacob 108)
True love has the uncanny knack of unmasking infatuation or any relationship that
was until then, thought to be quite ideal. Marlena had been in an abusive
relationship but the truth dawned only when she met Jacob. She talks of the pain,
grief, and horror of the past four years; of learning to cope with being the wife of a
man so violent and unpredictable his touch made her skin crawl and of thinking,
until quite recently, that she'd finally managed to do that. And then, finally, of how
my appearance had forced her to realize she hadn't learned to cope at all. (Jacob
272). True love gives strength to the lover to become very tender and caring to the
other partner, especially when the latter has been in an abusive or failed
relationship earlier. In Rescue Me, The Weaknd croons sings Let me rescue you, I
can see the truth I can see right through the pain, Let me rescue you. Let me
fill his shoes, No more tears running down your face. Knowing Ikes medical frailty
problems in having babies, Sevigne who had moved in with her recently, controls
his physical urges and shows utmost care and affection when she gets sick
(Sevigne is understanding, hes almost comically concerned, always asking how
she feels, rubbing her neck.he plays the music softlyPage 245) . When Ike
suffers a miscarriage, Sevigne provides warmth and caring support She weeps as
he holds her hand. Ike with all her clam swagger broken. He has never thought to
see her so defenceless Page 247).
The essence of love is in accepting the loved one in their entirety. When Marlena
becomes pregnant, doubt assails comes to Jacob as to whether the child she bears
is that of August or his own. But he overcomes this and makes up his mind to accept
the child, even if it turned out to be that of August. Though there is relief when
Jacob discovers that the child is his own, his true love cannot be questioned based
on his original willingness to accept the child irrespective of whether he had
fathered it or not. When Marlena pulled the blanket back from his hair and I saw
that it was red, I thought I might actually faint from joy. I never really doubted not
really, and I would have loved and raised him, anyway but still. I damn near
dropped over when I saw that red hair. (Jacob 321). Every lovers honest desire is
to make his or her loved one feel like the most precious thing on earth. (The
Weeknd I can take you there, Girl fly you through the air, Girl, I can be your
superhero, Fly you through the stars, And make light of your darkness..)

The theme of love is eternal and fascinating and is undeniably relatable by almost
everyone. The prisms to view love and understand it are many. It is celebrated
through poetry, novels, plays, movies and the like. The dazzling colours that emerge
from viewing it are numerous many - and the understanding and interpretation of
the viewing vary, depending upon the viewer. The journey to finding love includes
battling the tsunami like waves of infatuation and amorous dalliances. Soaring high
and falling deep into the abyss of misery caused by illusions of love are the
unavoidable hazards to those who trek the slippery path to love. It is the thrilling
journey that is most enriching rather than reaching the final destination, where the

blessed ones find paradise while the blighted unlucky ones are left gazing looking at
their hearts wounds for eternity. What is this love that surges forth in ones heart
to find the soul mate and entice one to undertake the most perilous dangerous of
emotional journeys? This is sometimes more easily understood and felt and
explained - and a literary work of any sort can only attempt to offer a glimpse into
such a vast subject like love. Slightly quenched but hardly satiated would sum
that up nicely.