Love Languages From Classics All About Love From 90 Must Read Novels and +200 Quotes For Your Daily Inspiration and Wisdom by Golden Classics (Classics, Golden)

LOVE LANGUAGES
FROM CLASSICS
All about love from 90 must read novels and

+200 quotes for your daily inspiration and
wisdom
GOLDEN CLASSICS
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage
system without express written permission of the publisher.
First edition: April 2021.
Published by GOLDEN CLASSICS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
VOLUME 1 – Heartbreaking Love
1. 17 timeless love lessons from ANNA KARENINA
2. 13 timeless love lessons from ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA
3. 15 timeless love lessons from CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
4. 12 timeless love lessons from DANGEROUS LIASONS
5. 15 timeless love lessons from DEATH IN VENICE
6. 17 timeless love lessons from DON QUIXOTE
7. 15 timeless love lessons from ELECTIVE AFFINITIES
8. 9 timeless love lessons from FAUST
9. 20 timeless love lessons from FRANKENSTEIN
10. 12 timeless love lessons from HAMLET
11. 15 timeless love lessons from LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER
12. 7 timeless love lessons from LES MISERABLES
13. 14 timeless love lessons from MACBETH
14. 10 timeless love lessons from MADAME BOVARY
15. 7 timeless love lessons from MAURICE
16. 8 timeless love lessons from NANA’
17. 11 timeless love lessons from OTHELLO
18. 7 timeless love lessons from PHILOSOPHY IN THE BOUDOIR
19. 11 timeless love lessons from ROMEO AND JULIET
20. 15 timeless love lessons from THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO
21. 16 timeless love lessons from THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE-
DAME
22. 8 timeless love lessons from THE LADY WITH THE CAMELLIAS
23. 6 timeless love lessons from THE MARQUISE OF O, AND OTHER
STORIES…
24. 11 timeless love lessons from THE MISUNDERSTANDING
25. 16 timeless love lessons from THE PAINTED VEIL
26. 9 timeless love lessons from THE RED AND THE BLACK
27. 10 timeless love lessons from THE SCARLET LETTER
28. 15 timeless love lessons from THE SORROWS OF YOUNG
WERTHER
29. 9 timeless love lessons from TRISTAN AND ISOLDE
30. 13 timeless love lessons from WUTHERING HEIGHTS
VOLUME 2 – Passion Love
31. 06 timeless love lessons from A FAREWELL TO ARMS

32. 10 timeless love lessons from ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
33. 10 timeless love lessons from BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S
34. 10 timeless love lessons from CUPID AND PSYCHE
35. 20 timeless love lessons from CYRANO DE BERGERAC
36. 11 timeless love lessons from DOCTOR ZHIVAGO
37. 11 timeless love lessons from DRACULA
38. 09 timeless love lessons from GREAT EXPECTATIONS
39. 06 timeless love lessons from IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME
40. 08 timeless love lessons from JULES AND JIM
41. 07 timeless love lessons from JULIE, OR THE NEW HELOISE
42. 14 timeless love lessons from LITTLE WOMEN
43. 13 timeless love lessons from LOVE IN TIME OF CHOLERA
44. 19 timeless love lessons from MRS. DALLOWAY
45. 13 timeless love lessons from NORWEGIAN WOOD
46. 8 timeless love lessons from OF HUMAN BONDAGE
47. 16 timeless love lessons from ORLANDO: A BIOGRAPHY
48. 7 timeless love lessons from PLEASURE
49. 07 timeless love lessons from SENTIMENTAL EDUCATION
50. 10 timeless love lessons from SIDDHARTHA
51. 10 timeless love lessons from TARZAN OF THE APES
52. 12 timeless love lessons from THE AGE OF INNOCENCE
53. 04 timeless love lessons from THE CHARTERHOUSE OF PARMA
54. 12 timeless love lessons from THE DECAMERON
55. 10 timeless love lessons from THE DIVINE COMEDY
56. 12 timeless love lessons from THE GREAT GATSBY
57. 10 timeless love lessons from THE LITTLE PRINCE
58. 14 timeless love lessons from THE ODYSSEY
59. 14 timeless love lessons from THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF
HUMAN BEING
60. 15 timeless love lessons from WHITE NIGHTS
VOLUME 3 – Love & Marriage
61. 09 timeless love lessons from A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
62. 11 timeless love lessons from AN IDEAL HUSBAND
63. 12 timeless love lessons from AS YOU LIKE IT
64. 08 timeless love lessons from DEUX
65. 17 timeless love lessons from DREAM STORY
66. 22 timeless love lessons from EMMA
67. 13 timeless love lessons from
FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD
68. 12 timeless love lessons from GONE WITH THE WIND
69. 12 timeless love lessons from IVANHOE
70. 17 timeless love lessons from JANE EYRE
71. 10 timeless love lessons from MIDDLEMARCH
72. 12 timeless love lessons from MOOD INDIGO
73. 12 timeless love lessons from MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
74. 08 timeless love lessons from NIGHT AND DAY
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE
76. 10 timeless love lessons from PERSUASION
77. 28 timeless love lessons from PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
78. 10 timeless love lessons from REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
79. 10 timeless love lessons from SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

80. 07 timeless love lessons from SHIRLEY
81. 15 timeless love lessons from THE ARABIAN NIGHTS
82. 10 timeless love lessons from THE BETROTHED
83. 08 timeless love lessons from THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV
84. 09 timeless love lessons from THE ILIAD
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
86. 09 timeless love lessons from THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY
87. 10 timeless love lessons from THE TALE OF GENJI
88. 06 timeless love lessons from ULYSSES
89. 13 timeless love lessons from VANITY FAIR
90. 11 timeless love lessons from WAR AND PEAC E
THOUGHTS & NOTES
ABOUT US
INTRODUCTION
A classic is like a diamond. It is forever.

It is part of the heritage of each of us, of all humanity.
Reading them allows you to understand reality in a better way.
Even yourself and those around you.
It feeds your curiosity.
It makes you passionate about the human soul, its greatness, and its fragility.
For this reason, we have created this collection and selected 90 masterpieces.
In this volume, you will discover or retrace (if you already know them) the
essence of 90 classic masterpieces chosen for you.
In each chapter, you will find wisdom, inspiration, and priceless teachings about
love.
Treasure them and share them.
VOLUME
1
HEARTBREAKING
LOVE
17 TIMELESS LOVE LESSON FROM
“ANNA KARENINA”
Your daily inspiration & wisdom:

“I've always loved you, and when you love someone, you love the whole person,
just as he or she is, and not as you would like them to be.”
- Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina -
P erhaps not everyone knows that in the famous novel by Leo Tolstoy ,
Anna Karenina , several love stories are intertwined and contrasted. Each
of them represents a different type of love, in some cases extreme, in
others morbid, and in others still religiously severe and lasting.
The illicit love between Anna Karenina and Count Vronsky is undoubtedly the
main topic around which the whole novel and the other events revolve. Everyone
is touched by it; in one way or another. One can easily say that the central theme
of this immense literary work is marriage .
Tolstoy's heroine defies the conventions of society and experiences intense
forbidden love with the young count. In doing so, she challenges the marriage
institution's rules, although she does not empty them of value. Tolstoy shows us
how exhausting and, simultaneously, beautiful it can be to live the sacred union
of marriage.
FASCINATING FACTS
The story of Anna Karenina is based on a real event that happened to a girl
Tolstoy knew. The young woman, after being bitterly disappointed by love,
committed suicide by throwing herself under a train.
Although critics of the time categorized it as a frivolous work, Dostoevsky
called Anna Karenina a perfection as a work of art because it has no
comparison.
Nabokov , for his part, described it as the absolute masterpiece of 19th
century literature.
Levin is the character that most closely resembles the author, both in terms of
the similarity of names and the intense romance with Kitty that recalls his
love for his wife, Sofja.
It deals with a very sensitive issue that, at the time, was difficult to put into
practice, namely divorce . There were few reasons for which one could
request a divorce in Russia. Adultery was one of those reasons.
ABOUT THE STORY

The plot of the novel consists of a succession of parallel plots and narratives.
Anna, married to the serious official Karenin , meets the young official Aleksej
Vronsky on the train. An overwhelming passion is born between them, and later
both will openly face the scandal of their love. The separation from Karenin and
the loss of her son, will lead Anna to suffer unspeakably and, ultimately, to take
extreme measures.
Anna's brother, Stiva, is married to Dolly, whose sister, Kitty, was betrothed to
Vronsky. If the latter had not met Anna on that train, things would have turned
out differently for young Kitty and, perhaps, for everyone else as well. This is
where Levin , Stiva's friend, enters the scene and falls madly in love with Kitty.
Needing to overcome the discouragement of being rejected, she will, in time,
return Levin's love.
The entire plot of Anna Karenina contrasts the honest and sincere love of Levin
and Kitty with the faithless love of Stiva and Dolly, all which is framed by the
impossible love between Anna and Vronsky.
TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

1. True love isn't always easy . Lev and Kitty learned that, despite personal
crises and doubts, their love was stronger than anything else.
2. Love is cultivated . Love is more than an overwhelming passion that, once
consumed, is extinguished. Instead, it is made of small daily gestures and
mutual respect, presence, and concreteness.
3. Love shows up out of the blue. When you least expect it-while you're on a
train or while you're hurting from a previous disappointment-, it catches
you off guard.
4. It is better not to dance with someone who is promised to another .
First, so as not to arouse suspicion, and, second, because you might fall in
love and get into trouble, especially if you're already married.
5. Fight for what you believe in . Anna was a strong, independent woman
who challenged society by fighting for her beliefs. Regardless of the fact
that it didn't work out for her, this aspect of her character made her
immortal.
6. If you love someone, marriage is not always necessary . To fight against
institutions and social conventions, Anna did not intend to take her vows
with Vronsky. She wanted a relationship that would stand on love alone.
Marriage sometimes represents an unnecessary compulsion and a bond that
is more legal than sentimental.
7. Marriage can be beautiful . If your partner listens to you and, understands
you, and you can reciprocate, marriage itself becomes the ultimate
expression of the most tangible love. Lev and Kitty have a lot to teach us
about growing together and learning from our mistakes.
8. The basis of a relationship must be dialogue . Lev and Kitty talked. She
read his journals. They knew each other profoundly, making the choices of
one understandable to the another. They had no secrets or mysteries from
one another. Before being lovers, you have to be friends and life partners.
9. Every man loves in his own way . Karenin is a man devoted to his wife, a
man of honor, respected by all. He did not read poetry or show his love for
Anna, but he loved her in his heart and in a personal way.
10. Every woman also loves in her own way .
11. When unhappiness in love assails you, take a walk. Sometimes it's
essential to stay grounded in the tangible things in life and not brood too
much.
12. Enlisting in a war is not always the solution to redeem oneself. Vronsky
is a man with great moral depth who is not at ease in the retrograde society
where he lives. Following the scandal, he decides to redeem his name by
enlisting in a war he does not believe in.
13. Leave children out of love struggles. Protecting the innocence of children
is crucial.
14. Stay true to yourself. The only way to stand out from others is to believe
in yourself, cultivate selflessness, and maintain the dignity of your ideals.
15. In love, do not play the role of a victim. You are the master of your own
destiny.
16. Don't be addicted to love . That's an affective disorder.
17. It's okay to believe in second chances . Many people need time to come
to terms with their feelings and then figure out what they really want.
“If you look for perfection, you'll never be content.”
“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
“I think... if it is true that

there are as many minds as there
are heads, then there are as many
kinds of love as there are hearts.”
“All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and
shadow.” - Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina -
“They've got no idea what happiness is, they don't know that without this love
there is no happiness or unhappiness for us--there is no life.”
“And where love ends, hate begins”
13 TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS FROM “ANTONY
AND CLEOPATRA”

“In time we hate that which we often fear.”
- Anthony and Cleopatra, W. Shakespeare -
W hen one thinks of Shakespearean dramas, one conjures mental images

of impossible love and death . The one that tells of an eternal love
par excellence and that has influenced the entire world and the very
course of history is Antony and Cleopatra .
She is the apotheosis of the beautiful and strong woman, whose greatness has
survived the passage of time untouched. This tragedy helped to create a whole
imaginary linked to the figure of this impossible woman. In the cinema, she was
interpreted by the beautiful Elisabeth Taylor (1963), and in art, we know of
countless portraits, from those of the Pre-Raphaelites like Alma-Tadema (1885)
to the frescoes of Gianbattista Tiepolo (1748). Shakespeare gives her back to us
in an ambiguous work that-more than a drama-seems to want to ridicule human
weaknesses such as lust and ambition.
Antony, an able leader; and astute politician , inherits the Julius Caesar’s
kingdom and mistress. He, despite having a faithful and intelligent wife in
Octavia (Octavian's sister), has his power taken away by the young and virtuous
Octavian. His infatuation with the bewitching Cleopatra confuses his senses and
his mind.
The last queen of Egypt, associated with the cult of Isis , was accused of
subjugating kings. Antony and Cleopatra found their end in the tragic defeat of
the Battle of Anzio in 31 BC and, shortly after that, committed suicide.
FASCINATING FACTS
It is one of Shakespeare's five classic plays along with Coriolanus, Julius
Caesar, Titus Andronicus, and Timon of Athens.
The date of the first stage performance of one of Shakespeare's most famous
plays is still an unsolved mystery.
This is a drama dedicated to the aristocracy , partly because of the political
themes and the diatribe between love and honor, as well as the lineage of the
protagonists.
It cannot be ruled out that the tragedy was staged at James I of England's
court.
John Dryden 's tragedy “ All for Love” supplanted the fame of
Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra because of its greater accessibility to
the public.
ABOUT THE STORY

Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra is a drama that tells of a fatal love , one of
those great loves for the history books. The play, in five acts, stages how low
people can fall when they are blinded by passion .
It is a story that is associated with the opaque light of the moon, like the one
evoked by the splendid words of Enobarbus, Antony's lieutenant, who, at the end
of everything, will pass to Octavian's side because he understood the ruin into
which his beloved Antony was about to fall.
Antony is a love slave , subjugated by an attractive and wealthy queen who is
addicted to power. Cleopatra is a cunning and jealous woman who never finds
satisfaction in her thirst for passion and domination.
From a top her throne, she wants and desires everything that pleases her ego,
proud to the end. Many still wonder if her extreme gesture was due to her love
for Antony or that she was unable to accept defeat by Octavian.
TIMELESS LESSONS
1. The perfect fulfillment of love and power is not an easily attainable goal.
Sometimes couples have to make compromises within their relationship
and in life in general.
2. Never mistake passion for love . Overwhelming passion is the desire of
many, and sex is an important aspect of being a couple, but lust makes men
and women blind.
3. Don't lose sight of everything else . Even though you're living your dream
of love, there are duties you can't ignore, such as family and work, as well
as personal aspirations.
4. You can't have it all in life , which doesn't mean giving up on dreams; but,
instead, finding the right balance between your relationship and your work.
5. Emotional stability is everything . Cleopatra was a fiery woman with
outbursts of anger and uncontrollable jealousy. A relationship must be built
on a solid foundation of affection, mutual trust, and understanding.
6. The opinion of others is essential , albeit relatively. All the soldiers talked
about Antony and Cleopatra's turbulent relationship behind their backs, but
respect was everything to Antony. Being constantly looked down upon by
others will wound your pride.
7. Don't put your pride first . It's okay to have a high opinion of yourself
and make others and your partner respect you, but people get sick of
anyone who has to be the “prima donna.”
8. Friends are allies . Beware of friends who judge everyone's relationships
and, speak ill of yours too. Surround yourself with loyal people to whom
you can confide secrets and vent anger. They can never betray you.
9. Beauty is not everything . Seducing a man is a matter of character and
confidence in yourself and your abilities. If you focus only on physical
appearance, you may become deficient in spirit.
10. Love always has two sides . In your relationship, there will be moments of
discouragement, arguments, and estrangement, but love is also this duality
– a characteristic that makes it all the more exciting to live with.
11. Stop manipulating men . You are not the queen of Egypt. This aristocratic
attitude is not viable in everyday life with your partner. Learn to live with
the fact that if you want something, you have to earn it, even in love. If you
want respect, you also have to know how to give it.
12. Don't make a big deal out of it . If the love between you is over, you have
to learn to accept it. It's okay to feel bad for a while and suffer, but life goes
on.
13. Don't trust baskets of figs . They may be hiding a poisonous asp.
“Give me my robe, put on my crown; I have Immortal longings in me”

- William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra -
15 TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS FROM
“CRIME AND PUNISHMENT”

“Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep
heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.”
- Crime and punishment, F. Dostoevskij -
L ove is indeed the engine of everything, and that is also true for the great
Russian novel Crime and Punishment . In Fyodor Dostoevsky's famous
work, love is significant in terms of the intentions and the story. Crime
and Punishment is mainly a book about the sense of guilt , yet, to reduce such a
classic to this mere definition does not do justice to the work's greatness, which
has enabled it to cross the boundaries of both time and space, imposing itself as
an undisputed cornerstone of world literature.
It is important to clarify from the outset that Crime and Punishment is not at all a
heavy and boring book to read. Instead, it is a dynamic and involving story. In
some parts, it even makes you hold your breath. Everyone is familiar with the
plot of the novel, essentially summarized in the title, but despite its fame, it
remains a classic to be rediscovered for the themes and immersive depth of
writing.
Dostoevsky explores the bewilderment of contemporary man, the one who feels
like he is a victim of the world and of a society that cannot understand him. It is
simultaneously a detective novel and a psychological thriller. It has both
ideological and social depth. This makes it a key story of modernity because it
probes the human soul not as a unique being but as a cohabitation of
contradictory emotions.
FASCINATING FACTS
Russian names are complex and difficult to remember, but Raskol'nikov is
among the most memorable in literary history. Raskol is synonymous with
"schism," referring to the division in the protagonist's soul.
Dostoevsky found inspiration for the novel during his experience spent at
hard labor in Siberia. During his imprisonment, the writer was sentenced to
death by firing squad. Only on the scaffold, was he offered a pardon. The
mental wanderings and pains of Raskol'nikov can only come from this
harrowing experience.
The original narration was in the first person , in the form of a confession.
Only later did Dostoevsky choose a third-person omniscient narration.
The novel's overarching theme is freedom and the love of freedom: the
ability to rewrite one's identity, start over, and live a second chance.
In the novel, there are vibrant love scenes and a lyricism unique in the history
of literature.
Christian suffering is also an important theme that runs through the book's
pages, hence the search for redemption through human punishment.
The end of the novel speaks of an "Asian plague" that becomes a worldwide
epidemic reminiscent of the Book of Revelation.
The novel was initially published in episodes and had fair success, even if
many young radicals did not have a favorable opinion of the work because,
in their view, it encouraged murder.
ABOUT THE STORY

The protagonist of the story, Raskolnikov, is a 23-year-old student who is not
doing very well. Like many of his peers and many young people still today, he
struggles with poor and neglected health, precarious economic and social
conditions, non-existent friendships, and difficult studies. This situation leads
him to abandon his law studies. For these reasons, we find him, right from the
beginning of the narrative, very thoughtful about society's conditions and
injustice in general.
At this point, the young Raskol'nikov decides to kill the old usurer who owns the
room in which he lives in rent. His action is anything but instinctive: the
murder is reasoned and calculated down to the last detail. It is premeditated.
Dostoevsky takes us inside a particular mind in the precise moment in which he
decides to and performs the act. After that, there is nothing left but to suffer the
famous punishment, both physical and mental, for the rest of the book.
That's not all. The novel continues for more throbbing pages in which the reader
can't help but follow Raskol’nikov's thoughts . The latter believed he could
justifiably perform a despicable act and get away with it, both in terms of sanity
and justice. Crime and Punishment is not just about Raskol’nikov. There is also
Sonja , the poor daughter of a drunkard who dies, and leaves her alone and in
extreme poverty after having forced her into the condition prostitution.

1. Love is beyond poverty . Wealth is found within.
2. To fall in love is to discover ourselves , who we are, our innermost
beliefs, and passions that we didn't even know about.
3. Love is rebirth . When you fall in love, everything becomes more
beautiful. Suddenly, everything has a purpose.
4. Love means sharing joys and sorrows even if your fiancé has to serve a
prison sentence in Siberia.
5. A woman can change a man in unimaginable ways, but so can a man.
That’s the power of love.
6. Everything is forgiven in love but murder is a different matter.
7. The most beautiful love stories are born out of drama and hardship .
Sonja and Raskol'nikov are poor and live in challenging conditions, yet
their love story reaches very intense peaks of lyricism and pathos.
8. Love can make people better. It is a feeling that can increase positive
emotions, drive away the ugliest thoughts, and make life better, even in the
midst of a thousand difficulties.
9. A person in love does crazy things. Confessing a premeditated crime is
among them.
10. Loving is about releasing fears , sharing them, and exorcising them
together.
11. Love comes when you least expect it , even amidst the most extreme
difficulties.
12. Love reaches even the cold of Siberia.
13. When you fall in love, you also marry your partner's ideas. Even if you
don't exactly agree, you'll still go along with them.
14. Two lost souls can redeem themselves together. Between Raskol’nikov
and Sonja is love, devotion, and mutual respect. She will spur him to
confess and find redemption for his sins and support him by making him
rise to a new path, to resurrect him in love.
15. Anger and disdain for society can overshadow your feelings . That's
why it's important not to forget about love.
“To go wrong in one's own way is better than to go right in someone

else's.”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment -
“DANGEROUS LIASONS”

“Humanity is not perfect in any fashion; no more in the case of evil than in that
of good. The criminal has his virtues, just as the honest man has his
weaknesses.”
- Dangerous Liasons, P. C. de Laclos -
A charming and naughty book written with great class and elegance that
can surprise any reader. It is a novel in the epistolary form set in
eighteenth-century France, but it is also a novel with current themes and
imprint, especially concerning love relationships.
Don't be fooled by the book's epistolary and classical form. This is an epistolary
exchange that presents a dissolute and cruel society, intent on weaving webs of
evil and perversion, from which flows a sick aristocracy immiserated by the
exhausting game of manners and good manners that masks the perverse reality
of things.
The mask is a recurring theme of the novel, and letters are the perfect device to
show what the characters' masks conceal. De Laclos' investigation of human
emotions is pure poetry, a narrative system that far surpasses many critical
modern writers.
It is also topical in the way it is approached the female theme: at last, there are
intelligent and shrewd women, capable of standing up to worldly and cultured
men; the woman also becomes the interpreter of evil and harmful role full of
facets and well-delineated characteristics, but there are also weak women who
suffer passively.
A complex world full of unpredictable sentimental twists and well jousted within
the plot, composed then by exchanging letters. Dangerous Liaisons is a
surprising and brilliant novel. You can not say you have completed the overview
of classic reading if you have not read it. Unmissable.
FASCINATING FACTS
The book has been rediscovered in recent times thanks to the movie where
John Malkovich and Madame de Tourvel play Valmont is Michelle Pfeiffer .
Dangerous Liaisons was a highly criticized and censored book when it
came out . However, the author intended to warn against a dissolute life.
Despite the censorship, the queen of France, Marie Antoinette, wanted it
for herself but asked that there was neither the title nor the author's
name on the cove r.
The author was a confidant and secretary to the Duke of Orleans. When
in 1793, all the men who had ties to the duke were arrested for insurrection,
he was the only one who was placed under house arrest and spared the
guillotine.
ABOUT THE STORY

The Count of Valmont is a famous and cynical handsome seducer who knows all
the secrets to conquer women and lives a libertine life. He falls in love with the
beautiful Madame de Tourvel, but she does not yield to his flattery. This feeds
even more in him the challenge to conquer. Valmon is used to confide his
projects with the Countess of Merteuil, also an unbridled libertine and his former
lover.
The Countess's advice is first to seduce the young and very shy Cécile de
Volanges, who has just left the convent. The girl is promised to a man of whom
the countess wants revenge but with whom Cécile is in love. Valmont succeeds
in his intent towards both women. But the result is a comedy of deceptions in
which there is much talk of love but little love. The story intended to highlight
the rivalry between the two libertines, Valmont and the Countess, emphasizing
the fiction and hypocrisy of eighteenth-century France's bourgeois class.

1. To truly love, you have to know a person inside out and not the mask
they wear. Sincerity is the only road that leads to true love.
2. Making love to a person does not necessarily mean loving them . It can
happen to fall into the trap of an attraction of the moment. The important
thing is to be clear with yourself and with the other person not to create
false expectations.
3. If the love you felt wore off after the conquest, it didn't really love but
just a challenge to yourself. You had more of a need to prove to yourself
that you could conquer a man you weren't really interested in.
4. In love, one does not always win. The Count of Valmont succeeds in
possessing even carnally the longed-for Madame de Tourvel, but she will
never reciprocate in the way he would have wanted.
5. Intelligent people often tend to undergo challenges, but one should
never play with others' feelings, even when they are less intelligent and
more vulnerable. Cécile was innocent, young, and naive when she fell into
the arms of the wily Valmont and suffered greatly for it.
6. Appearances are deceiving. Sometimes the people who look mean and
calculating are the ones who actually suffer the most damage and are also
better at heart than those who look honest and innocent but are evil inside.
7. You are the master of your actions . You can't justify a mistake you made
with your naivety, just as Cécile can't be someone who just suffers, at some
point, you have to come to terms with the reality of the facts and become
the master of your actions.
8. Honesty is a social passe that will help you a lot . Don't think that being
yourself will make you more vulnerable. People who wear a mask are
always the most misunderstood.
9. Even the most bookish person can love and do so with great intensity
and fidelity, maybe even more.
10. When you find your male counterpart who can stand up to you and
stimulate you mentally and physically, don't let her get away. In love,
even if you are a woman, you should never fear competition, but participate
and win!
11. It's not always easy to tell which way your heart is going . The Marquise
de Merteuil, as wise and compassionate a libertine as she is, the only time
she truly let's go and gives vent to her emotions is towards Valmont, finally
realizing how much she has actually loved him all along.
12. If you're in love, don't do things your conscience wouldn't allow you to
accept . Valmont loses an important duel precisely because of remorse.
“When one woman strikes at the heart of another, she seldom misses, and
the wound is invariably fatal.”
- Choderlos de Laclos, Les Liaisons dangereuses -
15 LESSONS OF LOVE FROM
“DEATH IN VENICE”

“Nothing is stranger or more ticklish than a relationship between people who
know each other only by sight, who meet and observe each other daily - no
hourly - and are nevertheless compelled to keep up the pose of an indifferent
stranger, neither greeting nor addressing each other, whether out of etiquette or
their own whim.”
- Death in Venice, T. Mann -
A gray Venice, with the thick fog and humidity, the ancient palaces that
can be glimpsed through the mist, the bridges and canals of the city of
love, St. Mark's Square at night, and the lights reflecting on the calm and
dense water. Venice is the perfect location for love. It is the place where
Aschenbach decides to go to disconnect from his monotonous life, from his
habits to find out if he is still capable of feeling emotions, of being
overwhelmed.
And indeed, this will happen. Accomplice is also the most romantic city in the
world, and the desire to try new emotions and rediscover himself young and in
love. Infatuation has a potent influence even on adult, intelligent and wealthy
men. It is a force that oppresses and grips the soul.
Tadzio symbolizes Hellenic beauty, a young and athletic boy who becomes the
subject of uncontrollable sexual impulses. The novel expresses all the dichotomy
that resides in the human soul, the diatribe between Eros and Thanatos, between
Apollonian and Dionysian . At the same time, the city looms over the destinies
of men lost between love and desire.
The prose is courtly and of a certain class, orchestrated in such a way as to make
one feel the heaviness of the lost soul and insatiable desire. Love, which is the
means by which life is expressed to its fullest when it finds no outlet and no
fulfillment, is associated with death. For it is a feeling that is taken to extremes
in love or death. Absolute beauty cannot be possessed, but only enjoyed with the
gaze from afar, admired as one admires a painting; and perhaps it is better that
way because violated beauty loses its attractiveness. From its Olympus, it
descends among common mortals and becomes human.
These novel pages are complex. The words are dense and full of hidden
meanings, hidden among prose that alone satiates the desire to immerse oneself
in an entire story, tragic and magnificent.
FASCINATING FACTS
Mann inspired the character of Tadzio by Baron Władysław Moes, who met
Mann when he was 11 years old.
Thomas Mann had six children in all, and all of them had excellent careers
and became distinguished writers and artists.
The writer had to self-exile, fearing retaliation after harshly criticizing Hitler
during World War II.
ABOUT THE STORY

Gustav von Aschenbach is the absolute protagonist of the story, an old writer
who has spent his life pursuing an idea of elegance and perfection that has
earned him great success and fame. His life entirely dedicated to art has a sudden
turn when feeling deeply lonely, he decides to go to Venice. There his mind will
be consumed by the idea of a young and beautiful boy, and for him, he will lose
all resistance and hesitation.
As in a classical tragedy, Aschenbach's emotions are powerful, ruthless, and
above all amplified by a brilliant mind that finds itself subjugated by a desire for
love it has never had before. In this beautiful short novel , Venice is not just an
outline. It represents a real living creature, a stage where the events move, a
setting that recalls classicism and its inviolability.

1. Venice has always been a romantic city . Thomas Mann knew this very
well, and that is why it was there where he had an infatuation for a young
man that he set this short novel of his.
2. Love must never become an obsession . Gustav von Aschenbach feels a
real obsession for young Tadzio, leading him to take no precautions.
3. Love should not become a reason for stalking . The 50-year-old artist
does not lose sight of her secret young love. It is not good to feel the love in
this way.
4. Any form of love, if consensual and true, is to be respected .
5. An infatuation with a much younger partner is not always tantamount
to love . Love is about complicity and daily affinity as well as desire.
6. Do not let your passion for love lead you to commit dishonest actions .
Gustav von Aschenbach does not warn Tadzio's family of their danger by
staying in Venice because he is afraid to see the young man go. In doing so,
however, he puts his life at risk for pure selfishness.
7. Don't wallow in the pains of love . You are not destined to experience
love suffering. You are not a melancholy character in a beautiful novel.
8. Open your eyes: don't make a myth out of the person you love . The old
writer does not love the young man for what he is but for what he sees as
timeless classical beauty.
9. Strawberries are the fruit of passion. .. it is not always convenient to eat
them, especially when cholera is raging!
10. Don't make yourself up to make them like you more . A little make-up
is nice and provocative, but too much is too much. When the ascetic writer
decides to rejuvenate himself at all costs, he does something quite tragic
and unnecessary.
11. Intellect can be powerless in the face of the power of emotions . No
matter how much you've studied and no matter how smart you are, certain
emotions can sometimes take over. Take a breath and become clear-headed
again.
12. Never mistake your desire to break from the monotony of habits for
love . The protagonist of the story goes to Venice to find new places,
escape from bourgeois habits, and meet the young man for whom he feels a
purely sexual impulse.
13. The vigor of youth is a powerful aphrodisiac .
14. But you can love at any age . There are no limits to love.
15. If the fruit of your passion doesn't even know who you are, he
probably doesn't care . Tadzio doesn't know anything about Aschenbach's
passion and doesn't feel the slightest interest in him.
“Solitude produces originality, bold & astonishing beauty, poetry. But

solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportionate, the absurd, and
the forbidden.”
- Thomas Mann, Death in Venice -
“DON QUIXOTE”

“The truth may be stretched thin, but it never breaks, and it always surfaces
above lies, as oil floats on water.”
- Don Quixote , M. de Cervantes Saavedra –
W e are talking about the irreducible Alonso Quijano, the protagonist of

one of the most representative texts of universal literature . It is
written by Miguel de Cervantes and published in 1605 in the first
part. In 1615 the second is a parody of chivalric books in which extraordinary
events, invincible heroes and women of grace, and extreme beauty abound.
It's incredible to think that a novel written four centuries ago can still be
invaluable in themes, style, imagery, and writing. Don Quixote is looking for
something we are all always looking for: to keep true values , chivalrous
values, firm and intact. Finding and protecting true love , fighting for freedom
and justice, not fearing monsters, real or unreal, always seeking the truth and
making sense of the world .
These ideals remained inviolate for centuries. Which still impresses us with the
scope of modernity they demonstrated. Cervantes was a man who lived intensely
in his time, struggled, saw the world, was imprisoned and saw new politics
emerge. Don Quixote, for his part, seems out of step with his era. What remains
to be asked at this point, as did Nabokov in his famous university lectures, is
whether the sixteenth-century world of courtly love is more authentic or the
knight under a spell.
This is a narrative that has had its universal success because of a feeling that
many and all who live in the passing ages still possess: the impossibility of
finding one's place in the world. Without an assigned role and an accomplished
sense of one's history, it is difficult to understand the place of things. And this is
where the insane madness of our time is born, which only literature is able to
express.
FASCINATING FACTS
Writing Don Quixote took up to 20 years of work .
According to official estimates, it is the most widely read novel in the
world, with over 500,000 million copies sold. It has been translated into over
50 languages.
It is the favorite novel of Cyrano de Bergerac , another fearless swordsman
born from the pen of a writer, Edmond Rostand.
In 2002, a jury of only professional writers from around the world voted Don
Quixote as the best work of fiction in the world that had ever been written.
It is considered the book that kicked off the modern age of the novel.
The idea of writing Don Quixote came to the writer Miguel Cervantes during
a stay in prison. He had worked at various jobs, including being a tax
collector, and for this job, he had ended up in jail twice for accounting
problems.
The second part of the novel, which contains the famous and sad ending,
was written by Miguel Cervantes as an angry reply to an anonymous author
who, to ride the first part of the novel's enormous success, decided to write
the sequel even though he had no title.
ABOUT THE STORY

Alonso Quijano is a Spanish hidalgo passionate about picaresque novels where
honor, knowing how to handle weapons well, and having deep and firm ideals to
defend count. All this possibly against dragons and monsters to save defenseless
young ladies . The hidalgo Alonso, bewildered by an ever-changing world, locks
himself in his books until he believes that the plots tell the truth. And so he
decides to become a knight errant, dragging with him a peasant named Sancho
Panza .
Transforming himself into a hero, he takes the name of Don Quixote. And
suppose every knight must have a lady to conquer. In that case, his adventure
can only really begin with devotion and admiration towards a woman, namely,
Aldonza Lorenzo renamed Dulcinea del Toboso , because a lady loved by a
courtly love must have a name worthy of being whispered while attacking
windmills .

1. Those who love have blind faith in their partners .
2. He who loves defends his love from the attacks and offenses of the world
with a sword.
3. Love is longing to see each other again, even if you are only a few steps
away. No distance can keep two lovers apart.
4. For love, you can fight windmills . Beware that they can hurt.
5. Love should not make you lose your mind . You must always keep your
feet firmly planted on the ground, even while living a dream of love.
6. Those who love to transfigure their partners , Dulcinea is a woman with
rather easy costumes, a peasant girl not too refined, yet she becomes a lady
in the eyes of her lover.
7. In love, we complete each other . Each of us lives for the other. Without
Dulcinea, Don Quixote would not be a knight errant, but without Don
Quixote, she would not be a lady.
8. It is right to fight to solve problems . It is vital to talk and solve any
minor issue in a couple.
9. What matters in love is respect , even if the one who loves you is crazy
and with ideas, you don't share.
10. A passion for literature makes one experience every emotion more
intensely. It will increase imagination and empathy, teaches courage,
respect and love more than anything else.
11. Love is an adventure. There is nothing ordinary when you begin to love.
12. Sometimes love can make you look ridiculous in the eyes of others. But
it doesn't. You do for love for a just cause that no one is called upon to
judge.
13. Never stop dreaming. Don't settle for a dull life without excitement and
love. Courage is also doing something crazy and never giving up.
14. Don Quixote teaches us that love is beyond madness.
15. Don't underestimate a man's chivalrous gestures . Not many people
today remember what chivalry is.
16. Don't mock a man who puts himself out there for love .
17. Little gestures of everyday romance keep the love burning .
“When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies?
Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this
may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of
all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”
- Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Don Quixote -
“ELECTIVE AFFINITIES”
Your daily inspiration and wisdom:

“None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are
free.”
- Elective Affinities, J. W. von Goethe -
G oethe writes a novel that is an orchestra playing a beautiful symphony.

As enunciated by the opening's strings, the Elective Affinities' central
theme is marriage and the couple. The elective affinities of which
Goethe speaks are comparable to magnets, which inevitably attract each other.
Or, as he himself defines them, like those chemical elements that, once they have
come into contact and even though they are linked to another aspect, leave that
previous link to form a new one.
Now that the melody has begun, the elements of the novel begin to dance. Love
is a matter of moments, according to Goethe, of the attraction of the elements
towards each other. What makes the bond intense is the choice to love. Once the
initial impulse and passion have been overcome, shared interests, exchange of
views, and intellectual understanding should arise. From chemistry, love turns
into alchemy.
The literary journey within The Elective Affinities is particular, so much so that
it almost seems like an essay on the relationships between men and women and
on feelings.
Goethe can orchestrate a novel using only the principle of chemistry. Here's
what happens when you put two substances together, let's say A and B, and then
what happens if you add an additional reagent, C? What if D comes along? In
the couple formed by Eduard and Charlotte, Ottilia and the Captain arrive to
disturb the balance. The affinities are activated, and an unstoppable chain of
causes and effects begins.
Beyond the themes of love, this novel is absolutely worth reading for the stylistic
ability and effort of Goethe's genius to make sense of human relationships
through literature. Only through it can we succeed in communicating our own
love, relationship, and life.
FASCINATING FACTS
The novel was intended to be part of Wilhelm Meister's Years of Travel, in
novella form, but then had an unexpected development and became Goethe's
fourth work .
The idea of chemical elements associated with people caused quite a
scandal at the time, given the Enlightenment theme's modernity.
In Rome, in Via del Corso, it is still possible to visit Goethe's house from the
period in which he stayed in Italy, a land that, as everyone knows, he loved
very much.
The idea for the novel comes from a famous quote by Empedocles: "People
who love each other mix like water and wine; those who hate each other
separate like water and oil."
ABOUT THE STORY

Eduard and Charlotte live apparently a peaceful life in a country estate. They are
pleased together, complicit and in love. Their comfortable life allows them to
live peacefully without any problems caring only about their respective feelings.
One day Eduard asks Charlotte if they can host the Captain, an old friend of his,
for some time in order to help him in a problematic situation; Charlotte accepts
and decides that the time has come to host her niece Ottilia as well.
The couple's perfect balance will falter until it collapses once they are both
exposed to a new temptation. The attraction seems to be an inevitable force that
neither of them will be able to control. The story that began with a stable and
happy couple, satisfied with each other's love, ends in tragedy. The author
questioned the meaning of human relationships, who plays with feelings as if he
were an omniscient scientist eager to prove his point, to verify the experiment.
15 TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

1. Love cannot be just reasoning or just feelings . You have to find a
balance between the two parts to live a relationship peacefully. Charlotte
and Eduard believed in the balance of their love, but it was just a facade.
2. Betrayal is never to be excused . The novel's era's male chauvinist culture
allows the man to cheat while the woman is saddled with heavy guilt.
3. Love cannot always be the same . Love is changeable and changes with
time. You can not live in an imperturbable bubble. Sooner or later,
something will come to reckon with the reality of things.
4. In love, it is also important to know how to control yourself . The
attraction is a normal feeling, yet following it without thinking can lead to
atrocious consequences.
5. Love is always a choice . It is not a condition or a gift in which one finds
oneself by chance, but a decision made primarily with the heart and also
with the head.
6. Chemistry is required to make love come to life . Learning to love, grow
and mutate together is essential to making it work for the long haul.
7. Change is inevitable . In all things, in love, in feelings, in society. To think
you can always be the same is to believe you can stop time.
8. To be well with your partner, you must know how to love yourself . In
this way, it will be possible for both of you to enjoy the enrichment that
love gives each other without being dependent.
9. Women have the same rights as men in love . As perfect as everything
seemed, Charlotte knows full well that their relationship is skewed towards
Eduard's needs, and she has spent her entire life indulging them. This is not
only part of a bygone era, but it is also degrading to a couple.
10. All couples fight , but that doesn't mean they don't love each other.
11. Everyone is responsible for their own actions. It is all too easy to blame
a higher power; everyone determines the consequences of their own
actions.
12. Swapping partners is not always the right choice to brighten up a
relationship. You can find other ways to do this and avoid bringing in
strangers.
13. No one is infallible . Anyone can make a mistake and then retrace their
steps. Love is about being able to forgive.
14. Love that consumes is not good for anyone . Love builds, not
disintegrates.
15. It is not true that every attraction is mutual . For Goethe, it was, but
sometimes you can get stuck in the attraction of the other without being
able to react and admit that the fall was just a mistake.
“We would not say very much in company if we realized how often we
misunderstand what others say.”
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Elective Affinities -
“FAUST”

“As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.”
- Faust, J. Wolfgang von Goethe -
I n life, you have to have courage. It is essential to throw yourself headlong

into things, to take risks, and to put yourself on the line for what you care
about. In life, it is necessary to make room for recklessness and read
Goethe's Faust . It is normal to be intimidated by the monumentality and the size
of the work. While you might fear that you will not be able to get to the end, you
will change your mind after the first few lines.
Goethe has transported evil to Earth and made it human. Mephistopheles is more
man than devil, while, through him, Faust becomes increasingly evil with every
step he takes to save himself. In all of this, there is also room for love, political
speculation, myth, and philosophy, all together forming a unique work in the
world literary panorama.
Reading Faust is in itself a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Immense scenes that
digress from the plot lead to a completely romantic ending in line with the
Goethean tradition. One can disregard reading Faust, but why do it? You would
lose the opportunity to experience a book that is timeless, beautiful, and intense.
ABOUT THE STORY

Faust is a monumental work that begins with two prologues, setting in motion a
wager between Heaven and Earth, between God and Mephistopheles, the Devil
who will attempt to damn the soul of a wise man, Doctor Faust.
This honest and wise man has lived his entire life for knowledge, and with the
devil to open his eyes, he will discover that action is the true knowledge of the
world. The old Faust does not want to die; he thirsts for knowledge. Still, above
all, he thirsts for life—for empirical knowledge—to experience firsthand what it
means to know everything, to love unbridled, and to have no rules. From the
immortal pen of Goethe comes the most famous pact with the devil that man has
ever read.
Even the devil is tempted to know what it feels like to be human in a sinful twist
in this epochal work. The author wants to represent the whole of humanity in an
in-depth and philosophical study of man and the consequences of his choices—
an eternal contrast between instinct and reason. As Goethe digs into man’s
complexity and aspiration for knowledge, good, and dissatisfaction, the pact
with the devil acts as but a means to narrate it.
FASCINATING FACTS
The monumental work was written over 60 years and in three successive
stages.
The first draft of the play, Urfaust , was heavily influenced by performances
of Christopher Marlowe's The Tragic History of Doctor Faust .
The main character is thought to have been inspired either by Dr. Johann
Georg Faust or by John Dee, a noted alchemist and astronomer at Elizabeth
I's court.
Goethe, aware of his work's complexity, dictated that it be published only
after his death.
There are many similarities and references between Goethe’s Faust and
Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita , including the Devil/Mephistopheles
walking the Earth, as well as the beautiful Margarita.

1. Love is a path that is often uphill . Do not trust an easy choice, as Faust
did to conquer the beautiful Marguerite. There are no easy paths to love or
anything else in life.
2. Don't let anyone play with your heart. In her purity and naivety,
Marguerite believed that Faust's love would last forever, but it did not, and
the maiden's life took a dramatic turn. People have feelings. You should not
play with their hearts just for the sake of conquest. Let us always behave
with respect for others.
3. Do not commit acts you would regret in the name of love. Marguerite
loves deeply, and everything she does in life, including the crimes she
commits, is the result of her naivety and altruism, but we cannot justify our
actions and mistakes by hiding behind love.
4. Embrace and accept your flaws and the flaws of your lover , and you
can live an endless love story. At the exact moment when Faust accepts
Mephistopheles' help, the emphasis is placed on the fact that perfection and
absolute knowledge is not possible. Every experience and adventure that
the protagonist went through was thanks to the devil. In life and a
relationship, you must be ready to accept the fact that no one can be perfect.
5. Distinguish between love and desire. If Faust had paid attention to this
small but fundamental detail, we would not have one of the most important
literary works of all time. In life, you need to be able to understand the
nuances.
6. In life and love, every choice you make has consequences . In life, we
will be forced to make decisions, and each one will have effects. Even with
the complicity of Mephistopheles, it was Faust who chose how to behave
throughout his life.
7. You deserve someone who knows how to really love you. Marguerite is
beautiful, innocent, and in love, but Faust thinks only of himself and his
own desires without ever trying to truly open up to the relationship and
bring joy to Marguerite's life. Remember, you don't deserve someone who
only cares about his desires. You can do better, and you must demand it for
yourself.
8. In love as well as in life, remorse is a boulder. At the end of his life,
Faust finds himself corroded by remorse. Marguerite's death is only the tip
of an iceberg that is followed by other absolutely ignoble deeds.
9. True love can save a soul. Although the meaning of the work is that the
need and quest for knowledge is inherent in the human soul and, therefore,
Faust is not condemnable for his mistakes, Margaret will have to intercede
for his soul. The woman who he did not love as she deserved and who died
because of him intercedes for him. The creative force that moves the
universe is the feminine principle of love.
“Who are you then?"

"I am part of that power which eternally wills evil and eternally works good.”
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust -
“A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.”
“Whatever is the lot of humankind

I want to taste within my deepest self.
I want to seize the highest and the lowest,
to load its woe and bliss upon my breast,
and thus expand my single self titanically
and in the end go down with all the rest.”
“FRANKENSTEIN”

“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”
- Frankenstein, M. Shelley -
T hose who love genre literature will not have missed reading Mary
Shelley's Frankenstein at all. Written on a cold and rainy summer night
in 1816 on Lake Geneva, the gothic novel is more relevant and less genre
than ever before. Yes, because the work possesses a universal beauty in which
gothic, mystery, and horror are just a pretext for narrating human history's dark
side.
The monster is the result of modern technologies and scientific discoveries that
aim to enlighten man's history with the strength of reason , of intellect. Man,
who, thanks to his intelligence, rises above nature, is the most frightening
monster. In the mind of Dr. Victor Frankenstein still live the ghosts of
esotericism and alchemy, magical suggestions that are hidden behind the reason
and consciousness.
Man forcefully substituting himself for God would already be an exciting theme
in itself capable of holding up the entire novel on its own. Instead, the monster
turns out to be much more than a horror accessory to scare and engage readers.
The monster is more human than human when he is discriminated against
because of his appearance, when he becomes the victim of other people's
prejudice when he only asks to be loved and to love.
The monster's existence is an allegory, a fantastic creature that serves men to
anchor themselves to their humanity, not to lose it. The Creature is the living
symbol that shows how far the human mind can go and serves as a warning to
recognize where the limits are.
This is a modern novel that teaches a lot about the feeling of love. Never in all of
literature has a creature been seen with this extraordinary ability to love and
need to be loved. True strength lies in what we choose to be and not in following
the path that others have created for us. And the creature demonstrates immense
strength when it chooses above all else, love .
FASCINATING FACTS
The book was initially released anonymously.
It did not receive critical acclaim while the public was immediately
enthusiastic .
Frankenstein is not the name of the monster, as many believe, rather it is that
of the scientist Victor.
The book was conceived during a stay in Villa Diodati where Lord Byron ,
the poet Percy Shelley and his wife, Mary Shelley, challenged each other to
create scary stories. That same evening was also born the archetype of the
modern Vampire by Lord Byron's valet, John Polidori. Unfortunately, the
masterpiece was recognized for the latter posthumously.
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein , one of Gothic and world literature's
cornerstones when she was only 19 years old.
Dr. Victor Frankenstein was born in Naples because the writer loved this
Italian city very much.
The first film about Frankenstein was a 15-minute short film by Thomas
Edison made in 1910.
ABOUT THE STORY

Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus is a book that has managed to enter the
collective imagination worldwide for its imaginative power. Dr. Frankenstein,
lost in the ice and half-frozen, is collected by a ship bound for the pole and
begins his story. He preys to the most human fear of all, that of losing his loved
ones, after suffering the trauma of unjust death, dreams of becoming the one
who will transform the world, giving birth to a new human being's race
stronger, smarter, and with unnatural longevity.
When he succeeds, he creates a perfect but monstrous being who hides within
himself extreme goodness and great loneliness. Feeling inadequate and lonely,
this creature will try in every way to be accepted, coming to persecute his creator
to have a companion with whom to share eternity. The creature will never be
able to have a companion and, suffering the contempt of society and of his own
creator, will decide to get lost in the frozen and desolate lands of the pole.

1. Eternity is nothing without someone to love.
2. Even under the most extraordinary appearance can hide someone capable
of intense love.
3. Alone you are always incomplete . You can be happy, independent, and
satisfied
4. Invincibility does not make you a person who can give up on love.
5. Everyone has the right to be loved.
6. Love makes memorable gestures that resist the passage of time. Mary
Shelley wrote her book, dedicating it to her husband. The latter had always
pushed her to create literary works that echoed her father's deeds, the
famous philosopher William Godwin, and her mother, Mary
Wollstonecraft. Yet, it is not for them that she writes this novel but for her
beloved husband.
7. There is no such thing as the perfect partner built fit for you. The
important thing is to find the one who can love you for who you are.
8. Lack of love can turn even a good person into a monster.
9. The search for love doesn' t have to be obsessive.
10. If you lose your humanity in the pursuit of love, you will never be worthy
of being loved.
11. Even mad scientists with cold hearts can love . Victor Frankenstein
loved Elizabeth Lavenza intensely.
12. Love is a feeling that is generated spontaneously in all living beings .
The Creature has been artificially created and yet feels incomplete
precisely because within itself perceives the innate need to love and be
loved.
13. If you focus on your flaws, you will never be ready to be loved.
14. Don't fall in love just because you're lonely. Love is a spontaneous
feeling, not a desperate one.
15. No one can decide for you who you can love.
16. No one is born bad or good . Character is formed through time and life.
17. Everyone deserves love. Everyone deserves to receive affection and to
love unconditionally.
18. Don't mistake compassion for love.
19. Never give up. True love exists and is just around the corner. You just
have to know how to wait. It's never too late.
20. At some point, we all have to leave our "creators" and have an
independent life.
“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace
with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and
rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I
will indulge the other.”
- Mary Shelley, Frankenstein -
“There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand.”
- Mary Shelley, Frankenstein -
12 TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS FROM “HAMLET”

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
-Hamlet, William Shakespeare-
H amlet is an elusive, enigmatic, and intense book. Among Shakespeare's

greatest tragedy, one of the most beautiful and famous in the world. It is
difficult to say how much this tragedy has to do with love being
centered on revenge, and yet, love is the engine of everything, especially about
human action.
Hamlet's dilemma of living or dying, of doubt and indecision, is the fulcrum
around which Shakespeare's most essential and most represented work revolves.
Hamlet is a melancholic hero. He is in crisis and is, therefore, still a modern
hero.
A young and cultured son of a king, Hamlet, is a man who cannot bear the
weight of the evil that man can do. He is a person still pure, inviolate, who
would like to follow his father's will, but finds himself unable to act. This is an
ineptitude that becomes almost unnerving. However, the deep despair that
emerges from Hamlet's words is a source of love: love for the verses and the
words themselves, which induce suffering as blind and black as oblivion and at
the same time artfully orchestrated on a bed of irony.
The feelings in this tragedy are visceral and intense.
Although unintentionally and precisely because of his indecision, Hamlet is the
author of the events that will follow, including the shady deceptions that will
lead his beloved Ophelia to suicide. Hamlet and Ophelia's relationship is at the
limits of mental madness: there are many works of art that the character of
Ophelia has inspired, both pictorial and musical, precisely because of its tragic
nature. Ophelia and Hamlet enclose a unique tragedy in the history of literature,
one because she submits to the events even without her will, the other because
she voluntarily offers to the actions she is unable to perform.
The play's beauty lies in the tragic irony that makes everything so much more
real, painfully real. Hamlet is the modern man who is constantly trying to find a
lost meaning of things, a real man who you can't help but love madly.
ABOUT THE STORY
In the sixteenth century on the towers of Elsinora, the capital of Denmark,
appears to Hamlet a ghost with the features of the deceased king, his father. He
tells him that it was his brother Claudius who killed him, and that he later
appropriated the throne and married the king's widow, Gertrude. Hamlet swears
his late father revenge and begins his hunt for evidence of his uncle's bad faith.
He then organizes a play in which he stages the king's murder, and Claudius,
fearful and angry, gets up and leaves.
During a private conversation with the queen, Hamlet mistakes Polonius, the
king's advisor, for the king himself and kills him. Laertes, his son, arrives in
Denmark furious and eager for revenge. Claudius proposes to Laertes to
challenge Hamlet to a duel, blunting his opponent's sword and poisoning the tip
of his own as well as the cup from which the winner will drink.
The fight begins and the queen, present at the duel, will drink from the poisoned
cup to her son's health. The two duellists, meanwhile, in the confusion of the
battle, will meet their end, but Hamlet's revenge is fulfilled and Fortinbras,
Prince of Norway will be appointed new king according to Hamlet's last will.
FASCINATING FACTS
The famous soliloquy “ to be or not to be” is often associated with Yorick's
skull but, in fact, the soliloquy occurs in the third act while the skull is
only picked up by Hamlet in the fifth.
Hamlet is based on an earlier work that has unfortunately been lost .
This work was translated into Klingon , the famous language invented in Star
Trek.
Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's most famous works in the world and, besides
Klingon, has been translated into almost every language in the world.
The story of Hamlet is based on an existing legend , the one told by Saxo
Grammaticus. The two versions are very similar, although the names and the
ending change. In Saxo's version, Hamlet survives and becomes king.
Critics consider it Shakespeare's absolute masterpiece .
After analyzing the play, Freud concluded that there is an obvious
Oedipal desire on Hamlet's part towards his mother .

1. In life, as well as in love, it is important to take action . Stopping to think
too much or waiting for things to happen on their own is a cowardly way of
dealing with life and situations. No love story can come about if you just sit
around and wait.
2. Be true to yourself, you'll gain that you won't be disingenuous to others and
you'll always know what direction to take during important decisions.
3. Preserve your sanity. It is important that you do not get too carried away
with your feelings to the point of turning them into a disease. If he doesn't
love you back, it is right not to ruin your life and move on, you will have a
thousand other opportunities.
4. Love can lead one to do crazy things. Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, marries
Claudius shortly after her husband's death. Hamlet tells his mother that she
cannot really call what she feels for Claudius love. However, Gertrude has
now lost her mind and will drag the entire kingdom and her family down
with her.
5. Love and loyalty always go hand in hand. For Hamlet, the love for his own
father corresponds to a total feeling that binds him indissolubly to the family,
just as he considers Gertrude's love for Claudius blasphemous.
6. Love is not always the same, it has many faces and various sparks . And
above all, it is changeable in nature.
7. In love there is not only black and white, love or death, but also
compromises . There is not just good or bad, but the choices and actions you
make are important.
8. When in doubt, go with your gut more . Pondering too much will
inevitably lead you to make a choice that you don't feel a part of because it's
too reasoned and unfeeling.
9. Love is not always constructive . Sometimes it hides dark sides, precisely
because of the power of feelings. In Hamlet it is love that destroys the
kingdom and it is love that kills Ophelia. Accepting even this side of love is
important to know the consequences.
10. If you want to end a relationship, do it on your own strength and
without using pitfalls . Gertrude, in love with Claudius, commissions the
murder of her husband. You can leave the person you don't love by telling
him the truth and avoid committing regicide.
11. Even if you've seen relationships around you fake bad, don't recruit
yourself to love . Hamlet rejects Ophelia mainly because of his parents and
their consummated relationship. In this way, he drove the girl to madness and
death because she was accepted and rejected several times.
12. If he is inconstant in the relationship and first wants you and then
rejects you, he most likely does not deserve you. Ophelia passively suffers
Hamlet's changes of mind to the point of madness.
“LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER”

“We've got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen.”
- Lady Chatterley's Lover, D. H. Laurence -
M any people, good or bad, know or have heard of this novel. Most have
heard of it because it is a racy novel, censored for obscenity and by far
not to be read. Well, the time has come to do so. And not to find who
knows what sex scene inside, but because Lady Chatterley's Lover is an
immense classic of world literature.
The scandalous aspect of this book, does not lie in sex, or at least not only, but in
the merciless analysis that the author makes of Victorian society . Men and
women have lost contact with their human nature, have lost their authenticity,
overwhelmed by a society that forces them into imaginary chains of conventions
restricted in the categories of good and evil. The rediscovery of nature will
precisely rediscover those instincts, that harmony with humanity that has been
lost behind the search for reason and progress.
This is how Lawrence opens the door to the truth: there is not only good and
evil , the superstructures of society cannot understand what is deep within the
human soul. Thus, to free us all, Lawrence uses passion . Passion will bring us
back in touch with nature and, therefore, with poetry and true love, the pure one,
a feeling that no one should give up.
Perhaps then it is true that this book is scandalous because read today it would
make us rediscover that true freedom and true love do not lie in wealth and
money, in affluence and pretense, but in what binds human nature to the depths
of itself and to the freedom to be and to express itself.
This is why a classic remains a classic. Because it still contains the ability to
shock and bring about change in society and within men.
FASCINATING FACTS
To write this novel his own married life inspired the writer.
There are three fascinating hypotheses about who may have inspired the
lady's lover, and they are all related to the writer's Italian vacations in
Florence, Spotorno, and Taormina.
The novel came out 32 years after being written because it was accused of
obscenity. It marked the end of Victorian Puritanism.
Judge Lawrence Byrne owns the original copy of Lady Chatterley. He was
the one who lifted the veto on its publication, sold with a $15,000 auction
base in 2019.
ABOUT THE STORY

This book chronicles the passion of English noblewoman Connie , wife of Sir
Clifford, and her erotic and sensual experiences with gamekeeper Mellors.
Scandalous and daring, Lady Chatterley's Lover is set in the Victorian era. It is a
true classic of twentieth-century literature that established a canon for all writers
who ventured into the theme of passion after it. In a succession of romantic
passions and clandestine encounters, Lady Chatterley will write her own destiny,
understand what it means to love, and her life will become fuller and freer.
The characters in the story are real. The reader will certainly understand their
ideas and passions, their need for freedom, and will be able to identify with the
problems that the restrictions and good English society inflicted on people,
chaining them in meaningless and degrading rules.

1. It is not a sin to experience love also as sensuality . Relationships are made
not only of spiritual love but also of physical and sexual affinity.
2. You should not be afraid to feel pleasure when you love . When you love,
the pleasure of intimacy is important to both partners.
3. Even people who appear gruff and reserved can have deep feelings .
Oliver Mellors, who seems shy and taciturn, actually has an emotional depth
that only with time will Connie be able to discover.
4. Sometimes you can break up consensually and still continue to love and
respect each other.
5. If you realize you are in love with another man, be brave and say it
sincerely; it is important for the good of both of you and your current lover.
Sincerity is fundamental, and the protagonists of Lady Chatterley's Lover
will understand this to their cost.
6. At the end of a relationship, both partners have half the blame and are
half in the right . There are exceptions only in extreme cases.
7. Growing up in life as well as in love means learning to make choices and
take responsibility for the consequences. Connie Chatterley will have to
make choices that will result in huge changes in her life and in those who
love her.
8. A loveless marriage is not what you deserve . Connie and Sir Clifford live
in a loveless marriage, a condition that is of no comfort to either of them.
9. If you're a woman, you don't have to be ashamed to love or to feel
pleasure . Before many other men, David H. Lawrence understood that a
woman can have the same urges as a man and that this is perfectly natural
and human.
10. Talking about sex is not something to
be judged for . This novel teaches us that talking about intimacy with your
partner is never synonymous with vulgarity.
11. Living your life with love is the only
thing that really matters . Only when Connie understands this and realizes
she is in love with Mellors does her new life begin.
12. Love when it is bucolic is more
intense because it is free from the chains that society imposes.
13. It is never good to prefer an aseptic
life to love . Sir Clifford cares about decorum, order, and what other people
may think of him, but he can't be happy, unlike Connie, who will free herself.
14. A loveless relationship is based on
ambiguous feelings that have nothing to do with the purity of a sincere
feeling.
15. Sometimes a woman has to break out
some selfishness and courage to find happiness, the real thing.
“LES MISERABLES”

“A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in--what more could he ask? A
few flowers at his feet and above him the stars.”
- Les Misérables, V. Hugo -
V ictor Hugo 's Les Miserables was one of the most widely read novels at
the time of its publication (1862) and still today ranks among the most
beloved classics of French literature. Its success has been maintained
through a variety of adaptations into movies, plays, and even cartoons.
The wonder of this work is undoubtedly in its content , which features a plot of
imperfectly genuine human lives. Hugo expertly manages to outline each
character and make them live a story perfectly intertwined with that of others.
The plot is very complex and deeply articulated, and the reader is sucked into
this vortex of relationships, events, and emotions. Hugo is an excellent puppeteer
who is able to make his characters move through a coherent universe without the
slightest smear. The author also knows how to show readers everything he sees
without boring us one bit.
Alongside the various plots, Hugo also inserts many philosophical , literary,
historical, and social digressions so that his novel becomes a cathedral of ideas
capable of opening any reader's mind. A recurring theme that emerges
throughout the events is love.
FASCINATING FACTS
Victor Hugo committed 15 years of his life to writing Les Miserables .
The novel was published in two parts , one in April 1862 and one the
following month.
Initially, other authors and the wealthier castes of France did not appreciate
Victor Hugo's novel because it they believed it could raise false hopes among
the outcasts .
The post-Napoleonic setting offered Victor Hugo digressions on the
Napoleonic Wars and the failure of Waterloo. Thus, press who were loyal to
Napoleon III claimed the novel was immoral and too celebratory of the
revolutionary uprisings.
However, the novel was much appreciated by the public because the story
was imbued with feelings and focused on the lives of the poorer classes .
Les Miserables is among those novels that have seen multiple film
adaptations . There are more than 20 of them!

1. Life is compelling and fiery thanks to love. In the novel, we encounter the
passionate but platonic relationship between Cosette and Marius. It is a tragic
affair in which the young student tries to kill himself because his beloved
will move to England with his father. In the first letter that the two exchange,
the strength of love emerges, as Hugo compares it to an eternal fire that
keeps the human being as a child, free of all pettiness.
2. Love is linked to God . According to romantic authors, God is in everything
and helps to see the infinite. For Victor Hugo, love also has this power, and
he voices this opinion through characters like Marius. God and love are able
to make human beings understand the fullness of life and make them happy.
Moreover, the novel presents itself as a religious book (it is Victor Hugo who
declares this in the introduction), but it explores the vicissitudes of ordinary
human beings in the grip of feelings.
3. Love has no prejudice . The supreme happiness of life consists in the
conviction that one is loved; loved for one's own sake--let us say rather,
loved in spite of one's self. Love is understanding and acceptance and
welcomes you as you are.
4. To love is to become complete . Some characters' dramatic events, such as
Fantine's abandonment, Marius's attempted suicide, and Valjean's final
estrangement, show that people are destined to suffer without a shared
feeling. It does not matter if love is full of pitfalls, jealousies, or
misunderstandings; these are all feelings that bring strength to the soul and
without which a human being is nothing but an empty vessel.
5. Loving almost replaces thinking. This phrase reflects Victor Hugo’s
romantic vision. He understood the overwhelming nature of love that leads
man to oblivion and disorientation. The characters’ gestures of love are often
exaggerated and crazy precisely because of the feeling's volcanic force.
6. Hugo was against the condition of women at the time. Les Miserables
presents a very progressive vision. Through the story of Fantine, Hugo
emphasizes the condition in which prostitutes lived at the time and suggests
that women should have freedom of thought and freedom of love. Hugo's
women are aware of their feelings and are freed from the morality of the
more aristocratic classes.
7. Love elevates the spirit, even the spirits of outcasts . From Fantine's love
for her daughter to Marius' love for revolutionary ideals, all of the characters
in Les Miserables love, and, in doing so, their spirit is elevated, allowing the
reader to forget their miserable origins. Through this act, they can express
their feelings and perform noble actions, such as fighting for their ideals or
feeding a daughter, despite their poverty.
“To love or have loved, that is enough. Ask nothing further. There is no
other pearl to be found in the dark folds of life.”
- Victor Hugo, Les Misérables -
“MACBETH”

“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
- Macbeth, W. Shakespeare -
T he tragedy of Macbeth is among Shakespeare’s darkest and bloodiest. It

is pervaded by an irrational fatality, mystery, darkness, malice, and dark
passions.
Lady Macbeth and her consort are an atypical couple who introduced a harsh,
raw, and anguished realism into literature. Both live through the other, as a
whole, without an individuality that can be called normal. But, then, there is not
much that is normal in this story, even if we contextualize the facts. Regicides in
the Middle Ages were not uncommon. Bloodshed and battles were not
uncommon either. However, what is so irrational is both spouses' voracious and
uncontrollable desire to possess power so much that it becomes a disease.
Just like a disease, wickedness and ambition spread through the human soul and
become masters of it, so much so that they nullify the characters’ personalities.
Macbeth and Banquo meeting the witches on the moors represents a beautiful
and, simultaneously, dark image in the history of literature.
The ghosts of the mind take shape and become real, while the couple cling to
their obsessions. The more they believe they are fortifying themselves, the more
they actually degrade and descend into the abyss of reason.
The work's extraordinary nature lies in the author's ability to reveal the dirty
secrets of the royal courts of the Middle Ages without censoring anything, which
means revealing a love that is so total and obsessive that it is able to absorb the
noblest ideals and values and then crush them through the mechanisms of chaos
and fatality.
Macbeth is a tragedy that speaks of ambition and ghosts, of wars and regicides,
yet it is also a work that speaks of love in the most profound, intense, desperate,
and extreme sense of the term.
FASCINATING FACTS
Macbeth is the shortest tragedy written by William Shakespeare .
Lady Macbeth is considered one of the first dark ladies to appear in the
literature.
Real people inspired the characters.
Shakespeare wrote this particularly bloody play under the influence of what
happened in the Powder Conspiracy.
The three witches in the work are a tribute to King James I, who had written
a book on demonology.
The play is considered cursed, and the name Macbeth is never uttered in the
theater.
Macbeth has been the subject of artists such as Johann Heinrich Füssli and
Théodore Chassériau, but Giuseppe Verdi's opera is the most recognized
adaptation globally.
ABOUT THE STORY

The story begins in the Scottish Middle Ages, when two generals, Macbeth and
Banquo, stand under a bitter storm after defeating the Scottish King Duncan's
rebels. During the raging storm, three witches prophesy to the two generals a
great future: while Macbeth will become King of Scotland , Banquo will be a
progenitor of kings. The witches bid farewell to Macbeth with the noble title of
Thane of Cawdor.
Back home, Macbeth sees part of the prophecy come true when he is appointed
Lord of Cawdor. This ignites his ambition, and he runs to confide in his wife,
Lady Macbeth. The tragedy unfolds quickly and in a spiral of conspiracies,
misdeeds, and intrigues. The woman and her lover succeed in enticing her
husband to commit the most famous regicide in English theater history.
Macbeth, haunted by the ghosts of the men he killed, will be defeated by the
now insane Malcolm, who will become King of Scotland.

1. If you have a strong influence over your loved one, use this power of
yours wisely . Don't push him to perform acts that he might regret and that
will lead him into a crisis of conscience.
2. It is impossible to stop a woman who is strong and convinced of her own
means . This makes her very sensual in the eyes of men.
3. You should never do everything to please your partner . There are limits,
and you need to know when and how to say no. This will benefit both of you
and will allow you not to do things you will regret later.
4. In war, as in love, one must be careful about the actions one takes . Both
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth will eventually be corrupted by guilt and the
whirlwind of lust for power and go permanently mad.
5. Preserve what is good in your relationship . Small fights and
misunderstandings should be defused. Make sure that the foundation on
which you have built your relationship persists.
6. Don't hide a desire for social revenge behind love . Nor should you
confuse love with the desire for glory.
7. Letters written by lovers are significant . Always keep them tucked away.
One day you may reread them and be moved by the memory of being loved
so intensely.
8. In times of need, one always takes refuge from those one loves . Macbeth,
upset by the King's murder, finds solace only by running away from his
beloved wife, who is equally in love with him even though she has
manipulated him.
9. Toxic love is not true love . Lady Macbeth and her husband interpenetrate
each other by bringing out each other's worst character traits in what
becomes a disastrous spiral for both.
10. Be careful what you wish for because you might get it , says the
famous aphorism. If you really want something, you will definitely be able to
get it, but be careful about the consequences of the thing you think you want.
11. Before you go into battle, make sure you can defend yourself. It is
useless to start a war that you know you cannot win, especially in love.
12. Destiny is not pure fatality and chance. I t is what you build day by
day and mold to your liking.
13. Follow ambitions that are uniquely yours and that you firmly believe
in. You can't live by fulfilling the aspirations of others.
14. If your relationship isn't helping you improve, and, instead, you
notice it's degrading you , it's not a healthy relationship.
“What's done cannot be undone.”

- William Shakespeare, Macbeth -
“Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.”
- William Shakespeare, Macbeth -
10 TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS FROM “MADAME
BOVARY”

“Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears
to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars.”
- Madame Bovary, G. Flaubert -
M adame Bovary is a novel of scandal based on adultery, lies, and a

marriage of mere convenience. Like all great classics, its themes are
taken from real emotions and human events. It is one of those novels
from which you can learn a lot about love and, in general, about life.
It will be challenging for any reader to love the character of Emma, because it is
hard to empathize with a woman whose behavior is so deplorable, especially
toward a good and faithful husband like Charles. It is more than just a romance
novel. It is also a novel about personal dissatisfaction.
Emma Bovary is a dysfunctional character based on human mediocrity who
creates unbearable frustration throughout the book. She is never satisfied with
anything and does nothing but ask for more without ever giving. She appears
miserable and is definitely one of the most detestable characters in all of
literature enclosed within one of the greatest masterpieces.
Ultimately, Madame Bovary is the magnum opus of nineteenth-century
literature, and, at heart, we are all a little Emma. Flaubert makes us despise her
and bores us with her mediated life, but we cannot say that we are different from
her because the desire to want something more from life moves the actions of
each of us. Like Emma, Don Quixote, and Proust, we are also searching for
something, and to delude oneself into thinking that one is free from the dynamics
of desire is unfair.
This book should be essential reading to understand that we are all bound by our
desires and that it is essential to know our limits. Flaubert is subtly cruel in
showing us all how capable we are of despicable things.
ABOUT THE STORY

The protagonist of the work is Emma Roualt, who is known, after marriage, as
Madame Bovary. She is a romantic and passionate dreamer who dreams of great
loves and a comfortable life and lives in constant dissatisfaction with the present.
Her life is a continuous succession of blind spots. There, where she dreamed of
being happy, Emma finds only an insipid reality that is unable to compete with
her golden dreams. Thus, her marriage to the simple but virtuous Charles
shipwrecks in a monotony that leads her to engage in love affairs with the young
Leon and Rodolfo Boulanger, a nobleman.
In this novel, Gustave Flaubert's writing is polished without appearing complex.
He stages the daily pendulum of personal dissatisfaction.
FASCINATING FACTS
Apparently, in writing the novel, Flaubert was inspired by the story of
Eugène Delamare , a doctor who married Delphine , a young woman who,
like Emma, married him for convenience and betrayed him several times by
getting him into debt.
The novel originally had 4500 pages that were later cut in half by the
author himself . The writer took five years to complete the story.
Flaubert, because of his novel, was tried for moral outrage but was
eventually acquitted.
Flaubert's Madame Bovary is compared to Baudelaire's The Flowers of Evil .
Both authors, in fact, were put on trial for obscenity due to their novels.
Flaubert always claimed that he was inspired by himself to create the
character of Emma Bovary .
The term bovarism indicates a current of thought developed in the
nineteenth century where artists professed a personal dissatisfaction with
reality that could only be satisfied through books and bucolic life; in
psychology, it indicates a particular predisposition of mind that makes it
impossible for an individual to find satisfaction. The term and its meanings
come from this book.

1. Dreaming doesn't hurt anyone, but you have to remember to appreciate
what you have. Emma, the protagonist of the novel, is a dreamer, which
would not be something to reproach her for if only she did not despise
everything she has in favor of what she wishes she had. Although a bit dull,
her husband, Charles, doesn't let his young wife lack anything; meanwhile,
however, her dreams get bigger and bigger.
2. Love is not perfect. In the novel, we see Emma dreaming of the ideal great
love, including a knight who will take care of her, which overwhelms her
with passion. Of course, all of her expectations are disillusioned, causing her
to be apathetic and constantly looking for something more. Love should also
have that fire but be balanced by the warmth of normalcy.
3. It is during the dark times that we realize who can guide us to the light.
Emma's lovers enjoy their time with her, but once they discover her debts,
they refuse to help her and leave her sinking into bitterness and depression.
4. Betrayal, more often than not, leads to unhappiness. It is rare that one
finds personal happiness in betrayal. In the case of Emma Bovary, infidelity
leads to her death.
5. Sometimes happiness is closer than you think. It's very sad to see the slow
but inexorable unraveling of Emma, who, for all of her searching, never
realizes that happiness is within her reach. She has a comfortable life, a
husband who loves her deeply, and a daughter, but she lets it all slip through
her fingers for something ephemeral.
6. Having a child will not save your marriage. Emma Bovary, dissatisfied
with her marriage, tries to find personal satisfaction by having a child;
however, she is not ready to be a mother. When you decide to have a child,
remember that welcoming a new life is a wonderful gift but also a big
responsibility. Live it happily but wisely.
7. Open your eyes to the person you love. Poor Charles is a good man who is
totally dependent on his wife. From him, we learn that loving doesn't mean
closing your eyes and making everything okay just because you are in love.
8. Don't read too many romance novels. Your story is unique and personal.
Live it fully without comparing it to novels.
9. Don't mistake a casual affair for love. Emma falls in love with Rodolfo
Boulanger; lost in her fantasies, she does not realize that their adulterous
relationship is nothing more than a pastime for the man.
10. Physical attraction is not love. In a healthy relationship, interest is
essential, but it is not the only thing that sets love apart. In an intertwined
relationship, both parties sees more of what is really there.
“At the bottom of her heart, however, she was waiting for something to
happen. Like shipwrecked sailors, she turned despairing eyes upon the
solitude of her life, seeking afar off some white sail in the mists of the
horizon. She did not know what this chance would be, what wind would
bring it her, towards what shore it would drive her, if it would be a shallop
or a three-decker, laden with anguish or full of bliss to the portholes. But
each morning, as she awoke, she hoped it would come that day; she
listened to every sound, sprang up with a start, wondered that it did not
come; then at sunset, always more saddened, she longed for the morrow.”
- Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary -
7 TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS FROM “MAURICE”

“You confuse what's important with what's impressive.”
- Maurice, E. M. Forster -
W hen he wrote Maurice , Edward Morgan Forster had been searching

for a story really worth telling for a few years. A young, well-
traveled, successful writer of novels and short stories, Forster never
stopped lusting for experimentation.
The opportunity to write a good story eventually came to him when he visited
the home of his poet friend, Edward Carpenter, who was openly homosexual and
played a significant role in Forster's acceptance of his own sexual orientation.
Thus, the writer decided it was time to tell a story that showed homosexual
relationships in a good light, and he wrote Maurice .
The story is all about Maurice, who, since he was a boy, understands that he is
attracted to men. His first relationship occurred during his university days when
he secretly dated an educated fellow student, Clive.
Despite his lover's sentimental estrangement, Maurice continues to date him, and
it is thanks to this ex that he meets Alec, the love of his life. After an initial
meeting, Maurice fears the passion he feels for the boy and turns to a specialist
to treat his condition with hypnosis.
This specialist understands that Maurice's love for Alec is genuine and pure and
that there is no cure except to leave England, where homosexuality is illegal.
FASCINATING FACTS:
Maurice and Alec's main characters are directly inspired by the poet Edward
Carpenter and his partner, George Merrill.
Edward Morgan Forster wrote the book during World War I. He corrected it
about 15 years later and then again in the 1960s, but, because England still
did not accept same-sex relationships, the author did not want to publish it,
but some of his friends took care of it after his death. After all, when he was
21 years old, Oscar Wilde died after years of persecution due to his
homosexuality.
Many openly homosexual authors, such as Pasolini, did not appreciate the
novel because Forster did not have the courage to publish it during his
lifetime and fight against prejudice and discrimination.
The novel was re-evaluated in the 1980s, when Alan James Hollinghurst
recognized it as a wonderful work—so much so that the first film adaptation
was born.

1. Bourgeois and bigoted morals are the cause of the destruction of pure
relationships. Maurice not only tells the journey of growth of a young
Englishman who discovers he is gay in the late 1800s, but it is also a
portrait of the society of the time, which was very attentive to etiquette and
the judgment of others. Thus, the relationships created in wealthy circles
were not spontaneous but dictated by appearances and the fear of
generating scandal. On the other hand, Maurice's relationships are all love
stories, especially the one with Alec, based on purity and sincerity. In
contrast, Clive marries a woman from a good family despite his obvious
homosexuality.
2. Understanding one's sexuality is a hard path and one that leads to
liberation. Forster fills the novel with homosexual characters’ moments of
reflection and introspection. They pause to think about past events and their
growth, gradually gaining awareness about themselves and the choices they
must make.
3. Sexual repression leads to relational ignorance . Feeling rejected by
Clive because of the choice he makes according to decorum, Maurice feels
disoriented and seems to have lost confidence. He cannot let go of Clive.
He thinks only of him and no longer of himself, becoming more and more
eager of affection.
4. Human beings need affection. When Maurice realizes that he is alone, he
decides to run away. It is here that he meets Alec and, finally free from the
prejudices of his hometown, embarks on a tender relationship.
5. Sexual orientation is not an illness . Maurice fears that he is ill and goes
to a healer. His pathology, however, is not homosexuality but the anxiety of
being alone. Maurice perceives the wickedness of the society that represses
his impulses and isolates him, and he thinks he has problems that can be
cured with therapy. In reality, his obsession arises elsewhere, outside of his
sexual sphere, in his inability to love.
6. The novel also talks about internalized homosexuality, or pretending not
to be attracted to someone of the same sex because it is "immoral." Clive
lives this. His religious morals drive him to hide his sexual orientation and
accept what society requires of him, which is to be a manly, married, family
man. In contrast, Maurice would rather run away than deny his true nature.
7. Happiness is being yourself. Maurice's ending is open-ended. We do not
know if Alec will follow him in his escape to Argentina or if he will have to
live alone again. In any case, the novel's main message seems to be
contained in this choice to escape, take risks, and start again, all in order
not to deny what one is or who one loves.
“NANÀ”

“She alone was left standing, amid the accumulated riches of her mansion, while
a host of men lay stricken at her feet. Like those monsters of ancient times whose
fearful domains were covered with skeletons, she rested her feet on human skulls
and was surrounded by catastrophes...The fly that had come from the dungheap
of the slums, carrying the ferment of social decay, had poisoned all these men
simply by alighting on them. It was fitting and just. She had avenged the beggars
and outcasts of her world. And while, as it were, her sex rose in a halo of glory
and blazed down on her prostrate victims like a rising sun shining down on a
field of carnage, she remained as unconscious of her actions as a splendid
animal, ignorant of the havoc she had wreaked, and as good-natured as ever.”
- Nanà, E. Zola -
N anà is a novel with red tones. Full of passion, it outlines a destructive

type of love. It is a work by Émile Zola that aims to reveal a greedy
bourgeoisie overwhelmed by libidinous desire that blinds men and
women to their own destruction.
Outside of the palaces of this period, however, the people were increasingly
poor. Therefore, the novel is a portrait of the misery of both the poor and
wealthy classes. In the latter case, however, it is not simply a matter of money
but of corrupt souls capable of despicable acts. The story is explicit and features
an ungainly but seductive protagonist. She has escaped from her old life as a
florist to become an actress and avoid the economic crisis that has hit her family.
Her name is Nanà , and she is young, provocative, and fond of her lovers'
pleasures and possessions.
Nanà is a dark and tragic story that digs deep into human relationships and
extracts the worst from them. The tones are dark, but Zola manages to lead the
reader into a Paris that is equally grotesque and intriguing.
FASCINATING FACTS
Nanà's real name is Anna Coupeau.
The period in which Nanà was published was characterized by misconduct
and crimes, more than in the past. The climate of the recently concluded
Franco-Prussian War was still being felt and served as the exact starting
point for Nanà .
Nanà is the ninth novel in the Rougon-Macquart cycle , a literary genealogy
composed of 20 stories about the life of a family that passes misfortunes
from one generation to the next and, despite attempts at redemption, cannot
escape failure.
Renoir's painting La Loge (The Theatre Box) is often associated with Nanà,
seductive, and iconic red hair.
Another eponymous painting depicting the beautiful Nanà is by Manet .
Nanà has been a source of inspiration for many film and theater directors. The
result is more than 11 stage or film adaptations.
The novel, at the time of publication, shook all readers . It came out first in
installments, then in total, selling more than 100,000 copies in a few months.

1. A vicious, pleasure-driven life does not lead to a happy ending . Nanà is
incapable of love. She demonstrates this in front of Count Muffat, the only
one who really cares about her health and that of her little son. Nanà's
behavior does not lead her to improve her life. Instead, she dies from a
disease caught from one her lovers.
2. Love, like other human characteristics, is investigable . Zola's poetics are
based on sociological interpretation. Nanà is a kind of sociological account
of how the society of the time affected human relationships and what the
consequences were.
3. Love can be seen as a pathology . Zola presents Nanà's relationships with
lovers, which are exaggerated and aimed only at secondary purposes, as a
sort of mental illness. This comes from naturalism, a current of thinking that
Zola follows together with his colleagues Flaubert and Balzac, which analyze
the human beings and their behaviors scientifically. Love, Zola concludes, is
an illness that, in Nanà's case, can even lead to death.
4. Sick love is influenced by society. Zola provides a clear image of the
society in which Nanà exists; it is a world of people who are attentive only to
money, vices, and opulence. Nanà cannot help but be carried away by this
malignity of the late nineteenth-century bourgeoisie. She loses her ability to
love unconditionally and captures lovers as prey for pleasure and money.
5. Love is a victim of societal degradation . As mentioned above, the Parisian
society of the time was corrupt and evil. Zola describes it as incapable of
love and full of internal cracks.
6. Abusing one's own body leads to destruction. Nanà is strongly criticized
by the author and condemned to a punitive death.
7. Nanà's behavior is the fault of a lack of affection. According to
Naturalism, misfortunes were genetic. Nanà lacks the affection of her family;
therefore, she is unable to love both those who want to love her and her own
little son, who dies of smallpox shortly before her. It is perhaps only at this
point in the story that the woman realizes her mistakes and seeks redemption,
but it is too late.
8. Beauty, sensuality, and the body are destined to fade away. Throughout
the novel, one has the illusion that Nanà will remain beautiful forever. Much
time is spent showing off the protagonist's body, focusing on how she takes
care of it and offers it to her lovers. In these descriptions, she seems almost
like an angelic, untouchable, and ethereal Venus. In reality, as Zola
demonstrates, Nanà's beauty is only an illusion, as is her way of relating to
her lovers—all characteristics destined to die with her.
“OTHELLO”

“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-ey'd monster, which doth mock
The meat it feeds on.”
- Othello, W. Shakespeare -
O thello is the Shakespeare tragedy with the most human facets at its core.
The deep humanity doesn't come from the feeling of jealousy for which
the play is famous but from doubt, the creeping in of an obsessive idea
that lurks in your mind and won't let go. Known as the Moor, he is a general who
does not embody the classic canon of the hero precisely because his humanity
and feeling of inadequacy make him fragile, opening the door to Iago's devious
insinuations. Although he is a general of proven ability and intelligence, he feels
he must constantly prove himself equal to the position he holds. The words of
Brabanzio, Desdemona's father, pronounced at the beginning of the tragedy, will
weigh on him like an anvil and act like a premonition. The spectator and, in this
case, the reader, is warned. Othello's fate will be based more on his susceptibility
than on jealousy, leading to the inevitable.
Iago, for his part, is the villain par excellence. His cruelty is explicit and
declared, but the ferocity of Othello's jealousy is still unjustified. Othello is the
victim of his own insecurities and prejudices. Even before Iago's insinuations,
his personality wavers and doubts easily infiltrate his mind and find fertile
ground.
In this tragedy, Shakespeare plays on men's fates by emphasizing the importance
of will over anything else. Othello commits murder, Iago exploits an already
weak person by involving his wife in his plans, and they are all deliberate and
premeditated actions. Nothing is justified.
Thus, evil is trivial and can be found everywhere, even in the most unthinkable
places. Iago's slander, Othello's weakness, and Desdemona's passive acceptance
are closely linked by the evil imprint of man. Many of the themes in this tragedy
remain current today, including acceptance of self and others as they are,
violence against women, and the tyranny of hypocrisy.
These problems have clearly plagued humankind for centuries.
FASCINATING FACTS
In this tragedy, Shakespeare overturns prejudices about race. Othello, the
Moor, is good, faithful, and pure, while Iago, a handsome and powerful
white soldier, is cruel and deceitful.
An Italian novella by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinzio (usually referred to
as Cinthio) inspired the tragedy. It is the seventh novella of the third deca of
the Ecatommiti .
Othello seems to be inspired by two real-life characters: Captain
Francesco de Sessa, a Moor who was also imprisoned in Cyprus for an
unknown crime, and Patrizio Cristoforo Moro, who was a lieutenant in
Cyprus in 1508 and lost his wife on the return journey to Venice.
In the course of his artistic production, Shakespeare invented over 3000
words of the English language.
ABOUT THE STORY

Othello, known as the Moor, is a brave and trustworthy commander who is in
love with the beautiful and sweet Desdemona . He is a general in the Republic
of Venice's service and she, his wife, is the daughter of a senator of the Republic.
Although their love is lawful and just, Brabantio, her father, tries to accuse
Othello of witchcraft, but the two lovers manage to make it clear that theirs is
pure love.
They set out to defend Cyprus, but Iago weaves a web of lies and infamy that
corrupt the protagonists' minds, making it impossible to distinguish between
what is real and what is not.
In this tragedy, Shakespeare connects love and death with a crazy dance of
jealousy, warning us against this feeling and showing us how a man who is too
pure and good can unwittingly allow himself to be manipulated by those who
have darker and dirtier souls.

1. Don't follow the love advice of bad friends . Learn to distinguish between
those who are your friends and those who just want to use and manipulate
you. You will meet several people like Iago in life, and it is best to stay away
from them.
2. Jealousy in love is an emotion that must always be managed . Othello will
go crazy with jealousy and engage in extreme behaviors that cannot be
reversed.
3. Some people will say that your love is a mistake, and they won't believe
it's true . Don't be swayed. If you love him, it's right for you to be with him.
If Desdemona had the courage to confirm her love in front of the court of
Venice, you can hold your ground too.
4. Your love may not always be reciprocated. Be careful . Bianca eventually
realizes that her relationship with Cassio means something completely
different to her than it does to the soldier. Bind yourself only to those who
deserve your affection.
5. Trust those who love you . Don't be like Othello; ask for clarity if you need
it. You may find that nothing you think is true.
6. Curb your need for possession in love . When you love, it's natural to want
all of your partner's love just for yourself, but it's essential to put a brake on
possessiveness so that you can take a hard look at the relationship.
7. Love causes doubts, especially if it's genuine love, and no matter how
important you are, you will still feel this feeling. Don't let doubt guide your
thoughts.
8. If you are with the one you love, consider yourself lucky . Don't aspire to
anything else, because true love is hard to find. In the tragedy, Othello loves
Desdemona, and she loves him, and they are the only ones who love each
other. Iago exploits Emilia, and for Cassio, the beautiful Bianca is just a
conquest to show off.
9. Be confident, and you will be satisfied in your relationship . Othello is
strong, invincible, and in a leadership position, but he is not confident in
love, and because of this, Iago's falsehoods manage to fool him.
10. Do not be naïve in love . Desdemona loves Othello in a thousand and
one ways and is so naïve that she won't understand what's going on until the
end; don't be like her. If he loves you, you have the power to talk to him and
make everything clear.
11. Finding out that a relationship was worth living only at its
conclusion is the worst of all.
“Men in rage strike those that wish them best.”

- William Shakespeare, Othello -
“She lov'd me for the dangers I had pass'd,

And I lov'd her that she did pity them”
“For she had eyes and chose me.”
7 TIMELESS LESSONS FROM
“PHILOSOPHY IN THE BOUDOIR”

“The state of a moral man, is one of tranquillity and peace; the state of an
immoral man is one of perpetual unrest.”
- Philosophy in the boudoir, M. De Sade -
A boudoir is a lady's private room, a dressing room. Initially, it was

considered a wealthy woman's secret place; later, it was a drawing room
for entertaining guests. Perhaps it is from this meaning that the lord of
Saumane, Donatien-Alphonse-François de Sade, better known as the
Marquis de Sade, drew the title of his collection of dialogues, The Philosophy
in the Boudoir.
The two protagonists are Madame de Saint-Ange and Count de Dolmancé,
who discuss the political situation in post-revolutionary France. In fact, the
treatise was published during the last year of the Revolution, in 1795, and is a
sort of invitation to insurrection.
The text deals with various themes, such as the role of the people in the
insurrection, as well as the necessity of atheism and justice, but it also follows a
very precise story that has to do with love and desire . The Marquis de Sade
wants to invite young people, especially girls, to express their feelings and go
against their parents' moralistic teachings (who he describes as “ imbeciles” ).
Therefore, while the treatise focuses on a multitude of issues, it starts from one
point: the sexual education of young girls. The subtitle of the work was, in fact,
“ Dialogues destinés à l'éducation des jeunes demoiselles,” or “ Dialogues
intended for the education of young girls.” This was a bold and progressive goal
considering the sexual repression of the period. “ Your body belongs to you, to
you alone: you alone in the world have the right to enjoy it and make you enjoy
whoever you like!”, according to the Marquis, but it is one of few notes of
respect for others' sexuality that the author demonstrates throughout the work.
FASCINATING FACTS
The original version of the work was rich in illustrations , which were also
created by the author.
Although the work follows the form of a philosophical treatise, it combines
sex education, including explicit and scientific explanations on how sex fits
into the society of the time, pornographic words and scenes, and family
drama, especially in the final events.
When the treatise came out, the Marquis de Sade was already known for his
explicit short stories and novellas in which an erotic plot is intertwined
with violence and truculence. However, for the first two years of its
publication, the Marquis' name did not appear on the cover, and the work
was associated with a deceased writer.
Although it is a philosophical treatise in dialogue form, Philosophy in the
Boudoir is often associated with theater because of the division into scenes
and the setting's monotony.

1. The repression of the libido begins with parents’ bigoted morals . The
Marquis de Sade begins the treatise by addressing mothers and inviting them
to teach their daughters to behave like the young girl in the novel Eugénie .
The latter is subjected to sexual education lessons given by the open-minded
woman Madame de Saint-Ange and the libertine Dolmancé. Drawing
inspiration from these two figures, Eugénie cannot help but grow up with a
free view of sexuality.
2. Sex is aimed at the pursuit of pleasure for both men and women. At the
time, it was not common to see sex as something from which to derive
pleasure. In fact, during that period, it was still thought of as an act for the
purposes of reproduction alone. Sexuality was something that only concerned
men, whereas women did not express their libido. Therefore, the Marquis de
Sade had a vision of eroticism much closer to our times than to his own.
3. “If it feels good, then do it!” Dolmancé says at one point, implying that the
Marquis de Sade approved of any erotic practice and sexual orientation.
Other characters also appear during the story, including the gardener, Saint-
Ange's brother, and they are all bisexual or homosexual. On the other hand,
incest is also accepted, as the Madame and her knight brother have sexual
relations.
4. Is a crime that occurs for the sake of pleasure condemnable? For the
Marquis, the answer is no. Here, his unreasonable side emerges, as he
invites the reader to consider even murder lawful if it helps to achieve sexual
satisfaction.
5. The unbridled and unregulated pursuit of pleasure leads to mental
illness. The ending of the treatise demonstrates the perversion of the Marquis
de Sade's writing. It consists of a group sexual assault on Eugénie's mother,
who has been brainwashed. The girl also participates, explicitly asking to kill
her mother, in a sort of punitive rite against the only woman who has realized
that the teachings on sexuality are unhealthy.
6. Sex and love are two separate things . Interestingly, or somewhat creepily,
with all the talk about pleasure, desire, and union between lovers, the
Marquis de Sade never once mentions love and affection. Sex is considered a
violent and crude practice, aimed only at achieving one's own ends and never
about communicating a feeling.
7. Love is seen as a disease . For the Marquis, it is what hypnotizes man but
inevitably leads him to despair. That is why sex must be disinterested. The
only sign of love comes from Eugénie's mother, who, is promptly punished
for her love by contracting the sexual disease syphilis.
11 TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS FROM “ROMEO
AND JULIET”

“My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.”
- Romeo and Juliet, W. Shakespeare -
R omeo and Juliet is, arguably, the most famous love story of all time. A
passionate tale that passes as fast as a comet and burns just as hot. The
love of the two young people was so intense that they preferred death to
being apart, and, even now, 500 years later, we can learn some lessons from this
love story.
The familiar versions of the story are countless and include songs, stage and film
performances, musicals, and more. This ubiquity emphasizes the story’s
universality and importance through the centuries. For a story like that of Romeo
and Juliet, to rediscover the true ardor and passion, you can do nothing but read
the original and rediscover the poet’s individual lines and words. Romeo and
Juliet manage to embody the prototype of true and eternal love; they are, in some
sense, the very essence of love.
In reality, Romeo and Juliet use love to express their desire for freedom, their
desire for revenge, and their need to make their own choices. Therefore, it is not
just love for its own sake. Romeo and Juliet are the unmistakable evidence of
what happens when two people live caged by dogmas and prejudices, tortured by
a society that can never accept their will to be free. The consequence of all this
is, inevitably, death, because if there can be no love, there can be no life. Love is
the only feeling capable of building instead of destroying. This is why their story
is so universal and suitable to the many cinematic and musical modernizations.
The desire for the freedom that it contains is so strong that it adapts to all ages,
styles, representations, and audiences of various kinds and generations.
To get his point across, Shakespeare uses the deaths of Romeo and Juliet to
reiterate the message foretold in the prologue. He represents their extreme acts
as necessary to make people understand the magnitude of the sins that both
families have to atone for.
It should not be necessary to repeat the reasons for one's love to make it prevail
over hatred. It should not still be the case in our millennium that two people
cannot be free to love each other above all else. Yet, perhaps it needs to be said
repeatedly and out loud throughout all time, which is why so many generations
have found meaning in Shakespeare's play.
ABOUT THE STORY

The story follows the tragic love of two young people from Verona's two rival
and aristocratic families in 1500, the Montagues and the Capulets. The hatred
between the two families brings havoc and death, and the whole city is involved.
They cause brawls in the streets and real battles between young people who hate
each other without even knowing why. They have it in their blood.
Romeo is 20 years old when he meets 14-year-old Juliet at a party. The party had
been organized just for her, to make her fall in love with the noble Paris and
marry him, but things will not turn out as planned. Romeo and Juliet will be so
enraptured by each other that they decide to have a secret wedding. From there,
things begin to fall apart. All that eventually remains is the purity and innocence
of two young people who wanted nothing more than to love each other.
The two families can do nothing but reconcile over their children's blood, and
the story comes to a close with the poet’s acknowledgment, " That there was
never a story so full of pain as this of Juliet and her Romeo."
FASCINATING FACTS
When Mercutio dies at the hands of Tybalt, he angrily wishes the plague on
both families. This is thought to reference the great epidemic that killed
5% of London's population between 1563 and 1578 . Among the victims
were many of Shakespeare's relatives.
Shakespeare took inspiration for Romeo and Juliet's story from Arthur
Brooke’s poem The Tragicall History of Romeus and Juliet . Many scenes
found within the play are also in the English poet's writing, although
Shakespeare reworked the narrative. For instance, he filled out the
characterizations of many secondary characters and elevated the couple to an
archetype of perfect love.
The Montagues and Capulets (“Cappelletti”) are present in Dante's
Purgatorio . They are not mentioned as rival families, though.
There are many versions of the play , both theatrical and cinematographic.
Regarding the latter, the most famous ones are the one by Zeffirelli in 1968
and the modern adaptation by Baz Luhrmann in 1996.
Shakespeare's tragedy is responsible for the first kiss in the theater .
Before the staging of Romeo and Juliet, no actor had ever exchanged explicit
effusions on stage.

1. True love transforms you . When he falls in love with Juliet, Romeo
becomes aware of himself and loses his boyish impetus, maturing through
love.
2. True love, even if short, lasts forever . The two only live their love for a
few days, but their memory will live forever. Don't think of your story in
terms of time but in terms of intensity.
3. Don't let anyone decide who you should love. Juliet is destined to marry
Paris, yet there is no earthly force that can drive two lovers apart. When you
love someone, you fight for your happiness.
4. Trust humble people. Give your trust to people who genuinely want your
happiness. It is Juliet's nanny who arranges the secret wedding between the
two, because she wants their happiness.
5. Don't let love blind you. Romeo and Juliet are unable to look beyond the
feeling they have for each other, so they end up making a fatal gesture
without realizing that just a moment more would be enough to change things.
6. Love stories don't always end well. Sometimes a story can have less than
positive outcomes. Love is not always meant to build but also to destroy.
What's important is knowing how to make the best of this side too.
7. A moonlight declaration is one of the most romantic things in the world.
The iconic scene under the balcony remains one of the most romantic scenes
in literature.
8. Family affairs should not be part of a love story . The two families oppose
the union of Romeo and Juliet, who love each other despite everything.
Especially in problematic situations, it is better to leave family affairs out of
one's relationship.
9. Love is always love, even if you don't recognize it, don't accept it, or don't
want to give it a specific name. Juliet formulates this idea in the famous
phrase, "What's in a name? What we call a rose even by another name always
retains its fragrance."
10. Love always wins over hate . Romeo and Juliet were destined to hate
each other as much as they hated their families, but in the last moment, love
will win out over everything, and they will make peace.
11. Love makes life worth living . It may seem like an idealistic thing to
say, but that is precisely how it is. There are different forms of love in life,
but they’re all enriching.
“These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder
Which, as they kiss, consume”
- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet -
“Thus with a kiss I die”

“Why then, O brawling love! O loving hate!

O any thing, of nothing first create!
O heavy lightness, serious vanity,
Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms,
Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health,
Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!
This love feel I, that feel no love in this.”
“Come, gentle night; come, loving, black-browed night;

Give me my Romeo; and, when I shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night...”
“For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”
“THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO”

“All human wisdom is contained in these two words - Wait and Hope”
- The Count of Monte Cristo, A. Dumas -
W hat is accomplished by reading certain classics is a remarkable

journey into the human soul. It is easy to lose our connection to the
power of feelings when we are not exposed to extraordinary
vicissitudes and tests of courage in everyday life. The classics of world
literature , such as The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas , are
absolute masterpieces because they are capable of generating in us the desire to
live intensely, to be moved, and to love with all our soul.
Many know it as a novel about revenge that explores the difficulty of
distinguishing good from evil and the banality of evil as experienced through
envy, conspiracy, and wickedness, yet it is also a story of rebirth and love for
life, because those who dare to get up and return to life after seeing so much
ugliness are precisely those who experience a feeling of intense love for it.
Clinging to that love is what Edmond Dantés does, reborn from the ashes of
himself for the love of life and for the love of his woman. Only a man with great
faith in love could survive such anger and resentment to rebuild his life. Only
novels like this one can show all the nuances of the human soul as it is tested by
life.
FASCINATING FACTS
The island of Montecristo really exists and is located in Tuscany, Italy. The
writer traveled to the island with Girolamo Napoleon Bonaparte.
The novel was initially intended to be Alexandre Dumas’ travelogue.
For some time, the rumor circulated that the Italian Pier Angelo Fiorentino
had written the book. Alexandre Dumas denied this rumor, and today it is
considered just that.
Auguste Marquet, Alexandre Dumas' editor, received a large sum after suing
the writer to be recognized as a collaborator in the Count of Monte Cristo 's
conception.
ABOUT THE STORY
The story follows the vicissitudes of Edmond Dantés, who, as a young officer
with a splendid future ahead of him, ends up serving an unjust sentence in the
Château d'If, a horrible place of detention that, despite everything, does not
manage to weaken his spirit but, instead, forges and hardens it. Like a rough
diamond, Edmond Dantés comes out of captivity transformed into the Count of
Monte Cristo. Every impurity and every weakness has been chased away by the
cold stone walls.
Animated by an iron will and an unquenchable thirst for revenge , the Count
disguises himself and travels around Europe to discover those who unjustly
accused him. Once free, the Count, owner of an immense fortune and a vast
culture acquired thanks to a prisoner friend of his, the Abbot Faria, makes daring
revenge plans with traps, deceptions, and incredible twists in which the stories of
secondary characters are perfectly intertwined. In classic feuilleton style , The
Count of Monte Cristo is a story that never ceases to fascinate those who read it
and that stimulates ardent passions.

1. Love can end. However, if it was true love, it is never forgotten. The
Count of Monte Cristo will spare the life of one of the men he intends to
avenge not only because he respects him but because he is the son of his first
love.
2. It is love that saves his life . Edmond survives his imprisonment because he
hopes to be reunited with his fiancée, Mercédès.
3. For love, a man and a woman can accomplish great deeds . Mercédès, in
memory of lost love, refuses a large inheritance.
4. When you love each other, the time you spend together quickly fades
away, and when you drift apart, you can't wait to see each other again. The
Count recognizes this when he says, "never has a man truly in love allowed
the clocks to run their course in peace."
5. Love comforts even the hardest heart . Being close to Haydee comforts the
Count of Monte Cristo.
6. Only by accepting that one can begin to love again can one truly begin to
live again . Only when Edmond Dantés accepts Haydee's love does he
finally become whole again.
7. If one story ends, the time to experience another will come sooner or
later .
8. A wealthy and intelligent count is an excellent catch for any woman ,
even if she is not a Greek princess.
9. If you truly love a man and if he is worthy of your respect, wait for his
return. Don't lose hope. He will also be looking for ways to get back to you.
10. Sometimes confessing one's love is necessary in order for that love to
be reciprocated . Haydee deeply loves the Count of Monte Cristo, who has
saved her and considers her a guest of respect. In contrast, she considers
herself his prisoner. Only at the end is she able to confess her feelings and
discover that they are reciprocated.
11. True love is stronger than the desire for revenge . The Count of
Monte Cristo renounces the completion of his great work of vengeance for
love.
12. A woman who loves does not forget . Mercédès Herrera was the first
fiancée of the Count of Monte Cristo, and she yields to her cousin's flattery
only when she believes her fiancé, Edmond, has died in prison.
13. Nothing can come between a young couple in love . Valentine de
Villefort is secretly in love with Maximillien Morrel, and it is reciprocated by
him even though she is promised to another. Only after a thousand
adventures will she be able to marry the man she loves.
14. Spending too much time thinking in love is useless . Follow your
instincts, and remember to take action.
15. There is no point in cultivating hatred when, after all, you are not a
bad person .
“Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one
moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what
you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as
you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will
know you as we know you”
- Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo -
“THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE-DAME”

“Love is like a tree: it grows by itself, roots itself deeply in our being and
continues to flourish over a heart in ruin. The inexplicable fact is that the
blinder it is, the more tenacious it is. It is never stronger than when it is
completely unreasonable.”
- The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, V. Hugo -
Q uasimodo's love for Esmeralda is something so pure that it could only be

described in such a perfect way by a genius mind like Victor Hugo’s. Only
a brilliant author could describe with such precision the beauty, the
suffering, the defeat, the passion, and the anguish of an impossible love that
becomes real only in the union of two souls.
Quasimodo, deaf and deformed, cannot know what love is . The only acts of
kindness he has ever received have come in the form of orders and commands.
He has spent his life hiding in the mazes of the cathedral and following orders in
the vain hope that he might be accepted. Nevertheless, even if not brilliant and
knowledgeable about the world, a man is always able to recognize love when he
encounters it, and that feeling strengthens to eventually impact everything else.
Everything seems to make more sense. It is as if love shines a light on reality, a
light that can never be turned off. For Quasimodo, that light enables him to
distinguish good from evil, and what is right from what is wrong. Thus, he
becomes the protagonist of his own life, which until then had been bleak and
lived in darkness.
And, of course, there is also Paris , Notre Dame, the Court of Miracles, the
balls, the bohemians, the gypsies, a whole crowd of beauties and a desire to send
messages. Victor Hugo wrote Notre Dame in 1839, when he was 28 years old.
perhaps, for this reason, the literary classic contains a beautiful world to be
discovered and simultaneously, condemned. It exposes to the public pillory the
ugliness of a backward , immobile world that does not progress and inflicts
suffering, showing how progress is not something external that befalls people
but the most human choice one can make. The walls of cathedrals may
crumble, but no one will ever be able to bring down the beating heart of those
who love.
FASCINATING FACTS
The author wrote this timeless masterpiece when he was only 28 years
old and published it when he was 29.
The success of the book prevented the demolition of the Parisian
cathedral . The citizens of Paris began to love this cathedral and rose up in
support of its preservation and restoration.
For the character of Quasimodo, the writer was inspired by a real person, a
sculptor called "the hunchback."
All of Notre Dame's bells have a name .
Bug-Jargal is Victor Hugo's first novel, composed when he was 16 years old
to win a literary game proposed by the author to the literary circle to which
he belonged.
ABOUT THE STORY

In this classic novel, a masterpiece of the Gothic genre, Notre Dame Cathedral
becomes a real character in which the plot's most meaningful events occur. In a
succession of twists and turns, the reader discovers the Court of Miracles, the
Argot, and experiences the tragic love of a man who does not dare to declare
himself. Violent emotions and human dramas engage the reader’s participation.
Esmeralda and Quasimodo are two opposite souls, but they love and live
intensely.
Notre Dame brings to the stage the passions and perversions of men in full
Gothic style where good and evil collide and it is not always possible to
distinguish between them. The forces of Fate bind Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and
Cardinal Frollo in a crazy dance that no one will escape unharmed. In this novel,
Victor Hugo condenses all human passions into a kaleidoscope of unforgettable
experiences.

1. Love can be incredibly tragic , which Victor Hugo's book highlights well.
2. Everyone loves in their own way . Quasimodo and Esmeralda have two
different ways of loving, yet the emotion is genuine and authentic for both.
3. True love opens eyes . Quasimodo has always thought of Cardinal Frollo as
a good man. Only his love for Esmeralda opens his eyes to the Cardinal’s
true nature.
4. A gesture of compassion is worth more than many words . When
Esmeralda makes a tiny gesture of compassion and understanding toward
Quasimodo, it shakes his spirit more than the whipping of the gypsies.
5. Passion is not loving . Cardinal Frollo does not love Esmeralda. His feeling
for her is merely a sexual drive.
6. A marriage without love will never be valid . Esmeralda marries Pierre,
but she does not love him and will never consummate her marriage with him.
7. Kindness and beauty can attract backbiting . Fleur de Lys is jealous of
Esmeralda and misses no opportunity to accuse her.
8. True love can save and redeem a life . Quasimodo undergoes an enormous
inner transformation when he discovers the feeling of love.
9. Physical appearance does not always count . If Esmeralda had chosen the
Hunchback, her love would surely have been returned in a genuine way.
10. To be hated leads to hate, but to be loved leads to love . The
Hunchback hated Parisians, and only Esmeralda's kindness brought a
different feeling to his heart.
11. Fall in love with the right man, not the most handsome . Handsome
men like Phoebus, if they have no moral fiber, are simply useless.
12. One should never die of love, even though it seems so romantically
tragic .
13. Adultery never brings good luck . Phoebus, in fact, because of his
attempted adultery with Esmeralda, receives a knife wound from Cardinal
Frollo and risks death.
14. Declaring one's love can sometimes be impossible . Quasimodo is
unable to declare himself to the beautiful Esmeralda. He feels ugly and
unsuitable for her.
15. The noblest deeds are performed, often, out of love . It is for love that
the hunchbacked Quasimodo rebels against his former life and finds the
courage to perform heroic deeds.
16. A marriage for gain is not true love . The author himself, Victor Hugo,
calls Phoebus' fate a truly tragic end, despite the fact that he is being the only
one in fact to who survives the affair.
“I wanted to see you again, touch you, know who you were, see if I would find
you identical with the ideal image of you which had remained with me and
perhaps shatter my dream with the aid of reality.”
- Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame -
“He found that man needs affection, that life without a warming love is but a dry
wheel, creaking and grating as it turns.”
- Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame -
“THE LADY WITH THE CAMELLIAS”

“Everything was believed except the truth.”
- The lady with the camellias, A. Dumas, fils -
T he Lady with the Camellias is a first-person narrative told by a man who

has nothing to do with the love affair the novel is about. On the contrary,
he is a simple spectator of the relationship between Armand, the
mysterious signer of a dedication made on a book that the narrator comes into
possession of, and Marguerite, the owner of the apartment into which the former
moves.
The narrator presents the reader with the love affair through the words of
Armand, with whom he forms a strong friendship. The relationship between
the courtesan Marguerite and her beloved Armand is full of strong
emotions and drama . Their feelings are, in fact, overwhelming and imbued
with jealousy, a fact that will push the couple far from the hoped-for happy
ending.
The Lady of the Camellias is a very timely book that shows us how love can
turn into pathology and destroy lives . Like other French authors of the time,
Dumas provides a portrait of the bigoted bourgeois morals of the time, especially
regarding prostitutes.
These women are reduced to being slaves to the wealthy. They’re sold, abused,
and abandoned when no longer needed. The result is relationships based
exclusively on money and not on love, often destined to ruin the life of the
courtesan, make her the target of bourgeois women, or lead to her death from a
venereal disease.
FASCINATING FACTS
The title refers to some nineteenth-century prostitutes' custom of using a
white or red camellia according to their willingness to work. Obviously, on
days when they were menstruating, the flower was red in color.
There are numerous references to the theater, starting with Margherita's
place and the place where she met Armand. The theatrical structure of the
novel may have inspired Giuseppe Verdi during La Traviata's composition.
The love affair narrated in the novel is an adaptation of the author's love
story with Marie Duplessis .
The novel was very successful in theater and film, with more than twenty
total adaptations .

1. Bigoted morals try to put limits on feelings. At the time, Dumas tells us, it
was forbidden for a man to love a prostitute. The relationship had to be
fleeting and only sexual, without feeling. This is where the troubled love
story of Armand and Marguerite comes from. If she had not been a
prostitute, the relationship would certainly have been more peaceful.
2. Even if morality wants to impose limits, pure love manages to destroy
them. Marguerite and Armand cannot be without each other. Despite the
rigid norms of the time, however, the two hang out and love each other.
3. Marguerite is autonomous and independent, a woman who does not just
suffer but can also feel and decide for her body. It is love that pushes her to
make decisions , including that of abandoning her old life.
4. Love purifies the soul. Marguerite's strong feeling toward Armand pushes
her to give up her life of luxuries and riches to embrace true and
unconditional love. “ To be truly loved by a courtesan is a very different
victory. In them, the soul is consumed by the body. The senses burn the body.
The feelings are armored by vice”, Armand says at one point, realizing the
need for change on Marguerite's part.
5. Love requires difficult choices. At the beginning of the story, Armand is a
young aspiring lawyer who meets a prostitute and falls madly in love with
her. He knows that loving a woman like Marguerite is synonymous with
scandal and is a risk to his reputation. Still, he is willing to do anything to be
with her, even compromise his career. On the other hand, Marguerite must
choose between her life of excess and trouble or her love for Armand.
6. Love is a means to redemption. Marguerite takes advantage of a man's love
for the first time for a noble cause and not for money. Her love for Armand is
pure and unconditional, and she understands that she can change her life by
being with him, even if it means getting him into trouble.
7. Love is not the cure to every evil. Marguerite's life choices cost her dearly,
despite the presence of Armand. Ultimately, it's too late for her to recover,
and all that's left is to die of a contagious disease caught from some random
lover.
8. Love for a courtesan is always a punishment . “ There is no absolution
without penance. When a creature, who has an entire past to reproach
herself with, suddenly feels taken by a deep, sincere, irresistible love, of
which she would never have believed herself capable; when she confesses
this love, how the beloved man dominates her!” This is true for Marguerite
and Armand: she is punished with debt, the loss of her beloved and death.
“I gave myself to you sooner than I ever did to any man, I swear to you;
and do you know why? Because when you saw me spitting blood you took
my hand; because you wept; because you are the only human being who
has ever pitied me. I am going to say a mad thing to you: I once had a little
dog who looked at me with a sad look when I coughed; that is the only
creature I ever loved. When he died I cried more than when my mother
died. It is true that for twelve years of her life she used to beat me. Well, I
loved you all at once, as much as my dog. If men knew what they can have
for a tear, they would be better loved and we should be less ruinous to
them.”
- Alexandre Dumas-fils, La Dame aux Camélias -
“THE MARQUISE OF O, AND OTHER STORIES”

„But paradise is locked and bolted…. We must make a journey around the world
to see if a back door has perhaps been left open“
- Heinrich Von Kleist -
A woman submits an ad in search of the father of the child she is carrying

to her local newspaper. It is an old-fashioned way to find the man who
caused the pregnancy-outdated but, in short, effective.
The woman is the Marquise of O , of whom Heinrich von Kleist tells us only
the name: Juliet. She is one of the very few characters whose identity is known.
The story is bizarre: Juliet finds herself pregnant, although she cannot trace the
event to a sexual relationship. She is already the mother of two children with her
deceased husband. Since his departure, the woman has not dated any men and
suspects that she has been sexually assaulted by a Russian soldier who attacked
her fortress.
Disowned by her family and waiting for her betrothed to return from a trip, Juliet
is forced to take refuge in a country mansion with her two children. The suitor
returns and wants to see her, having found out about the pregnancy from the
newspaper announcement. He seems to know who the father of the child is. Only
after many tests of trust and misunderstandings it emerge that her betrothed is
the father, but the reader does not remain convinced, even at the end of the story.
What is striking about the work is how the author dwells on the details, leaving
the reader with many clues as to who the father of the child is and how the
conception occurred. It is up to the reader, then, to decide whether von Kleist is
lying or telling the truth.
FASCINATING FACTS
The names of the characters and the city where the events take place are
intentionally unspecified by choice of the author. He writes in the
introduction that the event has really happened, even if there are no findings
of the truthfulness or not of what von Kleist narrated. All proper names are
abbreviated with a single letter, and the same goes for the names of places .
Von Kleist’s protagonists are all anti-heroes who succumb to the injustices
of an outside world that does not accept their feelings.
In 1976, the work's dialogues were adapted into the film by Eric Rohmer,
which won the special jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

1. Bourgeois morality represses true feelings. Juliet is immediately attacked
by her family, who are not the least bit interested in the possibility that their
daughter has been raped. This is not the first novella in which von Kleist
criticizes the bourgeois fear of losing face because of scandals not even
caused by their own children. On the other hand, not even a betrothed
presence calms the woman's family, who only considers that their daughter is
pregnant even though she is still a widow.
2. The characters reflect a bourgeois morality that no longer believes in its
own values. The society of the time is confused and lost, not fully aware of
its points of view as too weak to hold on to. This is demonstrated by the
change of perspective of Juliet's mother, who is first angry at her daughter's
pregnancy, then suspicious and ready to put her daughter under the knife to
make her confess and, finally, forgiven by her daughter.
3. The demon of ruin dies only through marriage . Von Kleist wanted a rosy
ending for the suffering Juliet, who is increasingly battered by a confusing
pregnancy and abandonment. After the wedding, all questions about the
child's paternity disappear, and Juliet seems almost reborn and forgiven for
her supposed guilt.
4. A woman can be bold and pure at the same time. Von Kleist stages the
eternal feminine, a characteristic that makes the woman powerful and
capable of making independent decisions. Despite being tormented by fate
and adverse circumstances, she has the strength to act convinced that she
must atone for a fault and achieve purity.
5. The story sets up a path to emancipation. The reader is enraptured by
Juliet's innocence and follows her maturation toward emancipation. This
process is possible because the protagonist moves away from the family that
represses her feelings and explores her inner self. She wants, at all costs, to
understand who the father of the child is. She does everything in her power
to remember the moment of conception even though her fall from grace
obscures her every attempt to reason.
6. The way feelings are handled reflects the inner self. Count F., aka Juliet's
betrothed, is a man ruled by violence. He has taken the fortress, killed
people, raped Juliet, and does everything he can to take her as his wife. On
the other hand, Juliet is a pure woman with solid values who acts only
according to her reputation—not as others see her, but as she herself
perceives her conscience.
“THE MISUNDERSTANDING”

“How sad the world is, so beautiful yet so absurd...”
- Irène Némirovsky -
I f you feel like taking a plunge in Paris, falling in love, and experiencing a
fairytale romance that gives you pleasant sensations and allows you to live in
a dreamy atmosphere, then you should not read this book. The
Misunderstanding is not a romance novel, but a novel about the whole spectrum
of love. With its good and bad moments, it also shows the other side of the coin,
the one that is revealed only after the initial infatuation has passed. It explores all
the different requirements and ways of loving.
The background is the world of French high society as seen through a
disenchanted and cynical eye. Némirovsky captures all the little hypocrisies that
are generated by one and only one thing, money. Yves and Denise begin a
clandestine relationship, which flourishes based on the allure of the forbidden
and their mutual secret. Yet, once the vacation where the two met is over, they
will have to come to terms with reality.
How can a novel that describes not an indomitable romantic love but an earthly
and practical love have been so successful? Simply because it is true and
because it touches on issues related to everyday life and material life. Money is
something that can wear out any kind of relationship, but you don't expect it to
happen to two people who love each other.
Lovers are typically relegated to the spiritual, mental, platonic, or physical plane
only. A writer has finally arrived who can bring them down to earth, to reality.
In a proper relationship, there can be no room for social difference and class
struggle. When entering a new romance, you need to get back to being equals.
When contrasts become irremediable, that kind of love doesn't take hold and
doesn't develop.
Every now and then, it is essential to read a well-structured story that can report
the facts for what they are: love is not always beautiful and exciting. There are
tough moments when there is no room for anything but leaving each other. And
that's okay if you can experience it and get better at it.
FASCINATING FACTS
The author wrote this novel in her early twenties and published it in a
literary magazine.
It is her first book and immediately shows her qualities as a writer and
investigator of the human soul that distinguish her from her contemporaries.
Some critics compare The Misunderstanding to The Great Gatsby for its
criticism of society and the unfolding of love themes, but also for some of
the nuances of its protagonists.
Irene Némirovsky knew and spoke no less than seven languages .
ABOUT THE STORY

Under the sun of a beach in Hendaye, clandestine love is born between Denise
and Yves. While the two lovers deepen their affair, her husband, Jacques, has to
return to the city for work. Once the summer interlude is over, the relationship
continues to take place in Paris, which, despite being recognized as the most
romantic city in the world, becomes a place where social classes engage in an
eternal struggle. There are no ways for the two protagonists to understand each
other. Within the context of fierce social criticism, the love described in the book
becomes real and human. There are no pink glosses, but only the many facets of
two people trying to find their own personal satisfaction by establishing a stormy
and intense relationship where the theme of love dominates.

1. A marriage of convenience will never be a happy marriage . Denise
Jessaint and Jacques married according to social convention rather than love;
thus, their relationship lacked substance.
2. In love, communication is vital . We cannot expect our partner, from our
silences alone, to understand what we really want and feel in our hearts.
Communication is the linchpin of a healthy relationship.
3. Learn to feel good about yourself . In a relationship, seeking the attention
of your partner is right and proper. However, it is good to understand when
this need for attention comes as a natural consequence of a normal
relationship or when there is an internal lack of self-determination. Denise
constantly seeks the attention of Yves, but it is mainly because of her
insecurity.
4. A love born in the rush of physical passion is not always destined to last .
Once they leave the beach and the sea, the two lovers, Yves and Denise, face
the harsh reality of incompatibility.
5. Do not wait until it is too late to be happy . The writer Irene Némirovsky,
through the protagonists of the story, makes us understand how we should
never take for granted what we have because we might only realize how
happy it made us once we lose it.
6. Incommunicability is the death of love . Putting yourself in each other's
shoes is essential for understanding your partner’s needs.
7. If the only thing you think about is yourself, you won't leave room for
love . Yves is a self-centered man who is too caught up in his own personal
tragedies to really discover the relationship he's in.
8. Sometimes you are not meant to be together . Suppose you find a partner
who is looking for exactly the opposite things from you and has a personality
that is completely opposite from yours. In that case, you should end the
relationship before you both get hurt.
9. Pining for love is not always the right solution . In the new clandestine
relationship that she starts, Denise, an upper-middle-class young woman, will
not do much more than cry and yearn for love; today's women should instead
act strong and resolute.
10. In love, selfishness should not exist . Both in their own ways, the two
lovers demonstrate continuous and unceasing selfishness in never being able
to put themselves in each other's shoes. Empathy and comfort should be,
instead, the basis of a solid relationship.
11. Don't idealize love too much . It can't always be all sunshine and roses.
When reality inevitably creeps into a relationship, disappointment may arise
because, deep down, that love wasn't real.
“THE PAINTED VEIL”

“I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don't.”
- The Painted Veil, S. Maugham -
S omerset Maugham's novel, The Painted Veil , is a novel about love, guilt,
and choice . The unforgettable protagonist, Kitty Garstin , is inspired by
Dante's figure in Purgatory , Pia de' Tolomei , a noblewoman from Siena
suspected of adultery and the victim of her husband's revenge.
The Painted Veil is set in China, precisely between the English colony of Hong
Kong and rural China, around the 1920s. Needless to say, this exotic setting is
perfect for the story: in the book, you can almost feel the humidity of the
Chinese swamps, the suffocating and sultry atmosphere, the sweat on your skin,
and the amber light of the sunsets.
Maugham's writing is perfectly rhythmic as it emulates a compelling
conversation, a chat that becomes gradually more intense. The novel reads
smoothly and allows you to dive into the events of young Kitty’s life , which
closely resembles that of Madame Bovary . Like Emma, Kitty doesn't merely
hate her husband. Rather, she can't stand him. She complains about him and
feeds his faults with her intolerance. But unlike Emma, Kitty will find her
catharsis .
The journey from a plentiful and quiet English life to a rural Chinese village
infested by a cholera epidemic becomes an inner journey of maturation and
metamorphosis. The veil of illusion will slowly drop from the girl's eyes, as she
realizes that she must atone for the guilt of having betrayed her husband and
that she must reflect deeply on what life is all about and the reality of things.
The painted veil called life is an eternal contradiction, where men with veiled
eyes look only at the surface of things and continue to hurt themselves, repent,
and find peace in the expiation of faults as in a perpetual Purgatory . Peace
does not belong to gestures, to work, to expiation, or to death. P eace of the soul
is obtained by choosing the right way freely and without fear. That is why The
Painted Veil is a novel about love, guilt, and choice .
FASCINATING FACTS
Three film adaptations of the work were made in 1934, 1957, and 2006.
Although he had been writing since he was 20 years old and wanted to
continue, William Somerset Maugham took up a career in medicine due to
pressure from his family. The years he spent studying medicine turned out to
be great inspiration for his books.
Though homosexual and unable to declare it, Maugham wrote disparagingly
of other homosexuals even though his inclination shines through in his
works.
A sonnet by Percy Bysshe Shelley inspired the title the novel: "Lift not that
painted veil, which those that live call life."
ABOUT THE STORY

Kitty is a 25-year-old upper-middle-class girl who has spent the years of her
youth dancing and partying, picking up suitors, and never being satisfied. Her
mother insists that she marry the cold and gruff bacteriologist Walter Fane ,
who has always been considered an oddball but who is madly in love with her.
In her haste to find a husband and get married before her sister, Kitty accepts
Walter Fane's marriage proposal and leaves for her honeymoon in Hong Kong.
Here, Kitty meets Charles Townsend, and a clandestine relationship begins
between the two. Charles has no intention of leaving his wife, and when Kitty
realizes there is no future between them, she goes into a cholera-infested village
inside China with her husband. Walter is aware of his wife's betrayal, even
though she does everything to discount her guilt. On this journey, she will
discover herself and lift the veil on life's lies, making her own choices while
finding peace in her soul.

1. Don't marry someone you don't love. Marriage is a serious and important
personal choice in every man and woman's life, and it should not be taken
hastily.
2. In love, fidelity is necessary. Kitty's betrayal will have consequences for
both of their lives.
3. Don't fall into the arms of a man who doesn't love you . Charles is a tall,
blond, handsome English vice-consul, but he is also a mean-spirited liar.
4. In relationships, it's okay to compromise without giving up on yourself
and your integrity.
5. Respect and appreciation are always the foundation of a solid, loving
relationship .
6. Love is not affected by the environment in which you live . It can be
British high society or the Chinese countryside, what matters is you.
7. Be content with what you have . Kitty was young and beautiful, raised in a
wealthy home and surrounded by beaus. Her husband is a good person, but
she was never satisfied.
8. Communication is everything in a couple . Talking about fears, problems,
and needs is essential to avoid making mistakes and undermining the
relationship.
9. A romantic gesture or thought is always a good influence on others .
Even after so many years, Percy B. Shelley's sonnet has continued to reveal a
great truth to the world.
10. Don't stop at first impressions . Walter was known as a cold man, even
though he worked to save the lives of poor people on the other side of the
world every day and loved his wife dearly. In life, you have to go deep into
things and not stop at the surface.
11. Even if you make a mistake, you can always find a way to go back .
If you genuinely regret what you did, you deserve a second chance.
12. Forgive yourself . It's the only possible way to mature, move on, and
never make the same mistakes again.
13. Don't be afraid of social competition with other women . Even if your
friends before you have found the right man, your time will come. Kitty
hastily marries when her younger sister officially gets engaged because she
fears she will be left behind.
14. Betrayal in love brings terrible consequences for both parts of a
couple . You never suffer alone.
15. The hypocrisies of life destroy relationships and lead to actions that
are later regretted . Kitty will only find peace by moving away from the
hypocrisies of the world she has always lived in.
16. One does not love to please others , but because the feeling comes from
within and is destined to enrich those who feel it.
“How can I be reasonable? To me our love was everything and you were
my whole life. It is not very pleasant to realize that to you it was only an
episode.”
- W. Somerset Maugham, The Painted Veil -
“THE RED AND THE BLACK”

“Love born in the brain is more spirited, doubtless, than true love, but it has
only flashes of enthusiasm; it knows itself too well, it criticizes itself incessantly;
so far from banishing thought, it is itself reared only upon a structure of
thought.”
- The Red and the Black, Stendhal -
T he Red and the Black by Henri Beyle, better known as Stendhal , is a

novel about the search for redemption. It starts with young Julien Sore's
attempt to rise in society . He is hypnotized by the charm of the
Napoleonic Wars, but he ends up in the seminary, urged on by the curate of his
hometown.
Despite his revenge attempts, he finds himself distracted by various events ,
such as his overwhelming and scandalous love with a married noblewoman. This
will force him to leave his village and move to the archiepiscopal seminary of
Besançon. The young man, however, is unable to forget the woman.
A further distraction comes from the Marquis de la Mole's daughter, with whom
he has a relationship bordering on the pathological and obsessive . The girl
gets pregnant, but Julien has to leave again and, far from the seminary, seduces
another woman, a well-known aristocrat who could elevate his reputation.
Instead, the exact opposite happens.
Julien is not only betrayed by his mistresses, who denounce his deplorable
behavior, but also by his own madness. He tries to kill the noblewoman with
whom he had embarked on his first affair, but he is captured and executed.
Thus, Julien's rise turns into an uncontrolled thirst for power that cannot take
him far from destruction. His character is contradictory, bold, and distracted.
Eager for redemption, he is a “ strange being, almost always in a storm .”
FASCINATING FACTS
In the novel, the story is inspired by a news story dating back to 1827 ,
when a young seminarian, Berthet, was tried and sentenced to death for
attempting to murder a former lover.
The work has the characteristics of a news story . It is not only about the
story of a young man who is convicted but also provides a broader view of
the politics of the Restoration era, in which people's energy was oppressed
and inevitably turned into raids.
The title could have several meanings. Red could mean blood and black
could mean death, thus referring to the duality Eros and Thanatos. Or, red
could refer to the uniforms of Napoleonic soldiers and black to the
obscuration of human passion. Or, again, red could be the will of redemption
and desire, while black is its defeat.

1. Emotions and feelings have no temporal limits. This is demonstrated by
the novel itself, which was published in 1830 but refers to a past period in
which men are not so different. In fact, they are characterized by contrasts,
fears, a sense of prevarication, and greed.
2. Morality is the worst enemy of true love, as it tends to curb its passion and
free expression. Love as a vital energy is a typically romantic vision that
focuses on the search for pleasure and self-realization. Morality is petty and
destroys any joy of living.
3. Love goes hand in hand with death. The title should already suggest to the
reader a kind of human duality, which, in this case, is always in the grip of
strong passions that reach an uncontrollable tendency toward the end. Julien
shows us that although one can love a lot in life, love can lead to ruin,
especially if used to achieve one's own ends.
4. Love is not only carnal, but also ideal. As is true for Fabrizio in the
Chartreuse of Parma , Julien also demonstrates a certain drive toward
Napoleonic ideals, and it is this love of war that drives the character to
action.
5. There are two kinds of love, the dark type and the lively, youthful type.
However, both hide a good dose of madness, which will lead Julien to his
undoing.
6. The love enacted by Stendhal is rooted in the social division of the time.
Julien falls in love first with a bourgeois, then with an aristocrat. The former
is older, married, and has a maternal and obsessive manner, while the latter is
cold and bound by the wealthier classes' morals. However, both neither
woman accepts Julien's freedom since, in their view, he has a role in society
and cannot deny it to pursue his political aspirations.
7. Love is a pathology if it is driven by ulterior motives.
8. As he will later elaborate in Love , Stendhal sees this feeling as something
that takes hold of the human being and leads him to a kind of madness that
he calls crystallization . This process begins with admiration for the other
and the joy of the feeling. Then, it proceeds with hope regarding the
relationship. At this point, the human being crystallizes in a situation of
doubt and fear of not being loved. He does not feel up to it and tends to annul
himself to exalt the loved one. This situation, as in Julien's case, inevitably
leads to madness.
9. The man of the Restoration period is unable to love because he is held
back by his morals or blinded by his thirst for power.
“THE SCARLET LETTER”

“We dream in our waking moments, and walk in our sleep.”
- The Scarlet Letter , N. Hawthorne -
T he Scarlet Letter's tragic story was initially based on love and then
continued on lies and resentments. One often wonders why we read novels
with such tragic themes that do not bring joy to the reader, but on the
contrary, very often create discomfort. The reason is that they are wonderfully
poignant and, above all, true. The Scarlet Letter speaks of deep feelings, even if
not positive, and even now, after more than 150 years, it still has something to
teach us.
This is undoubtedly a challenging yet engaging read. It describes the new
American colonies' puritanical society in reconstruction so closely that it reads
like a historical novel. It is actually a very introspective story about a community
of people, rather than individual characters.
The author, Nathanial Hawthorne, intends to show how much a single
community closed in on itself, developing beliefs that are evil, cruel,
hypocritical, and disillusioned—all the opposite of what is expected of the new
society in a new land, America. It is true that a community of people needs to
establish rules to follow that are also moral. The problem comes when the
imposed rules are carried out to the letter and without consideration of their
validity. A moral feeling should arise from the human soul to raise its spirit to
goodness and improvement.
The new society was immediately constrained by absurd restrictions and values
that, unfortunately, still persisted in Hawthorne's nineteenth century, and his
novel is set in 1642 with the very purpose of comparing the two societies. The
way it does it is through Hester, the protagonist, who will spend all of her life
atoning for her faults. She is the victim of unjust social pillory, and her story
illustrates that we cannot know what will come next.
ABOUT THE STORY

This little jewel of American literature, published in the 1800s, is actually set in
Boston in 1642. It explores a society in which religion and morality are at the
center of people's lives. The protagonist, Hester, has given birth to Pearl, a child
born in adultery because Hester’s husband was gone for so long that she
believed him to be dead. As punishment for her “sin,” Hester is exposed to
public humiliation on the scaffold and forced to have a scarlet letter A for
Adulterer sewn on her dress.
Hester's husband returns from a long captivity among the Native Americans on
the very day his wife is exposed to the public pillory. Since Hester does not want
to reveal to anyone the name of the child's father, her husband assumes the name
of Roger Chillingworth and becomes the town doctor, hoping to find out who his
wife's lover is. The father of her child is Reverend Dimmesdale, an educated and
respectable man. Hester keeps silent to protect him because she is in love with
him while he, on the contrary, is tormented for his cowardice. Hester is a strong
woman. She makes her nickname a source of pride. The scarlet A on her dress is
so well sewn that many women in the village ask her to sew for them. She
becomes an appreciated seamstress by the same people who had tried to
humiliate her, but she never loses heart.
FASCINATING FACTS
Nathaniel Hawthorne had the "W" added to his surname to distance
himself from his real family name, which was, in fact, Hathorne. He did this
because two o his ancestors took part in both the Quakers' hunt and the
Salem Witch Trials, where more than 100 innocent women were accused and
sentenced to death.
Hawthorne began writing The Scarlet Letter following his dismissal from
the Boston Customs House. Anger at this injustice, grief over his mother's
death, and contempt for his hometown of Salem led him to write his most
famous novel.
The scarlet letter A was indeed worn as a punishment for adultery .
Before this, however, the "guilty" were publicly flogged.
Hester is the strongest character in the entire novel . Following her
repudiation by the society in which she lives, she does not fall down but,
rather, rises up and becomes the most appreciated seamstress in the area,
lovingly raising her daughter and finally finding redemption in wealth.

1. There is nothing wrong with loving someone . In this novel, love is
condemned as something sinful and impure that one should be ashamed of.
Yet, even if it is not born of honesty, love is love. What could be so wrong
with feeling such a beautiful feeling?
2. Even when it feels like the world is falling down on you, don't beat
yourself up . Stand up and walk tall, just like Hester did after she was put on
trial. Instead of giving up, she fought every day to prove that it was her right
to live as happily as anyone. That is how you should face life every day, with
your head held high.
3. One should not be ashamed of one's feelings . Most importantly, one should
not leave the person one loves to face the rest of the world alone. What did
Reverend Dimmesdale do for Hester other than live out the rest of his days in
torment and discomfort? In love, you have to fight, even when it seems like
the rest of the world is against you.
4. Living for revenge is the worst thing you can do . Chillingworth, the
protagonist's husband, des nothing but plot retribution against his wife's
lover, and what does he get out of life? Sadly, nothing except a bitter final
realization.
5. In love, it is important to have healthy conversation . It would have
worked out better if Hester and her husband had talked about the fact that she
thought he was dead and had no intention of cheating on him.
6. Sometimes, love isn't forever . Many lose loved ones in this world, and,
although you still love them, you can rebuild your life and move on, maybe
even still love. There's nothing wrong with that.
7. In life, it's vital to have an example to follow . The small and rebellious
Pearl definitely has a strong mother who fights against adversity with her
head held high and doesn’t let anything get her down—a true inspiration.
8. Not all men are strong . Some of them need to be protected and
safeguarded, and that's okay. We can't all be the same, and there are no
gender distinctions within the sphere of love.
9. In love, as in everything else, it is important to take responsibility for
one's actions . It's an irreplaceable life lesson. Admitting you were wrong is
the first and most crucial step toward redemption.
10. Love freely . Don't be afraid of society judging you. You are free to love
whoever you want as long you don’t betray anyone’s feelings.
“Love, whether newly born or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must

always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, that it
overflows upon the outward world.”
- Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter -
“THE SORROWS OF YOUNG WERTHER”

“It is in vain that a man of sound mind and cool temper understands the
condition of such a wretched being... He can no more communicate his own
wisdom to him than a healthy man can instil his strength into the invalid by
whose bedside he is seated.”
- The sorrows of young Werther, J. W. Goethe -
T he Sorrows of Young Werther is the most famous novel about love in

German literature. Written by Johann Wolfgang Goethe , it is an
epistolary novel that is written as fragments of Werther's life, the poor,
unfortunate man who has fallen victim to the despair of love. It traces the literary
movement of the Sturm und Drang (storm and impetus) and the bourgeois
Enlightenment to the rediscovery of the expression of the primary emotions of
the human being, nature, the superman, anticipating the German Romanticism .
Initially, Werther is a man who loves life and is ready to be surprised by
everything. He wants to live intensely and with deep emotions. He is a middle-
class boy from a wealthy family who spends his time in complete literary
idleness between books, study, and the culture of his time. Yet, this cultured,
brilliant, and affluent boy, who loves nature and walking, has not yet met real
love.
Many believe that Werther's suffering comes from his love for Lotte . However,
it is also true that Werther has many occasions to declare his love for the girl,
even when he is aware of her engagement to Albert, yet he never expresses his
feelings. His malaise is rather to be found in a total inability to live and come to
terms with feelings he cannot control.
Werther would have been Werther even without meeting Lotte, because even
when he thinks his love might be reciprocated, he still does nothing to show her
his love. When her future husband arrives, he does nothing to compete with him.
He doesn't try. He doesn't put his all into it. He surrenders to the inevitable, to
death.
Werther remains a novel that absolutely must be read for the beauty of its prose
and Goethe's ability to immerse the reader in a touching and unsettling story that
is made up primarily of feelings and written in the form of letters. The reader can
learn a lot from young Werther—not so much from his victories, but certainly
from his mistakes.
Werther is often associated with Foscolo's Jacopo Ortis . However, the two
stories ultimately diverge, and putting them together does not do justice to either.
One dies fighting for an ideal of his country, while the other dies because he
does not believe he can find satisfaction in life without love. They are both two
unique and timeless novels.
FASCINATING FACTS
Among contemporaries, Werther became a fashion statement . Boys began
to dress like him, with blue tails and a canary yellow vest, which was known
as “Werther fever,” and many also imitated his tragic ending, which
sociologists called the “Werther effect.”
Goethe wrote this short work at the age of 25 . He influenced German
literary culture and eventually mainstream world literature as well.
Both Werther and Lotte are based on two real people. Jerusalem was a friend
of the author who killed himself after falling in unrequited love with a
friend's wife. Charlotte Buff was one of Goethe's great passions. This makes
it, in part, an autobiographical novel.
The absence of royalties has allowed for the mass distribution of the book
since it was published in 1774 . It was considered the first successful book
worldwide .
On the table by Werther's bed is a copy of the book Emilia Galotti by G.E.
Lessing , a protagonist of the German Enlightenment.
ABOUT THE STORY

The novel is composed of a series of letters that young Werther sends to his
friend Wilhelm . In these letters, Werther continually asks for support and
backing from his friend because he is unable to adapt to the society around him.
As soon as he arrives in the city, he meets the beautiful Lotte and falls madly in
love with her. She is cheerful, maternal, intelligent, and beautiful. The two spend
a lot of time together, and she seems to show some interest in him as well.
Upon the return of Lotte's future husband, Albert, Werther falls into despair.
What he had not dared to declare when he could becomes impossible to do now.
Werther descends into an unstoppable vortex of turmoil, melancholy, and
absolute sadness. Lotte and Albert are happy together. Their love seems
inviolable and sacred. After writing a letter to both she and Albert, Werther falls
into total depression and, finally, commits suicide. The real reasons for Werther's
suicide go beyond the simple impossibility of having Lotte. He was aware of this
from the beginning. Instead, they concern his inability to control the intensity of
his feelings and the struggles of his soul.

1. Don't fall in love with someone who is already promised or engaged and
happy.
2. Develop the ability to move on, and move on . There is definitely
something better waiting for you on the horizon.
3. Learn to manage your emotions. In love, it is crucial to know how to
control yourself and stay clear-headed.
4. Don't make a big deal out of it. Live your emotions fully without losing
your integrity and self-control. It will be much more fun.
5. Figure out if it's true love or just infatuation . They are two different
things; in love, there is complicity and a two-way relationship. In a crush, the
other probably doesn't even know you exist.
6. Don't live by contrasts . Life is not just either black or white. There is an
unlimited number of shades between love and hate, life and death.
7. Ask friends for help if you feel you can't cope . They can help you deal
with difficult situations and get back on your feet.
8. Nothing is impossible, especially in love .
9. Don't wait too long to declare yourself . You might be rejected, but waiting
for the other person to notice you as you pine away for them won't do much
good.
10. Don't underestimate the power of a well-written letter . If you just
can't bring yourself to declare your love verbally, try doing it remotely and
with style.
11. Melancholy and sadness attract no one . Be happy with what you
have.
12. Temper your character . Being sensitive is a good thing, but being too
sensitive makes you hard to deal with.
13. Look for the person with whom you are kindred—the one who can
fully understand your soul .
14. Love is the strongest feeling a man can feel . It is almost
incomprehensible in its beauty.
15. Love is a feeling so great that it is sometimes cruel .
“An angel! Nonsense! Everybody so describes his mistress; and yet I find it
impossible to tell you how perfect she is, or why she is so perfect: suffice it
to say she has captivated all my senses.”
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther -
9 TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS FROM “TRISTAN
AND ISOLDE”

...for most men are unaware that what is in the power of magicians to
accomplish, that the heart can also accomplish by dint of love and bravery.”
- Tristan and Isolde -
T his British myth of courtly love unravels in about 3,000 verses. However,
that is only a small part of the whole. Indeed, it is only about one-sixth of
the original work, so the text remains quite incomplete, requiring extra
effort from the reader. Tristan and Isolde's story has much more ancient origins
than Thomas’ novel. It is a story that has accompanied European culture for
many years and remains meaningful in the present day.
The story, taken up and reconstructed in many variations, has become a founding
myth of our culture, on par with Greek origins. Even if it is only a piece of a
great story, Thomas’ version of this story is one of the most important iterations
of the larger myth.
This medieval legend, which is probably of Celtic origin, is one of the most
famous and poignant Arthurian Myths. We know very little about the author. We
know that he lived at the London Court of Henry II and his wife, Eleanor of
Aquitaine, and that he wrote the story of Tristan and Isolde for the Queen. The
rewriting of the myth changes some details and accentuates others. For example,
we find some direct interventions from the author with reflections on the
irrationality of love and the sublimation of the relationship's carnal aspects.
The story of Tristan and Isolde's myth draws on several sources, including
fairytales, but of their love, there is only tragedy. The beautiful, blond-haired
Isolde is forced to marry a man she does not love and live a double life—that of
a lover and that of a wife. Thus, a new type of literature is born: that of passion
strongly leaning toward death and of nuptial love leaning toward respect and
normality.
Moreover, inspired by Celtic folklore, there are many references to magic. In
fact, Isolde is a witch healer. It is simultaneously a classic and modern story that
fascinates readers and makes us rediscover the magic of love. It also encourages
many reflections. Tristan is the embodiment of the poet who sings of love and
suffers from being misunderstood and on society's margins. He is a being who
endlessly searches for beauty.
FASCINATING FACTS
Although it is a Celtic work, Norman poets made the earliest
adaptations.
Within the myth, there are many references to occurrences of popular
fairytales, such as the beautiful princess with golden hair, the slaying of the
dragon, and even the fairytale of Snow White.
The work has largely influenced art—and not only in paintings and
tapestries . Many household items, such as jewelry boxes or cases, are
decorated with scenes from the myth.
We often tend to compare Tristan and Isolde with Lancelot and Guinevere,
as there are obvious similarities.
Richard Wagner made an opera out of it in 1859.
ABOUT THE STORY

Tristan is orphaned at a young age and is raised by his uncle, King Mark of
Cornwall. After becoming a brave warrior, he leaves for Ireland to defeat the
monster Morholt, the King's brother and Isolde's uncle. The young man manages
to kill the warrior but is wounded by his sword. Once back in Cornwall and not
able to heal, he asks to be placed on a boat and to be left to drift. He arrives
again in Ireland, where he is cured by the beautiful Isolde the Blonde, niece of
Morholt.
Once he is healed, he returns to Cornwall, and the King, pressured by marriage,
decides to take as his wife the owner of the blond hair that a bird brought to his
window. Tristan knows that it belongs to Isolde and leaves for Ireland, intending
to get him the girl. Meanwhile, the girl's father decides to give her in marriage to
whoever will defeat a dragon. Tristan kills the dragon but is also recognized as
Morholt's murderer.
Isolde, in the meantime, accepts the marriage proposal of King Mark.
Nevertheless, during the journey, because of a love potion that she drinks
involuntarily, she falls in love with Tristan, and the two begin a passionate,
albeit clandestine, love. The two lovers are later discovered, and Tristan is
exiled. He then marries Isolde of the White Hands in Wales, but he does not
consummate their marriage because he is in love with the other Isolde.
Tristan often goes to visit his true love until, during an expedition, he is
wounded. He sends for Isolde, asking that white sails be put on the ship if she
accepts and black sails if she refuses. Isolde the Blonde accepts, but Tristan's
wife, jealous, tells him that the sails are black, so he lets himself die. When
Isolde the Blonde arrives, she too dies of sorrow.

1. Love comes so suddenly that it seems almost like a spell. We still can't
really explain how we fall in love. Maybe it's chemistry. All we know is that
when love arrives, we can't oppose it. It just happens, and in an instant, we
only have the loved one in our heads.
2. One cannot force oneself to love someone. The love potion that Isolde and
her future husband have to drink is nothing more than a metaphor about
compulsion. You may not really love someone but, one way or another, you
accept your fate. However, it shouldn't be that way, and one should never be
content in love.
3. You cannot separate those who truly love each other. Tristan and Isolde
really love each other with a pure and unconditional love. Attempting to
separate them brings nothing but the two protagonists' death and the
consequent sadness of various characters. If there is real love in a couple,
separating them is cruel.
4. Replacing the beloved is impossible. Tristan married Isolde with White
Hands, but he did not touch her because his beloved memory was alive in
him. Settling for someone else just because you cannot be with your loved
one only creates a lot of suffering for everyone, even for the person you do
not love and with whom you have settled.
5. To hope in vain that someone will return your love is cruel. With her
white hands, Isolde compared her love for Tristan to birds in a cage,
imprisoned and never free. To stay with someone knowing that they don’t
reciprocate your love only causes you pain. Dignity should come before
anything else.
6. Revenge for love brings only sadness and guilt. Outraged because Tristan's
love will never belong to her, white-handed Isolde lies about the color of the
sails of the ship that is carrying the protagonist's beloved. She will then have
her revenge, but it is joyless for her. Revenge is only sweet at first. Later, it
becomes a boulder on the heart and conscience.
7. Love is an incredible mystery. After their death, Tristan and Isolde are
buried together, and sometimes the King goes to visit them, reflecting on
how mysterious love can be. Hundreds of years later, we can still agree on
that.
8. You are not doomed to unhappiness in love. Even if the story started
adversely and negatively, it is possible to love each other and build your own
destiny.
9. Love is often irrational, but this is not always a bad thing. Love need not
always be the result of reason, and issues such as adultery are outdated.
“WUTHERING HEIGHTS”

“If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all
else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty
stranger.”
- Wuthering Heights, E. Brontë -
W uthering Heights is not about love, at least not in the most common
sense of the word. Wuthering Heights is about obsession and addiction.
It is a sad and, at times, harsh work that holds the reader in a
suffocating feeling of claustrophobia and discomfort. It is fair to ask why one
would read a novel that is so tragic; however, there is more than one reason to do
so immediately.
Wuthering Heights is a different kind of classic of English literature. It is
difficult to classify and place within literary genres. It was written to convey a
sense of powerlessness in the face of the raw realism of Romanticism, while the
setting, the ghosts, and the anguish caused by life fit the Gothic genre perfectly.
Nevertheless, Wuthering Heights does not fit into any canon.
Reading this work is really like leaping into an ambiguous environment
dominated by obsessions, storms of emotions, and obsessive loves that will
come back to life as ghosts of what could have been and wasn't, ruining the
future and the past.
Wuthering Heights has something epic at its core in the monumental
reconstruction of two families whose destinies are inextricably linked. Catherine
and Heathcliff fall in love in a way that will end up ruining the fate of all those
around them, as in a tragic epic. Emily Bronte's writing is seductive, even
bewitching at times. Reading her words is almost like performing a masochistic
act. However, she continues to push and challenge any reader to resist reading in
anticipation of some redemption. There is nothing else quite like Wuthering
Heights .
FASCINATING FACTS
It is the only novel written by Emily Brontë.
Although common thought sees it as a romance novel, it really is not. The
feeling that binds Catherine and Heathcliff is closer to obsession than to true
love, which, reading the story, you are forced to notice.
Like her sisters, Emily Brontë also published her novel under the pseudonym
of one of the Bell brothers (in this case, Ellis).
The setting of the novel seems to take place in an undefined time. Over the 30
years of the story, events occur in the estates of Wuthering Heights (hence
the title) and Thrushcross Grange. The characters seem isolated from the rest
of the world.
Wuthering Heights presents a great mystery: Heathcliff. Virtually nothing is
known about him in the novel except that no one understands the language
he speaks when his character is introduced. It is assumed that he has Irish or
African origins. In the latest film adaptation, the role of Heathcliff was given
to a black actor.
ABOUT THE STORY

In 1801, Mr. Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange, visits his
landlord, Heathcliff, who lives in Wuthering Heights. Following a night spent in
the manor, where the ghost of a little girl appears, Lockwood asks for
explanations from his housekeeper, Nelly. Thirty years earlier, Mr. Earnshaw
decided to take Heathcliff, a six-year-old boy, into his custody. Initially seen in a
bad light by the children of the master of Wuthering Heights, Hindley and
Catherine, he wins the sympathy of the latter in time. Hindley, on the other hand,
is sent to boarding school because of his unmotivated hatred. After the death of
the master, Hindley returns with his wife Frances to take possession of
Wuthering Heights, forcing Heathcliff to become a simple laborer. After work,
the young man entertains himself with Catherine, who will later fall in love with
the young Edgar Linton.
Hindley, meanwhile, becomes a widower, and Catherine decides to marry Edgar.
With a broken heart, Heathcliff leaves in search of fortune, but this triggers a
nervous breakdown in Catherine that almost leads to her death. Three years later,
Heathcliff returns rich and finds Catherine happily married to Edgar. Desperate
for revenge against Hindley, he takes his son Hareton under his wing, bringing
him to ruin. In contrast, as revenge against his half-sister, he start a relationship
with Isabel, Edgar's sister, whom he marries after becoming master of Wuthering
Heights.

1. Pay particular attention to the distinction between love and obsession.
Only the former matters; the rest is mere addiction.
2. True love, healthy love, should not consume one to the point of hatred
and insanity . This is what happens to Heathcliff. His obsessive love for
Catherine leads him to destroy everything in his path, even innocent children.
Heathcliff does not love; he lives an obsession.
3. Revenge leads to nothing but loneliness . At the end of the whole affair,
can Heathcliff call himself a happy and satisfied man? Absolutely not. On the
contrary, he is a man corrupted by anger and loneliness. He has nothing left
but a large mansion in which he will be forced to live alone for the rest of his
life.
4. People have feelings, and trampling on them for their own purposes is
cowardly . The love that Isabel initially felt for Heathcliff was soon replaced
by her burning hatred toward her husband, who revealed that he had married
her only for revenge without any remorse.
5. Follow your heart . If Catherine had done that, no one would have suffered
or, at least, fewer would have suffered. When you find yourself madly in
love and are lucky enough to have that love reciprocated, the best thing to do
is to jump in and seek happiness. Choosing love merely for personal safety
led all of the characters to tragedy and pain.
6. One should never justify an evil act with too much love .
That would mean looking for an excuse to continue making bad choices.
7. It is best to leave children out of the affairs of their parents .
8. Don't mix love with a feeling of revenge against someone . The other
person won't sit around waiting for you while you figure out how to get back
at them.
9. It is best not to let family events enter a relationship. Sometimes it ends
up degrading the love.
10. Don't pollute love with revenge. If life hits you below the belt and
plays tricks on you, there's no point in making those who had nothing to do
with it suffer.
11. Stormy love is always romantic , but it has to be worth it to go through
the storm .
12. Men with a hard and sharp character are always charming , if they
know how to live a healthy and true love.
13. The endless English moors are fertile ground for melancholy love
stories.
“I gave him my heart, and he took and pinched it to death; and flung it
back to me. People feel with their hearts, Ellen, and since he has destroyed
mine, I have not power to feel for him.”
- Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights -
“Be with me always - take any form - drive me mad! only do not leave me in this
abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I can not live without
my life! I can not live without my soul!”
- Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights -
“I have not broken your heart – you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have
broken mine. ” - Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights -
“He shall never know I love him: and that, not because he’s handsome, but
because he’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made out of, his
and mine are the same. ” - Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights -
VOLUME
2
PASSION
LOVE
“A FAREWELL TO ARMS”
“When you love you wish to do things for. You wish to sacrifice for. You wish to
serve.”
- Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms -
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway should not be missing from

any avid reader's bookshelf. It is a great classic, a work to be read
carefully, and a masterpiece of American literature. It is a love story with
many shadows cast by the cruel setting and the protagonist who lives it. This
passive and disillusioned anti-hero thinks he has found happiness in his
relationship with a woman. Not all that glitters, however, is gold.
Hemingway perfectly portrays World War I's tense atmosphere, creating a
dynamic narrative. It is in Italy, where Frederic Henry , a young American
lieutenant, enlists as a driver for the U.S. Red Cross. The War is not as
glamorous and magnetic as he had imagined. Instead, it is only a source of
violence and death.
He falls in love with Catherine Barkley , a nurse with whom he spends happy
moments and embarks on a passionate love affair.
When the Italian front collapses at Caporetto, Frederic is forced to flee, but he
will join his beloved in Stresa sometime later. The two are forced to flee because
the sergeant is considered a deserter. They manage to reach Switzerland.
Unfortunately, during the birth of their son, Catherine dies and takes the
newborn with her. Frederic is then left alone and desperate, holding only a
handful of memories of his beloved and the trauma of the Great War.
FASCINATING FACTS
The novel is loosely autobiographical. Hemingway drove ambulances during
the last months of the Great War. He had suffered an attack and was taken to
the infirmary, where he met a woman who fascinated him. He drew
inspiration for his great work from this experience.
In Italy, the book was banned by the fascist regime because of the shameful
reference to the defeat of Caporetto. It was considered an insult to the Italian
Armed Forces. It was published only after 1948. However, in 1943, thanks to
a woman named Fernanda Pivano, some copies of the translated book
circulated in Italy. The translator was arrested for this.
The work had several cinema adaptations. The most famous was directed by
Charles Vidor and starred Rock Hudson, Jennifer Jones, and Vittorio de Sica,
who won an Oscar for best supporting actor.

1. There is nothing adventurous about war, but there is about love. Frederic
volunteers for the war, convinced that it will be an opportunity to prove
honor and courage. Yet, as soon as he reaches the front, he realizes that there
is nothing heroic about war, only death and destruction. Perhaps this is also a
criticism of the Italian ruling class, which wanted to send peasants to fight for
no specific reason. It is evident that Frederic is immediately distracted by a
woman who makes him forget the desire for valor that had driven him there.
2. In love, it is possible to make friends. A Farewell to Arms indeed tells of
the love between a soldier and a nurse, but it is also a novel about friendship.
The comrades-in-arms support each other, sharing their lives and their
desires.
3. In love, people’s personalities are the same as they are in life outside of
romantic relationships. Frederic is an ambiguous man, who is full of
contrasts. Initially, he does not seem to be in love with Catherine, but only
attracted to her sexually. She leads the game of seduction until their real
romance begins. Even in battle, Frederic prefers to stay on the sidelines,
letting others take responsibility—so much so that he later feels compelled to
defect.
4. The fate of the people is the same as the individual. Frederic is convinced
that he is escaping war's misfortune by deserting and living out his love
affair. Tragedy, however, is just around the corner. Having been part of the
army, he seems destined to perish like soldiers in battle. He remains alone
and surrounded by death, thus dispelling the illusion that he can escape the
war.
5. Cruelty is part of life, and love can only give brief support. All around
Frederic, there is destruction and violence. It seems his love for Catherine is
his only salvation—an opportunity to see the world rosier—so he fights more
to save his relationship than to defeat the enemy at the front. It's as if he
realizes the preciousness of love as the only light in the darkness of war.
However, the tragic ending of his story with Catherine shows that there is no
remedy for tragedy, not even love. The trauma of the Great War, which
ruined the lives of thousands of soldiers who left for the front, also affects
Frederic, who is disillusioned and destroyed by pain.
6. The dualism of Eros and Thanatos emerges in the novel. The setting
already suggests the idea of death, while the casual love of the two
protagonists inserts an erotic note into the story. The moments of passion are
too brief to lead to the fulfillment and defeat of death, while the need to fight
is still strong in Frederic, who must complete his tasks more because he is
ordered to do so than because of his vocation.
“ANNE OF GREEN GABLES”
“It's been my experience

that you can nearly always enjoy things
if you make up your mind firmly that you will.”
- Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables -
T his classic of children's literature is also a timeless coming-of-age novel,

as evidenced by its repurposing in recent TV series. Reading this book is
a rewarding experience because reading Anne's story is like finding
yourself and the joy of living. What the text conveys is a beautiful feeling of
happiness. While Anne had every reason to complain about her normal, dull life,
thanks to her lively and joyful personality, imagination, and zest for life, she
manages to overcome even very dark moments.
A memorable, chatty, red-haired maiden who grabs every opportunity life gives
her, Anne remains childlike and innocent even as she grows up. When you
become an adult, many things seem to lose their charm. This is why it is
necessary to read a book like this one, which is able to awaken those emotions
that have gone dormant in those of us who have grown up and are busy and no
longer know how to grasp the small and simple things that make life beautiful.
FASCINATING FACTS
The novel Anne of Red Hair or Anne of Green Gables is one of Canada's most
popular children's stories.
The story takes place at Prince Edward Island, the birthplace of author Lucy
Montgomery. Like the protagonist of the novel, she also lost her mother as a
child and was raised by her grandparents.
The novel is full of quotes from great writers such as Milton, Byron, and
Shakespeare.
Although the novel is classified for children, many of its teachings are aimed
at adult audiences. Anne teaches "grown-ups" that you should never stop
believing in your dreams just because you grow up.
Seven novels about Redheaded Anne followed the first, continuing the
protagonist's life as she grew up.
Montgomery herself inspired the novel. She wrote a story years earlier in
which she described a little girl in a couple's care.
ABOUT THE STORY

Anne is a young orphan who goes from family to family as a helper to care for
children. At the Cuthberts, an unmarried brother and sister living in Avonlea,
Anne finds herself on a farm called Green Gables. The two of them, who
initially wanted a boy to help with the farm, end up becoming deeply attached to
the red-haired, freckle-faced, chatty little girl.
Gradually, Anne makes friends with Diana Barry and Gilbert Blythe. With the
former, she will find a deep friendship, while with the latter, she will feel a
strong dislike that will develop into rivalry in her studies. Anne is the most
gifted child in the class and, for this reason, decides she wants to become a
teacher. The years pass, and Anna is awarded a scholarship to the university. She
succeeds in fulfilling her dream of becoming a teacher at the school in Avonlea
and finds her life's love.

1. Never stop dreaming. Whether it's true love, a career goal, or a better life,
dreams don't go away when you grow up. A person with lots of plans is also
a purposeful person who is easy to fall in love with.
2. Don't be ashamed to show who you really are. Many might mock you, but
true love will appreciate your sincerity and authenticity, and that's what
matters.
3. Don't feel sorry for yourself if things don't go as you had hoped. You are
the one who writes destiny, even when it comes to a love story. Take
courage. Rather than feel sorry for yourself, roll up your sleeves, and become
the architect of your own future.
4. In life, it is essential to have a role model to follow. Anne, with her
courage, strength, and perseverance, is a role model for so many young
people.
5. Family is a place to feel loved and safe. Although they are not her blood
family, the Cuthberts are two people who love Anne intensely and will be a
true touchstone for her.
6. Always use your imagination . In life in general, but also in couples, fantasy
always ignites love and fuels hope. A person full of creativity is someone
with whom you are never bored and with whom it is pleasant to spend time
together.
7. Don't stop having aspirations, and don't settle . Anne is a humble and
resourceful girl at the same time. She never breaks down, even in the most
challenging situations, and she never stops learning. It is important to have
aspirations and always have something to aim for because it allows you to
improve, put yourself out there, and maybe find love.
8. Love hides in the most unexpected places. Gilbert and Anne are rivals and
have hated each other since childhood, yet a romantic feeling will arise
between the two. That's why you shouldn't underestimate the power of love,
which is always a game-changer and hides where you least expect it.
9. Simplicity in love is always appreciated . Anne's story is written simply
and effectively, and it's easy to fall in love with something so simple and
genuine, fresh, and original. Love is sometimes less complicated than you
think, only we often try to complicate it.
10. Before being happy as a couple, your personal satisfaction also
counts. Anne is a dynamic, smart, kind, precocious, and intelligent girl, but
she never gives up on herself and her aspirations, and she never leaves others
behind. In the end, she realizes that she can be happy by staying close to the
people she loves and who also love her because she is satisfied with herself
and her achievements.
“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out
there are so many of them in the world.”
- L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables -
“There's such a lot of different Annes in me. I sometimes think that is why I'm
such a troublesome person. If I was just the one Anne it would be ever so much
more comfortable, but then it wouldn't be half so interesting.”
“Oh, it's delightful to have ambitions. I'm so glad I have such a lot. And there
never seems to be any end to them-- that's the best of it. Just as soon as you
attain to one ambition you see another one glittering higher up still. It does
make life so interesting.”
“BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S”
“Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself.”
- Truman Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's -
E veryone is in love with Holly Golightly—perhaps partly for her beauty

and partly for her eccentricity but, certainly, always for her freedom. One
should never underestimate the alluring seduction of a woman who is free
from any constraint, both physical and mental. Holly takes life and every day as
a game. Holly goes off the rails established by society, and because of this, she
finds herself cut off from the working world, and her prospects, however broad,
slowly close around her.
When you live in this way, moments of dissatisfaction and bewilderment are
amplified. Holly’s energy does not find an outlet, and it becomes challenging for
her to harness the power of her feelings. For Holly, all it took was a trip to
Tiffany's, a song in the window, a red cat, and a cute little black dress.
Breakfast at Tiffany's is a much deeper novel than you probably expect. Even the
atmosphere is delicate and refined. Melancholy to the right point, the 19-year-
old New Yorker has much to teach girls of today. Truman Capote’s American
dream leaves room for self-satisfaction. Being rich and famous is a dream that
Holly will never put aside, and it's only fair. After all, life is what happens to you
while you make other plans.
ABOUT THE STORY

A beautiful failed actress and New York cover girl named Holly lives her sweet,
dreamy life waiting for something to happen and revolutionize her life. She is an
eternally whimsical and generous child who daydreams in front of a Tiffany's
window while eating breakfast. However, as a character, she cannot be hated
because she has a refined elegance and poise, a beautiful poetic grace. Bizarre
types, including gangsters, film producers, and shy guys, revolve around her—a
compendium of characters who form a delicate and sweet story that is
simultaneously funny and witty as only Truman Capote knew how to be.
FASCINATING FACTS
In the early drafts of the novel, Holly had another name. She was to be
called Connie Gustafson.
It is thought that there are similarities between the characteristics of
Holly, born Lula Mae, and Truman Capote's grandmother, Lillie Mae.
An iconic film was made from the novel, starring the beautiful Audrey
Hepburn as Holly.
A woman named Bonnie Golightly sued Truman Capote for the invasion of
privacy, claiming that Holly was based on her.
Initially, Marilyn Monroe, an actress who Capote had always imagined in
the protagonist's role, was chosen to play Holly. She declined the role after
her agent advised her against it.

1. Sometimes we may not be ready to let love occupy a prominent place in
our lives . Despite being in numerous relationships, Holly's character seems
unable to connect with someone and love deeply and truly.
2. In love, you should not be afraid of others’ judgment . Many may speak
ill of your relationship, but being afraid of it is not right. Jose abandons
Holly, the woman he was supposed to marry and take to Brazil, just because
he fears other people's judgment.
3. The bond between two souls represents true love . Platonic love is still
love. The affinity between two souls is just as crucial as the affinity between
two bodies, and Paul and Holly prove to be two bonded spirits.
4. In life and in love, find someone who will not abandon you when things
get difficult. Jose declares his love for Holly, but the moment she is arrested,
he repudiates her so as not to become the victim of a scandal. This cannot be
called love.
5. To love is to learn to accept a person's flaws . When the darker sides of a
person present themselves, you see how far love can go. Knowing someone
to the core means loving everything about the other person, even the parts he
or she considers unworthy.
6. Money doesn't buy happiness . Holly's constant pursuit of affluence,
excess, and adventures with wealthy men bring her no joy or security. Only
love and full self-awareness can bring happiness.
7. In love, your personal freedom is not more important than the other's.
Not everything is allowed in the name of one's personal freedom. Holly is an
iconic character; however, she also has dark sides. If you want to be loved,
you should not abandon those who love you, as Holly does. Just like her, you
might live to regret it.
8. You can't keep someone you love in a cage . If you love someone, you can't
force him/her into a life he/she doesn't want. If you really care about their
happiness, you have to be able to let them go.
9. Learn to understand what you want in love and in life . Holly is free but
also insecure. She is looking for protection and stability, but she is afraid to
tie herself down because of her insecurity. You don't have to make this
mistake. The person you love will know how to make you feel safe.
10. We all need the affection of a beautiful cat . At the end of it all, the
only creature attached to Holly is her iconic, beautiful red cat.
“CUPID AND PSYCHE”
“It is a difficult matter to keep love imprisoned.”

- Apuleius, Cupid and Psyche -
L ike any self-respecting fable, Cupid and Psyche begins with a beautiful
maiden, full of grace and splendor. Her beauty, so total as to anger even
the goddess Aphrodite, strikes the od of love. Cupid and Psyche have
always been synonymous with true and pure love—the kind of love that
overcomes obstacles and remains inviolate across time.
For Apuleius, characters are all the same, even when they are gods. Additionally,
there is no distinction between human beings. They too are subject to wrath and
envy, but also to rules. Psyche, however, is an innocent who is tricked by her
sisters until she begins to grow up and take responsibility, so much so that she
challenges the gods herself.
A modern interpretation of Cupid and Psyche's legend represents the two lovers
as “feeling” and “thinking”—the two sides that create the foundation of a
functioning couple. While the balance of the two may lead to marriage, it's
important to remember that, in love, not everything is generalizable. Sometimes,
it is necessary to make mistakes, challenge fate, take a leap into the void, and
dive headfirst. This is what love is all about, and the fable proves it. Of course,
the pair ultimately produce Jupiter, which eventually solves everything, but
without this bit of madness, what would be left of love?
ABOUT THE STORY

A maiden of incredible beauty named Psyche becomes the object of curiosity
and veneration of neighboring peoples. They begin to leave her gifts and call her
Venus. The goddess, annoyed, sends her son, Cupid, to make Psyche fall in love
with the ugliest man on Earth, but Cupid mistakenly hits himself.
Thus begins overwhelming nights full of passion for the couple. Still, their love
will never be safe. As soon as Psyche breaks the taboo of secrecy imposed by
Eros, the wrath of Venus is unleashed, and the lovers are torn apart. They have
to fight hard to win the right to happiness.
In this splendid allegory, Apuleius tells us how a person can only reach full
awareness if love enters into his or her soul; only by uniting these two parts with
arduous effort can a man or a woman finally be said to be complete.
FASCINATING FACTS
The work inspired Canova's famous sculptural group representing Cupid and
Psyche embracing just before a kiss. The wonderfully intense and romantic
statue presents a subtle eroticism that is not at all vulgar.
The fable, although narrated by Apuleius in his Metamorphoses , is thought to
be even older.
The Loggia of Psyche, so called because Raphael Sanzio frescoed it with
Cupid and Psyche's stories, is in the Villa Farnesina in Rome.
Freud analyzed the work, explaining how the two protagonists live a
symbiosis represented by Eros and rationality. Like these two characteristics
present in each of us, the two protagonists must face trials to find a balance
that will lead them to happiness.

1. In love, you have to fight for your relationship . Psyche has to fight and
overcome many trials to gain her right to be with her spouse; like her,
sometimes you have to fight to keep your relationship going.
2. In love, elective affinities matter more than looks. Psyche and Love are
perfect and beautiful, yet when she falls in love, she doesn't see her partner,
who always appears surrounded by darkness.
3. In a relationship, make sure that your space is respected. Eros requests
that his lover never see him in the light. When she, tempted by jealous words,
tries to discover his face, the god gets angry and banishes her from the
palace. In love, it is right that the personal spaces and wills of both are
respected.
4. It is not possible to decide who one should love. Love can engage in cruel
revenge on behalf of his mother Venus or make the beautiful Psyche fall in
love with an ugly and cruel man, but he cannot prevent fate from striking him
with his own arrow and falling in love with her. This is because love cannot
be commanded.
5. Those who love you will know how to help you. Although there are terrible
trials for the maiden and Eros to overcome, the Father of Gods will make
sure that true love will triumph.
6. In love, passion should not be taboo. Eros and Psyche burn with
overwhelming passion, and their first nights are inflamed in the thalamus of
God. There is nothing wrong; if you love each other, it is right to give space
for inspiration in love.
7. In love and life, do not leave room for the opinions of those who are
jealous of your happiness. Because of bad advice and the goddess Venus's
anger, the two lovers have to be separated and Psyche has to overcome
terrible trials. Do not let yourself be influenced; live your love according to
your own dictates.
8. In life and in love, you will be complete only by uniting your heart and
mind. It takes effort and great sacrifice, but only by finding the right middle
ground between unconditional love, desire, passion, clarity, and reasoning
will you find your happiness.
9. Being apart when you love each other is painful. To be far away when you
feel pure and true love is to feel torn inside; Psyche feels so sad that she even
considers suicide.
10. Even if you have not yet met the right person for you, there is
someone who will make you happy . Psyche is beautiful and adored as a
divinity, but she is not able to find the right person even though all men
pursue her. Yet, when Eros, her true love, arrives, she recognizes the long-
awaited feeling because it is impossible to escape true love.
“I little esteeme to see your visage and figure, little doe I regard the night and
darknesse thereof, for you are my only light.”
- Apuleius, Cupid and Psyche -
“CYRANO DE BERGERAC”
“My heart always timidly hides itself behind my mind. I set out to bring down
stars from the sky, then, for fear of ridicule, I stop and pick little flowers of
eloquence.”
- Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac -
T he extraordinary interpretation of this character by Gerard Depardieu is

imprinted in all of our imaginations. This work has been represented in
theater and cinema countless times. The love story between Cyrano and
Roxane is one of the most beautiful ever written, and it is also one in which the
words of love play a crucial role in the story.
It is for the tragic incompleteness of love, for the beauty of its verses, and for its
heroism and pungent hilarity that Cyrano de Bergerac has become a work with
good popular reception that is known worldwide. Published in 1897 by the poet
Edmond Rostand , the play consists of five acts and tells the story of the
Gascon and poet Cyrano; the character is inspired by a particular homonymous
writer from the seventeenth century who really existed, Savinien Cyrano de
Bergerac, and is set in Paris.
The play encloses a small world made of elective affinities , desires without
fulfillment, friendship and honor , loyalty and passion, but, most extremely,
romanticism. Since its nineteenth-century release, the work has been
appreciated by the public, critics, intellectuals, and thinkers from all over the
world and all ages. Its countless peculiarities make it timeless. This is because,
like any great classic, it still has many lessons to teach those who find
themselves dealing with the feeling of love.
FASCINATING FACTS
There are many insights to be gleaned from such a well-delineated character and
such beautiful, multi-faceted words.
Savinien de Bergerac, the poet who inspired Rostand's play , was an
unprejudiced and highly cultured man, an unconventional writer of
seventeenth-century France. It is said that Savenien was homosexual and that
he tried a military career and renounced it, preferring to study poetry.
Savinien wrote the first science fiction novel in history, The Other World.
The States and the Empire of the Moon, which was a source of inspiration for
Jules Verne .
The very famous aphorism "Love is a pink apostrophe between the words I
love you " is uttered in this play.
Italian singer-songwriter Francesco Guccini paid homage to Rostand's work
with an unforgettable song, Cyrano .
ABOUT THE STORY

Cyrano is a soldier who distinguishes himself from his fellow soldiers with his
charisma and skill with the pen. He associates the pen with his sword many
times, which can also be sharp and cutting enough to inflict profound wounds.
Cyrano is a famous swordsman who is skilled with the sword and with the
tongue, honorable to the utmost, and does not bend to any compromise. He
appears invincible, but he suffers because his long nose makes him look ugly.
Because he is noble and sensitive, he feels unworthy of love. For this reason, he
is unable to express his love for his beautiful cousin, Roxane, while Christian,
his handsome and courageous but simple-minded comrade, and then rival, also
falls in love with Roxane.
At first rivals, an association between the two swordsmen is born that leads
Roxane to fall in love with Christian through the passionate words of love that
Cyrano puts in verse and prose or whispers in the ear of his new friend. Cyrano's
story is one of love, passion, and virtue beyond all limits; it tells of the will to
never bend and is a profound love story. Love is the central theme of the story,
and Cyrano, for love and pride until the end, will keep his secret in honor of
Christian.

1. Love frightens even the bravest and most daring souls . Even a knight like
Cyrano hides before the possibility of rejection.
2. Love has a thousand facets . Cyrano loves Roxane, and there is no doubt
about it. Roxane loves Christian first and then Cyrano, and Christian also
loves Roxane and is ready to die for her.
3. Appearance is not essential . Roxane will realize that she has always loved
Cyrano at the end of the play.
4. Don't wait until it's too late . Cyrano keeps his love for his beautiful cousin
a secret all his life, so he loses the opportunity to be able to have her for
himself.
5. Love letters always make an impact . Use the feelings you have to bring
out your inner poet.
6. Conquest is the first adventure of the relationship . That phase where you
try to please the other person, tease each other, and enjoy the beauty of secret
encounters is part of your love story.
7. Secret encounters are always intriguing . Dating and meeting in the dark,
furtively, makes love an all-personal secret to keep.
8. Love pushes to extreme gestures, but it is better not to exaggerate. For
example, Christian gets himself killed sending his love letter to Roxane.
9. Be yourself . Honesty always wins out. You may think you're not perfect, but
remember that it's your unique features that make people fall in love with
you.
10. Better the flour of your own sack than reciting from memory
something written by others . The lie will be all too obvious, and so will the
embarrassment.
11. Lies hurt the couple . When love is growing, lies can cause couples to
drift apart and suffer.
12. In love, the winner is the one who remains faithful until the end—h e
who does not give up and remains loyal to his feelings.
13. Words, not just physical appearance, count in seduction. Cyrano was
a brave man at heart, and his physical appearance held him back. This meant
that he was never happy, because he preferred to keep Roxane by his side
without telling her anything rather than reveal his love to her.
14. Talking about love means exposing yourself first. What you reveal to
the other person is part of you, and it says more about you than it does about
the other person.
15. Seduction is a dance for two. From the beginning, there must be
complicity and a mutual desire to seduce each other.
16. Love, the real kind, makes you suffer. Sadly, it is a beautiful tragedy
that teaches us a lot about life.
17. We are wounded by the pen more than the sword. Irony is a very
useful weapon in the hands of those who know how to use it.
18. Sometimes, to stay whole with yourself, you have to say a "No, thank
you." Don't come to terms with those who want to change you or use you for
their own purposes.
19. Daily gestures, words, and actions matter more than passion alone.
It's the little things that make love great.
20. Never forget the importance of the words of love. It is by revealing his
soul through words that Cyrano wins the true love of the beautiful Roxane.
“A kiss is a secret which takes the lips for the ear.”
“I have a different idea of elegance. I don't dress like a fop, it's true, but my
moral grooming is impeccable. I never appear in public with a soiled
conscience, a tarnished honor, threadbare scruples, or an insult that I haven't
washed away. I'm always immaculately clean, adorned with independence and
frankness. I may not cut a stylish figure, but I hold my soul erect. I wear my
deeds as ribbons, my wit is sharper then the finest mustache, and when I walk
among men I make truths ring like spurs.”
“All our souls are written in our eyes.”

“And what is a kiss, specifically? A pledge properly sealed, a promise seasoned

to taste, a vow stamped with the immediacy of a lip, a rosy circle drawn around
the verb 'to love.' A kiss is a message too intimate for the ear, infinity captured in
the bee's brief visit to a flower, secular communication with an aftertaste of
heaven, the pulse rising from the heart to utter its name on a lover's lip:
'Forever.”
“DOCTOR ZHIVAGO”
“How wonderful to be alive, he thought. But why does it always hurt?”

- Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago -
D octor Zhivago is not only a wonderful yet poignant love story, but it is
also a testimony to the communist regime that was in force at that time
in the U.S.S.R. Jurij Andrèeviĉ Zhivago and Larisa Fëdorovna Guichard
were made famous in the film starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie, winner of
five Golden Globes and five Oscars.
Yury and Lara's lives run parallel for some time, and sometimes they brush up
against each other. As tragic as it is, their love serves to tell another story; love is
the ideal means by which Pasternak tells the story of a lonely man who witnesses
the ruin of his world.
Rising up against History, a progressive doctor is coming to terms with the
consequences of the Revolution that suddenly sweeps away his world. All the
characters are suffocated as if covered by a blanket of snow. They are crushed
and deprived of personal freedom. We often to realize how lucky we are to be
free to do what we want, to love, and to live the life we desire. We don't know
how it feels to be strangers or refugees in our own land. Therein lies the
greatness of this novel, which is like reading about a blizzard that has swept
everything away, and the poet Pasternak is trying to put the pieces back together,
to go back in time, to fix it, but he is standing alone before a crumbling
multitude.
This is what makes literature great: it makes us all aware of other worlds and
other realities.
FASCINATING FACTS
Because it was considered an anti-Soviet novel, Doctor Zhivago was banned
at home for more than thirty years.
Nabokov, the writer of Lolita , harshly criticized the novel. This hatred
was likely caused by jealousy because Doctor Zhivago soon surpassed Lolita
in the charts.
The female protagonists loved by Zhivago were based on real-life
characters . Pasternak’s two wives inspired his creation of both Tonya and
Lara.
Pasternak began writing the novel in 1915 and finished it in 1956.
Pasternak won the Nobel Prize for Literature but could not collect it because
he was threatened with Russia's expulsion. His son collected the prize in
1989.
Zhivago is derived from the word “Zhiv,” which means "is alive" in
Russian.
This is the only book Pasternak ever wrote, and it earned him the Nobel
Prize for Literature.
ABOUT THE STORY

Zhivago, following the death of his mother, is entrusted to the uncles, the
Gromyko. At their home, he meets his cousin and future wife, Tonya.
After her father's death, Lara, a young Frenchwoman, moves to Moscow with
her mother. Here, they will buy a tailor's shop and, still a child, she will meet her
future husband, Pavel Antipov.
Years later, Zhivago studies medicine and cultivates a passion for literature in
his free time. After graduating, he marries his cousin. Then, as a doctor, he is
called to the front, during the First World War, and, here, he first meets Lara,
who plays the role of a nurse. After the outbreak of the revolution, he returns to
Moscow. Then, he flees again with his wife, son, and father-in-law to a remote
village where he encounters Lara again. The two begin to date and fall in love,
but Zhivago is frustrated because, despite everything, he still loves his wife.
Then, he forcefully enlisted in the army of the woods from which he will escape
two years later thanks to Pavel Antipov, who was believed dead in the war. Back
home, he finds Lara and discovers that his wife and son, after being expelled
from the Soviet Union, have moved to France. Here, he begins a brief period of
happiness with Lara even if he is accused of desertion.

1. Love is not necessarily unique. As much as Doctor Zhivago is almost
entirely based on a passionate love for Lara, the protagonist was equally
bound by deep affection for his wife Tonya and then for Marina.
2. You can't control your heart. You cannot decide who to fall in love with.
Yury, despite having a family, could not help but fall in love with Lara and
carry her in his heart until his death.
3. If you love someone, you protect them. The famous scene in which
Zhivago makes Lara leave on a sled in order to protect her will remain
forever imprinted in our unforgettable hearts.
4. In love and in life, you have to face many obstacles. What matters is not
being defeated by the difficulties. If you have a goal in love and life, pursue it
to the end.
5. People who have a questionable background are always the most
interesting. Even if you've stumbled into a lot of trouble throughout your
life, you always have a chance to be loved because people who don't learn
from their mistakes are devoid of value and beauty.
6. Love is also loss. Zhivago loved deeply and, unfortunately, also lost. Love is
like that; no matter how passionate it may be, it can vanish overnight, leaving
you with only bittersweet memories.
7. Love has consequences. Love, just like our choices, has consequences.
Yury's decision to love Lara led to him being forcibly conscripted and losing
his family. The disastrous consequences caused him to lose Lara as well.
8. Nothing good will ever come out of adultery. Why cheat? You could do
everything in the light of day if only you dared to end a relationship that is
obviously already over and then, and only then, begin a new love.
9. Filling the inner void left by a break up by starting another relationship
will not make you happy, and neither will the other person.
10. It is not always easy to give up the person you love, and if you are
forced to do so because of moral obligations, do not believe that you have
not loved. Antipov, Lara's husband, loved his wife intensely, but, aware of
her relationship with Yury, he let her go.
11. Life, and love, are unexpected. Several things can happen along the
way that could lead you to give up or fail. There is no such thing as stability.
You have to get used to change; otherwise, you might be overwhelmed by
situations.
“DRACULA”
“Do you believe in destiny? That even the powers of time can be altered for a
single purpose? That the luckiest man who walks on this earth is the one who
finds… true love?”
- Bram Stoker, Dracula -
I t may be because of the form in which it was written, but Dracula is almost
considered to be an intimate novel. Jonathan's diaries are not only used to
document the events that took place but are also a deep analysis of the man
who is faced with inexplicable, unspeakable, incredible pure horror. At the same
time, the novel represents the importance of love.
Through love, Jonathan will be able to face what reason tells him to be madness.
The love he feels for his Mina is so strong and rational that it breaks down all
doubts; he must act to protect her, survive to return to his beloved, and write to
maintain lucidity.
The entire Gothic novel revolves around love: the lack of this feeling, Dracula's
inability to feel love, and what can happen to a man who lives without love—
that is, he becomes a beast that is hungry for blood. The man is forced to face
dark nightmares and take a night journey into the unknown, which is the
progress of technology and science that was happening at the very time Bram
Stoker was writing his Gothic novel.
Dracula appears to be a kind and well-mannered man, but he hides a brutal and
animalistic soul. Every man, after all, is a journey into the unknown. What
changes are the paths he decides to take, whether that of love or that of horror.
Jonathan chose love, which is also a road to the unknown, but love saved him
from the flames of hell. Dracula, after all, is a Gothic novel about love saving a
life or condemning it to eternal damnation. Either way, it's a novel that should be
read at least once in a lifetime, but maybe two or three times.
FASCINATING FACTS
The idea of Dracula was born as a play that was supposed to star Henry
Irving, a friend of Stoker's. However, the actor was not convinced of the idea,
so the author made it a "simple" novel.
The historical figure that inspired Bram Stoker is Vlad III of Wallachia,
nicknamed Ț ep e ș , or the impaler.
A sequel written by a great-grandson of the author, Dacre Stoker, has been
published. The book, based on some of the ancestor's notes, was not
particularly successful.
The most famous film version, the one by Francis Ford Coppola, includes a
romantic story between the Count and Mina, who turns out, in the film, to be
the reincarnation of Elisabeta, Dracula's beloved wife.
John Polidori based the gentleman vampire prototype taken from Bram Stoker
on the figure of Lord Byron.
ABOUT THE STORY

The facts, narrated in epistolary form, begin with the train journey of the lawyer
Jonathan Harker, who has been sent from his office in remote Transylvania on
behalf of the noble Count Dracula, who intends to move to England. His stay
will certainly not be one of the best; away from his girlfriend Mina, Jonathan
will have to deal with a mysterious and sadistic man.
In the meantime, a ship arrives in England without any crew and with 50 crates
of earth from Count Dracula's castle inside. Mina's friend Lucy falls ill with a
strange disease, becoming pale and absent. Professor Van Helsing's help is
requested, and he immediately understands the cause of the illness that struck
Lucy, who dies and is immediately decapitated so that she doesn’t return as a
vampire.
Mina, meanwhile, reaches Jonathan in Budapest, and the two decide to get
married. Back in England, they will join the hunt for Dracula, who, angry, will
begin the ritual to vampirize Mina. With Professor Van Helsing's help, they will
manage to fight the dark being and save Mina's life.
1. TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

1. Always protect the ones you love . Jonathan will do anything to save Mina,
even sacrifice his own life. If you truly love someone, try to do whatever it
takes to protect them from the pitfalls the world presents.
2. Love comes in many shades. From Lucy and Mina's friendship to Dracula's
unbridled passion for Mina, love manifests itself in different ways. It's up to
you to find the right balance.
3. Naivety is not always a good thing. Mina and Jonathan are two naive young
people who easily fall into the Count's trap. Don't always trust strangers.
Also, learn to cope and cultivate healthy cynicism.
4. In love and life, always keep an open mind. In everyday life, having an
open mind prepares you to face any unexpected event, even if it does not
include encounters with vampires.
5. Believe strongly in your love. Mina waits for her fiancé and cares for him so
much that she leaves Budapest to join him and marry him. In this love, there
is fidelity and a true desire to be together and fulfill the dream.
6. Don't trust handsome, somewhat gloomy men. Dracula is a charming
gentleman, and many women fall into his traps. You should pay special
attention to your suitors.
7. It's okay to fight for love. Lucy's husband, Van Helsing, and Jonathan will
go all the way to Transylvania to avenge the death of the beautiful Lucy and
to kill Count Dracula. For one reason or another, it is always okay to fight to
get what you want.
8. Fear often resides only in your mind. The truest fear is never just physical
but also psychological. To change things, you will have to be able to change
the way you think. Only then can you face your fears and free yourself from
the monsters of your mind.
9. It's not love if it only benefits one person. Dracula has what he calls his
“brides,” but the relationship he has with them is certainly not for their
benefit. Toxic relationships are best severed immediately.
10. To love also means to take on the concerns of the other. Even though
Mina does not know what has happened to Jonathan, she worries about him
immensely and would like to free him from his pains by taking them for
herself. Love also means sharing problems and solving them together.
11. In life as in love, there are dark moments that you can overcome with
the strength of the affection you feel for each other. Mina and Jonathan faced
a centuries-old vampire and overcame more trials than you can imagine.
“I have crossed oceans of time to find you.”

“There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights,
the light of all lights.” - Bram Stoker, Dracula -
“I am longing to be with you, and by the sea, where we can talk together freely
and build our castles in the air.”
“I am all in a sea of wonders. I doubt; I fear; I think strange things, which I dare
not confess to my own soul.”
“Do you not think that there are things which you cannot understand, and yet
which are; that some people see things that others cannot? But there are things
old and new which must not be contemplate by men´s eyes, because they know -
or think they know- some things which other men have told them. Ah, it is the
fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says
there is nothing to explain.”
“GREAT EXPECTATIONS”
“I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope,
against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.”
- Charles Dickens, Great Expectations -
I f we had to say which feeling can marks us as human, the only choice would
be hope. Hope is like a flag that never fades and never dies. Under it, we can
define ourselves as human and as alive because we are constantly striving
for a dream or to reach a goal. Sometimes, however, hope blind and pushes
people to work too hard. Dickens takes us into the life of young Pip, who grows
up and learns day by day that hopes are continuously renewed and changed but
that they are always there, present and constant, like a godsend that pushes every
man's actions. A man who is without hope is a helpless man who lets himself be
overwhelmed by events without any purpose. It is a tiring destiny for a boy who
grew up in a small village near a swamp, where everything is as nebulous as the
future's uncertainty. Dickens narrates his fate in a fast-paced, compelling way
that keeps you glued to the page. There is no greater desire than to see Pip
realize his dreams. Between twists and turns, Dickens weaves an intricate plot
worthy of a soap opera and shares the knowledge that fate is not written from the
beginning: life, love, and the events that follow all converge in the creation of
the great hope of a man alone against the world. The novel is a mixture of
comedy, drama, irony, the grotesque, and adventure, without becoming tragic,
which is how it differs from all of Dickens’ other novels. Nevertheless, it
maintains the refinement and impeccability of the writing of a genius of timeless
literature.
ABOUT THE STORY

From the brilliant pen of Charles Dickens, Great Expectations is about dreams,
desires, and the search for maturity. It's the kind of novel in which you can't help
but immerse yourself completely and live the protagonist's vicissitudes and all
the characters that surround him.
FASCINATING FACTS
The author's original idea was for Great Expectations to be a great comic
book story.
Many of the characters in the novel draw inspiration from real people
who existed . The character of Estella may have been inspired by Ellen
Ternan, an eighteen-year-old actress who became Dickens' lover; Miss
Havisham was based on a real-life character, a homeless woman Dickens saw
while in London; and Bentley Drummle, Estella's uncouth husband, was
based on a publisher Dickens detested, Richard Bentley.
Along with David Copperfield , Great Expectations is the only Dickens
novel to be written entirely in the first person.
Several writers have cited this book in their works. Carlos Luis Zafón
mentions the novel in The Angel's Game, while Roald Dahl includes it in
Matilda .
The writer was urged to write an alternate ending for the novel .

1. Money doesn't buy happiness, and neither does love. Philip thinks that
money can make him serene and help him in his conquest of Estella. The
facts will prove him wrong.
2. A love story can be harrowing . Dickens, in this novel, treats love in a one-
sided way, as if it were an impossible feeling to have. If you've had a love
that hurt you, know that you can get back up.
3. Love comes in many forms . Joe, Pip's brother-in-law, is a good and kind
man who truly loves the main character. He protects him, instructs him both
academically and morally, and always loves him. Find a man who can treat
you this way and still support you.
4. Never let anyone in love or life tell you what to do . Miss Havisham raised
Estella, her adopted daughter, to take revenge on men. She wants her
beautiful daughter to make them fall in love and then break their hearts.
Never let someone, even someone you love, tell you how to live.
5. Don't let appearances fool you . Philip is in love with Estella's good looks,
but she despises him, and, as a result, she does not respect him. This novel
teaches readers that beautiful things are not necessarily also good. Don't be
fooled by appearances. Get to know someone before giving them your love.
6. Give your heart to those who deserve it . True love and kindness are more
important than social background. In love and in life, it matters how much
you love each other and how you can help and support each other.
7. If you want, you can give your love an alternative ending . If even Charles
Dickens, one of the most influential writers in the world, can be convinced to
write an alternative conclusion to his story, you too, with passion and
courage, can put things back in place! If you love someone and if your life
has taken different tracks, you can still put things right and live that
incredible adventure that is love.
8. Don't live in the past waiting for a love that has ended. Miss Havisham
stood firm at that wedding that never happened. She let the house slowly
decay and never took off her wedding dress. Don't get stuck in the past
because you might let the opportunity to love again slip away.
9. Only marry for love . When Estella marries Mr. Drummle, she does so to
escape the fate imposed on her by Miss Havisham; however, she will not live
a great love story because she has married a man who mistreats her and does
not respect her.
“Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to
understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope
- into a better shape.”
“Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon
the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had
cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more
gentle.”
“IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME”
“Love is a striking example of how little reality means to us.”

- Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time -
A tale of colossal dimensions, as seen through its narrator's eyes, In Search

of Lost Time is a personal journey toward the truth. This is the most
famous and important work of Marcel Proust, a Parisian writer who
lived on the brink of two centuries that were rich in both innovation and human
carnage.
The narrator's ego immediately appears as heavy, tired, and afflicted. His
greatest enemy seems to be a time that flows undaunted, sparing no one.
Against this concept, Proust decides to stand up and fight, grabbing his pen and
proceeding to write 3000 pages about time and the way it controls the lives of
human beings.
Marcel Proust's work is not meant to retrace his life for other people to know. In
fact, In Search of Lost Time is a message that reaches the reader directly . It
is a huge statement that addresses a myriad of themes. Some scholars, for this
reason, have referred to the work as a gothic cathedral , a book-world capable
of touching on numerous topics.
In this narrative made of real events, thoughts, dreams, streams of
consciousness, and dives into interiority, readers are faced with a search for
truth that extends beyond the author. Only at the conclusion, with a
retrospective look, can we understand some of the teachings that Proust wanted
to pass on.
FASCINATING FACTS
It took Proust about 13 years to draft his work. It was the longest novel in the
world, at 9,609,000 characters long. It would have been even longer if the
author had not died in 1922 when he was still correcting his writings .
Because of its size, many publishers refused to publish the work . Some
did not appreciate Proust's long-winded style of describing small things or
actions.
According to Proust's direct witnesses, the first and the last chapter of the
work were written simultaneously. This choice arose from the author's will to
make the story circular , a path of growth that, in the end, can retrace its
steps and start again from the origin.
For Proust, art is at least as fundamental as memory for retracing the past.
Thanks to it, in fact, and in particular thanks to writing, memories are
imprinted in a medium, paper, and will remain fixed forever.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOVE AND HAPPINESS IN PROUST

During adulthood, one also discovers the dark side of love, a feeling driven by
desires that, once achieved, disappear so that others can be formed. For Proust,
love and happiness do not go hand in hand . In fact, he has a negative and
gloomy view on relationships, which, according to him, are only thoughts,
illusions, and behaviors dictated by circumstances and courtesy. Therefore,
according to Proust, basically, we are alone.
Happiness is attainable only by finding time again from an artistic and literary
point of view. Physically, of course, it is not possible. Proust uses his
involuntary memory, the one aroused by gestures and sensations, to bring
himself back to moments capable of giving him happiness. This is also possible
by detaching himself from the present, a painful and uncertain dimension. The
time that passes is what distances the human being from the joyful and serene
phase of childhood . When this passes, man is destined to experience loneliness
and suffering.

1. In some cases, love can turn into a real disease . Proust inserts a story
almost independent from the rest of the work in the first volume, Un amour
de Swann . The protagonist here is Charles Swann, who is lost in his love for
Odette de Crecy. However, she seeks more than money, so the story often
shows her in other men's company, arousing morbid jealousy in Charles.
Odette distances herself from him, even though she later realizes that she
needs his wealth and convinces him to marry her. Charles is tormented but
accepts anyway because he can no longer live without her. This is the kind of
story that we often find, unfortunately, in facts of a crime.
2. Proust deals with the theme of homosexuality in several areas. For instance,
Albertine's relationship is a veiled telling of Proust's affair with Alfredo
Agostinelli. Again, the narrator's love turns into morbid jealousy .
Albertine is not the only woman described by Proust as frivolous and a lover
of a bit of everyone. Even Gilberte, Marcel's first fiancée, immediately
resumes her worldly life as soon as the story ends. According to Marcel, all
these cheating people are homosexuals, reversed . However, he talks about
them with a particular delicacy, letting a certain understanding for those who
feel desire toward people of the same sex shine through.
3. Love is opportunism . Whether dictated by the desire to possess the other's
possessions or their body, love always has an ulterior motive according to
Proust, and when it is even partially satisfied, betrayal occurs. Only, by now,
the two lovers are bound by a morbid and sickly bond and are unable to say
goodbye for good.
4. Love is getting out of oneself, which is impossible for man . For Proust,
love is like a breath: the man sends his breath toward his beloved; she
reciprocates and sends it back, and, when this happens, he feels a kind of
tenderness that, however, is not destined to last. Hence, the morbidity of
relationships arises.
5. Love is transient . All passions related to love in Proust are transient and
charged with anxiety. It is as if the lovers are overwhelmed by a powerful
feeling that they cannot sustain.
6. Love is a mirror of the sadness of the human being. Everyone is looking
for love outside of himself, living an overwhelming passion for a short time
and becoming desolate when it runs out.
“JULES AND JIM”
I n the literature, it is not uncommon for friendships between men to be ruined

when they fall in love with the same woman. This, however, is not the case
with Henri-Pierre Roché and his friend Franz, who are both in love with
Helen, a woman with an enigmatic smile. The title can be misleading, as it
indicates two people— perhaps lovers, perhaps brothers, maybe just friends.
Who can know until you open the book? The truth, however, is that there are
three protagonists, and there is no real love between a couple but an intriguing
story of marital relations and lovers, with the consent of all.
Jules and Jim was published in 1953. It was a novel that caused quite a stir
because of the bizarre and consensual relationship between the three
protagonists. Readers' and critics' attention focused on the love triangle of the
three, but it is also a novel about artists’ lives, war, and friendship. Indeed,
beyond the complicated relationship between the two men and the woman, the
relationship between the protagonists, Jim, pseudonym of the author, and Jules,
who was Franz in reality, is one of deep respect and shared values.
The two are not attracted to the same woman by her physical appearance or by a
particular behavior that seduces them, but because she has an enigmatic and
mysterious smile like that of a Greek sculpture. Jules and Jim are, therefore, first
and foremost, in love with art and beauty .
FASCINATING FACTS
Many people don't know that Jules and Jim began as a novel by Henri-Pierre
Roché. They immediately link the story to Truffaut's film.
The author published the work very late in his life. In fact, he was 74. It was
not his first novel, as many think. On the contrary, he had already written
three other novels that were all somehow related to love triangles.
In 1990, Henri-Pierre Roché published a sort of book of notes on the period in
which he wrote Jules and Jim .

1. Love can be reinvented. Catherine demonstrates this as the woman who is
loved by both Jules and Jim and who is able to go against the odds and love
whoever she wants. She is a free, independent, and resourceful woman. She
knows what she wants. She retaliates when she is wronged, is never silent
when she has her own opinion, and is the real mover of the action. Often the
reader has the impression that the woman is about to commit some cruel act
against the two men, but this never happens.
2. Love is not limited to just couples. Much of the novel shows us this. Some
people love more than one individual unconditionally, but they do not feel
like expressing themselves because of social limitations and prejudices.
3. The relationship of the three seems to defy human laws. Jules, Jim, and
Catherine rediscover a pure feeling that is not conditioned by impositions; it
is vaguely reminiscent of childhood innocence. The result is a relationship
that defies custom and time and is primordial and free.
4. Love is realized only by going against the morality that circumscribes it
and that it must continually exceed.
5. Transgression is demonstrated in the novel not only through polyamory but
also as the characters begin to exhibit confusion in determining their own
gender and that of others (Catherine often dresses as a man, while Jules
confuses some male and female names). The three even coin a language all
their own and perform behaviors that an outsider could not understand.
6. Love as a continuous search for pleasure is accompanied by the death
drive. Eros and Thanatos is a dualism explored in literature since its origins,
and Henri-Pierre Roché takes it up very well. Throughout the story, the three
protagonists run after a form of transgression and originality in which they
struggle find satisfaction. It can only end in drama. In reality,
Catherine/Helen dies last and is left alone to contemplate her memories.
Jules/Franz died during the Second World War, shot because he was Jewish,
while Jim/Pierre dies a few years after finishing the opera. In the story, it is
the married couple who die, ending up in a ravine under Jim's eyes.
7. Even friendship overrides custom . Even before being the lovers of the
same woman, Jules and Jim are two friends who live for each other. They are
united by their love of art, beauty, and the high life. Their attraction to
Catherine is dictated by her seduction and her expertise as an artist.
8. Love starts with a shared appreciation of beauty. As mentioned above, the
three protagonists are art lovers, and it is this strong bond that unites them
more than anything else. They communicate with each other and cherish
their memories through writing: diaries, carnets, notes, letters, memoirs,
poems, plays, essays, articles, and novels . The three love to surround
themselves with simulacra of reality to share. For them, art goes beyond the
work and is a natural way to share intimacy.
“JULIE OR THE NEW HELOISE”
“As long as we desire, we can do without happiness: we expect to achieve it. If

happiness fails to come, hope persists, and the charm of illusion lasts as long as
the passion that causes it. So this condition is sufficient in itself, and the anxiety
it inflicts is a sort of enjoyment that compensates for reality… Woe to him who
has nothing left to desire… We enjoy less what we obtain than what we hope for,
and we are happy only before being happy.”
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Julie, or the New Heloise -
J ean-Jacques Rousseau was a multifaceted thinker with wide-ranging

essayistic production. In fact, he wrote about music, botany, science, and
society. In his remarkable collection of thoughts and criticism, it is also
possible to find an epistolary novel that was particularly appreciated by authors
such as Tolstoy. It is Julie or the new Heloise, published in the second half of
the 18th century and referring to Abelard and Eloise's sad union.
The setting is the lakeside town of Vevey, near Geneva, and the time covered by
the 163 letters is twelve years, from when Julie and Saint-Preux meet until her
illness. The entire novel is centered on the intense passion that runs between
these two protagonists, hindered first by his non-noble origins and then by her
marriage to a wise and well-born squire.
Rousseau's epistolary work is far removed from his philosophical production
and closely linked to the Enlightenment . In fact, Julie or the new Heloise
seems to abandon the rationality and the desire to elevate even female intellect
that was typical of the French eighteenth century in order to predict what would
later be Romanticism in France, focused on the devastation of love and its
influence on every human decision.
FASCINATING FACTS
The title refers to the tragic love affair between Heloise , Paris's abbess, and
Abelard , her teacher of logic at Sainte Geneviève. After becoming pregnant
and marrying her teacher to avoid scandal, the latter locked her up in the
monastery. Since the gesture was seen as an abandonment, her relatives
castrated him. He died twenty years before her, and they were buried
together.
Another source of inspiration for the novel was the author's love for
Madame d'Houdetot , a woman who frequented the same vacation spot as
Rousseau.
The novel could be placed alongside the eighteenth-century French
production of the “ Comédie Larmoyante,” a theatrical genre that combines
the drama of tragedy with comedy's vicissitudes. Although Rousseau's
epistolary novel's ending is not as happy as that of the comédie, the pathetic
and tearful tones are very close to this genre.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau saw nature as a place free from social and cultural
impositions. For him, the return to nature was equivalent to an elevation of
the soul, a release of man from social constraints. The epistolary novel about
the love between Julie and Saint-Preux is, therefore, rich in references to
nature as a place of escape from society and its morals—the same society that
forces the lovers to separate. For example, Julie's death takes place in a lake,
symbolizing the return of the soul to its original state, free.

1. The satisfaction of the desire for love is destined to die according to the
canons of French romanticism. Jean-Jacques Rousseau suggests that love is a
devastating passion, but one that is destined to be hindered by a thousand
events and destroyed by circumstances. Julie and Saint-Preux have many
opportunities to meet and run away. Still, they never do because there is
always someone or something ready to divide them (Julie’s father, her
husband, the many travels of the beloved...).
2. Love is a privilege, or condemnation, only for the sensitive soul . The
sensitive soul is a recurring concept in literature, including that of Baudelaire,
Leopardi, the German Romantics, and many others. Even Rousseau
recognizes the ambivalence of this characteristic in some men, who can love
unconditionally but, at the same time, be condemned to experience pain and
suffering.
3. Morality is what curbs passion. This element of the story reveals
Rousseau's connection both to the Enlightenment, which condemned religion
and morality as elements of human history that influence choices through
fear and superstition, and to Romanticism, understood as a rejection of
political and rational impositions. Julie is convinced of her duties toward her
husband and suppresses her eros in favor of conjugal serenity.
4. Aristocratic morals ruin relationships. The reason behind the first and final
separation of the two protagonists is Julie’s noble family rejecting her
relationship with a tutor. The young woman could play the role of the
romantic heroine and run away with her beloved, but the teachings of her
rank lock her into a flat, passionless married life.
5. Despite the attempt to suppress passion, it never dies. Through the twelve
intense years of love between the protagonists, Jean-Jacques Rousseau shows
us that despite separations, life events, and morality, passion never dies. Julie
seeks a kind of inner peace once she is married. She devotes herself to her
husband and children, but she never stops loving Saint-Preux and only lets
him know after she falls ill.
6. Acceptance of the other and tolerance are fundamental to world order.
Rousseau takes care to show Julie’s new life in detail, including her husband
and the new tenant, Saint-Preux. It is, notably, the figure of Monsieur de
Wolmar who accepts the closeness of the two former lovers and puts into
practice what the Enlightenment philosopher envisioned as a situation of
serenity and peace between individuals. He, in fact, not only welcomes a
non-noble person with some influence on his wife but listens to his opinions
and debates him. Rousseau proposes this form of family and society as ideal
for the growth of ideas and the economy.
7. Happiness is found in marriage . The couple bond is what cools down
passionate, destructive love, and since this is destined to die, a stable and
familiar relationship is what brings back inner serenity. Eros is just an
illusion, an overwhelming and transitory desire that may not survive in a
long-lasting relationship. The love between two spouses, on the other hand, is
tender and brotherly.
“He who pretends to look on death without fear lies. All men are afraid of dying,
this is the great law of sentient beings, without which the entire human species
would soon be destroyed.”
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Julie, or the New Heloise -
“LITTLE WOMEN”
“There are many Beths in the world, shy and quiet, sitting in corners till needed,
and living for others so cheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the little
cricket on the hearth stops chirping, and the sweet, sunshiny presence vanishes,
leaving silence and shadow behind.”
- Louisa May Alcott, Little Women -
A ll of us, in one way or another, know the story of the March sisters,
partly because it is a story from which many films and television dramas
have been made, and partly because we have all experienced the
turbulence of love that the March sisters go through. Louisa May Alcott
managed to touch the hearts of many generations of women with her novel.
The simplicity with which issues such as war and poverty are described should
not make us think that there is not a certain moral depth in the novel nor that it
does not conceal a deep meaning. The March sisters live in a precarious
situation, without the presence of their father, who is fighting in the war and
risking his life. They follow the directives of a good and kind mother who does
everything possible to educate her daughters and keep hope alive.
Their mother teaches the girls to always help people in need and to fortify their
moral temperaments . Moreover, she believes that education is the first
characteristic of a woman who wants to be successful in society. Each of her
daughters has a strong character in their own way, but they all need and seek
their sisters' support.
The biggest lesson to be learned from a timeless classic like Little Women is
what it means to be a family , to grow up independently but with the support of
family members and to give each other a helping hand through the ups and
downs. Plus, there are many other lessons regarding love , life choices,
friendship, and life in general.
FASCINATING FACTS
The book's characters reflect the real-life family of the writer, who saw
herself as Jo. Her sister Lizzie was transformed into Beth, and so on with
both the other characters and the family’s lifestyle.
Little Women is inspired by the book The Pilgrim's Progress by John
Bunyan , which talked about inner growth and formation.
The author’s father, Amos Bronson Alcott, promulgated innovative
educational ideas for the time, which made their way into the novel.
Louisa May Alcott studied with Nathaniel Hawthorne , Margaret Fuller,
and Ralph Waldo Emerson, as they were her father's friends.
Although in Little Women Grow Up , a sequel to Little Women , all of the
March sisters marry, the writer never did, instead of declaring, "I have
always fallen in love with many pretty girls, but never once with a man."
ABOUT THE STORY

The novel chronicles the events and lives of four sisters, Meg, Beth, Jo, and
Amy . At the opening of the story, their father, a chaplain, has left for the Civil
War, and all of the duties of the house fall on the girls' mother, who tries to run
the family, keep the house in order, and, above all, make ends meet as they
slowly slide into poverty. All of the March sisters’ characters are well defined by
the writer, with both merits and defects, and they all have to deal with the
typical adolescent problems of yesterday and today.
Aunt March , an authoritarian woman who has figured out how to be in the
world and would like to direct the four girls, is also a fascinating figure.
Although she has little contact with the family, she turns out to be a woman who
possesses a good heart and great generosity, which she hides under an exterior
guise of hardness.
This writing can be classified as a novel of formation. Each of the girls will
have to face life and its pitfalls according to their own character, which can
sometimes be a heavy burden and other times an armor against adversity to
reach maturity and adulthood. The central guiding line of the story is the
intentional path to self-discernment and continuous improvement that the four
sisters embark on in order to win a bet with their mother regarding their abilities
to smooth the most angular corners of their characters. The entire novel covers
the span of one year from Christmas morning to Christmas morning of the
following year.

1. There are no equal shades of love for everyone .
2. Building a stable family is a desire shared by many women and men.
3. If a man doesn't appreciate you, let him walk out of your life . Laurie
must learn to let go of the memory of Jo.
4. Always supporting yourself in family, as well as in love, is tremendously
important .
5. Sometimes you fall in love with the wrong person . Maturity lies in
realizing this and coming to terms with the choice.
6. A kind man is a man to fall in love with .
7. You also need to know how to say no . If you have other priorities or realize
you can't love someone, it's better to say so than to make them suffer
needlessly later.
8. If you believe he loves you, wait for his return . Mrs. March waits for her
husband's return because she loves him and knows he will return.
9. If your man needs you, don't waste time asking questions. Run to him.
When the March sisters' father falls ill at the front, his wife wastes no time in
joining him to take care of him.
10. In life and love, you have to be brave .
11. Love is beautiful, and you should never be ashamed to love .
12. A woman can certainly be the breadwinner . Margaret Curtis March is
a clear example of this.
13. Behind gruff mannerisms can lie a heart of gold . Aunt March always
stated that she would disinherit her nieces, yet she cares for each of them and
always helps the family in her own way.
14. The emotions of youth should not be underestimated .
“I like good strong words that mean something…”

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”

“Don't laugh at the spinsters, dear girls, for often very tender, tragic romances
are hidden away in the hearts that beat so quietly under the sober gowns, and
many silent sacrifices of youth, health, ambition, love itself, make the faded faces
beautiful in God's sight. Even the sad, sour sisters should be kindly dealt with,
because they have missed the sweetest part of life, if for no other reason.”
“Love is a great beautifier.”

“LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA”
“Think of love as a state of grace: not the means to anything but the alpha and
omega, an end in itself.” - Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
-
A mong the most romantic books ever written, this novel tells of an
infinite love, capable of waiting with faith for 53 years, 7 months, and
11 days, including nights, to be exact.
It is a book capable of making you feel that beautiful fluttering in your stomach
that happens when you are in love and are completely overwhelmed by the
irrational emotion of being totally at the mercy of the other, enraptured, addicted
—not really even with a person but with love itself or with the promise of it.
Florentino Ariza is a sensitive and determined man. He swears to himself that no
woman will ever take Fermina's place, and none will. She is his irreplaceable
crowned Goddess. Love is present in all its forms, from marital to carnal, in this
long, realistic fable full of irony and poetry.
The love and beauty of the Latin American landscape envelop this book's pages,
while sweaty bodies twist, missing the soul's satisfaction that only true love can
allow.
It may seem like a monothematic text because love is the only subject. Even
cholera becomes a pretext to emphasize that there is no life without love and that
death lurks for those who are not loved. Florentino is not a perfect man. Love,
when it becomes an obsession, brings out characteristics that do not belong to
him at all, exaggerating a feeling of dissatisfaction.
The atmosphere is permeated by a poetic sense, and even the extremes have their
own particular and undeniable charm, which is the power of magical writing that
is impeccable in every detail and that manages to penetrate the souls even of
those who read this story with the reticence of non-romantics.
FASCINATING FACTS
Love in the Time of Cholera is the Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel that has
received the most negative criticism, mostly from detractors who couldn't
stand that he won the Nobel Prize.
The novel has autobiographical notes . The first part, in fact, recalls the
engagement of his parents, and the final journey recalls the writer’s
navigation of the Magdalena River.
In the late 1970s, Marquez and another Nobel Prize-winning author of
South American descent came to blows. The writer was Mario Vargas
Llosa. The reason for their quarrel was never made public.
ABOUT THE STORY

This novel's story is inextricably linked to the love of Florentino Ariza for
Fermina Daza. Their love story is born in their youth. Her father, however,
decides to take Fermina away, as he plans to marry her off to a high-ranking
man. The two continue to write to each other through telegrams, and their love
lives on thanks to Florentino's beautiful words.
Once back in the city, Fermina begins a relationship with her doctor, considered
an excellent catch even by her father. She then rejects Florentino's love, and
although he is desperate, he is not overcome by despair.
He will try throughout his life to replace Fermina with many other women,
loving them intensely only on a physical level, but he cannot help but continue
to love Fermina. The two will have a second chance to love each other only in
their old age, after her husband's death.

1. Some love stories last forever and stand the test of time. Ariza's love
persists for over 50 years, specifically for "fifty-three years, seven months
and eleven days, including nights."
2. An exchange of letters is still extremely sexy today . Florentino and
Fermina weave a relationship made up almost entirely of love letters.
3. Don't get married just to comply with your parents' wishes . Marrying
without love is neither magical nor beautiful. Marry just for love.
4. Marriage won't stop you from being lonely . Fear of loneliness is not a
good enough reason to enter into a relationship.
5. Sometimes you wish a trip of love would never end . Whether it's your
honeymoon or a simple, magical trip with the man you love, sometimes you
wish you could never go back.
6. If you love each other sincerely, those who love you will understand the
need you have to be together . It is Fermina’s son who approves of his
mother's love for Florentino.
7. Dishonest people will always speak evil; do not give them weight.
Florentino Ariza is a righteous and honest man who treats the women with
whom he has love affairs discreetly, and for this, he is mocked by his fellow
citizens.
8. Even a seemingly perfect man can have flaws. Fermina will discover that
the man she married is actually a weak man, dependent on his family's
female figures, but at that point, she will not be able to turn back.
9. Give yourself the right to reject a man you don't love . You have every
right to reject a man who could not make you happy.
10. Perseverance is the greatest gift of love you can give . The protagonist
continues to love despite being treated coldly. He learns to be patient and
find love within himself.
11. Love can be reborn with time and patience . Ariza and Fermina
rediscover the chemistry of love slowly, without rushing.
12. Don't live your life waiting for someone else to decide to love you
back . Florentino let his existence be consumed by love and, thus, missing
many opportunities to be happy. Their love could still have blossomed again
in old age.
13. Be careful that your feelings don't hurt others . América Vicuña will
be overwhelmed to find out that Florentino has reconnected with Fermina, so
even if you're caught up in love, try not to hurt those around you.
19 TIMELESS LOVE LESSON FROM
“MRS. DALLOWAY”
“Beauty, the world seemed to say. And as if to prove it (scientifically) wherever

he looked at the houses, at the railings, at the antelopes stretching over the
palings, beauty sprang instantly. To watch a leaf quivering in the rush of air was
an exquisite joy. Up in the sky swallows swooping, swerving, flinging themselves
in and out, round and round, yet always with perfect control as if elastics held
them; and the flies rising and falling; and the sun spotting now this leaf, now
that, in mockery, dazzling it with soft gold in pure good temper; and now again
some chime (it might be a motor horn) tinkling divinely on the grass stalks—all
of this, calm and reasonable as it was, made out of ordinary things as it was,
was the truth now; beauty, that was the truth now. Beauty was everywhere.”
- Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway -
M rs. Dalloway is the renowned masterpiece of one of the greatest

writers of the 1900s, Virginia Woolf . Her prose, using an ongoing
stream of consciousness , has made her an icon of literature.
Embedded in her time's cultural milieu, the English writer gave birth to an entire
literary genre matched only by that of James Joyce. Her greatest skill lies in her
ability to emotionally detail what happens in a single moment in a single
person's life as if her entire existence were encapsulated in that moment.
The intensity of her writing allows readers to totally immerse themselves in the
mind of her characters, revealing their personality, their thoughts, the society in
which they live and touch life daily, and, simultaneously, the universality of
feelings, love, suffering, joy, loneliness, and total anguish. Trying to grasp every
facet of being, even the most brutal and petty, Virginia Woolf paints the most
beautiful thoughts of love and friendship that you can read in classic literature.
Woolf should be credited with expressing the innermost thoughts hidden in a
person’s mind and unconsciousness during every moment of her life while
performing everyday actions, such as going out and buying flowers for the party.
Rather than using an omniscient narrator to do so, she uses inner monologue. In
this way, she manages to capture all the reality of the human mind and what goes
on in the head of each of us as we confront everyday life. This is a lyrical novel
that reveals the precariousness of human beings.
FASCINATING FACTS
Writer Micheal Cunningham won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his
novel The Hours , written in 1999, which chronicles the last hours of Virginia
Woolf's life after creating Mrs. Dalloway.
The film The Hours was made based on the book. The outstanding Nicole
Kidman played Virginia Woolf, and Maryl Streep played Julienne Moore.
The well-to-do Clarissa Dalloway embodies early 20th-century British
society with her snobbery, but everyone loves her anyway.
Hints are scattered throughout the novel about the love of women that
distinguished Virginia Woolf.
Woolf’s inspiration for the novel's style as a juxtaposition of paintings against
the backdrop of 1920s London came from Impressionist painters.
ABOUT THE STORY

Mrs. Dalloway takes place all in one day, precisely on June 13, 1923. It is a
single day in the life of a woman who is throwing a party in her house. She is
about to welcome old friends from her youth and come to terms with her past
and her feelings. On that same day, the life of a physically ill and mentally
exhausted man, Septimus Warren Smith, intertwines with that of Clarissa
Dalloway in a continuous succession of whirlwinds of thoughts that brush
against each other. Time expands, the hours lengthen, and the seconds seem to
stop.
The unhappy life of the man is compared to the lavish life of Clarissa Dalloway,
who, despite being wealthy and healthy, is not satisfied, feels that something is
about to happen, and thinks back to the lost time of her happiness. Men and
women are the contrast between joy and pain, sadness and unhappiness, love and
regret, desires and anguish, life and death. Virginia Woolf's narrative ability
immerses readers in a day in a woman's life as we retrace her thoughts, while the
man's account is merely an expedient to create contrast.

1. Don't underestimate the moments in life when you are simply and
intensely happy .
2. It is useless to regret your youth and the years when you were happy . It
is necessary to enjoy those memories in order to build new ones.
3. Live without overthinking . When you stop to think too much about the
things that happen to you, life flows past you, and you don't notice. So does
love.
4. Loving someone doesn't mean you have to sacrifice all of yourself for
them.
5. Don't always throw big parties to cover up the noise . Make peace with
yourself, and tie up loose ends.
6. Look at the positive side of the romances you've experienced . If you
focus on what you can never get back or what you didn't have, you will never
be satisfied.
7. When you love and are happy, time seems to go faster .
8. Always rejoice in the little things in love . The contrast between life and
death is resolved by love and the knowledge that you have loved.
9. Don't be impressed by old flames recounting their countless adventures .
You've had your own personal experiences, and you should be thankful for
them.
10. Always express how you feel about the people you love . One day you
may regret not doing so.
11. Life is made up of small, almost insignificant moments that create a
grand story .
12. Never underestimate the power of a successful party .
13. Life itself is a beautiful gift that no one should ever doubt . It is
normal to go through difficult times, but there is always a way to get back up
and continue to love.
14. Loving someone also means just knowing how to be there for them
and being present .
15. Don't be in the clouds all the time . Live in the moment fully.
16. Never be ashamed of your love . Clarissa Dalloway was loved by her
friend Sally just as Virginia Woolf never hid her love for women.
17. Love is not fixed like a plot. It is fleeting and sudden like a wave.
18. Dialogue is a form of seduction. A woman who can carry a
conversation is always very attractive.
19. When you love and are loved, you are never alone. Those who love
you watch you even from afar.
“Fear no more, says the heart, committing its burden to some sea, which sighs
collectively for all sorrows, and renews, begins, collects, lets fall”
“What does the brain matter compared with the heart?”
“He thought her beautiful, believed her impeccably wise; dreamed of her, wrote
poems to her, which, ignoring the subject, she corrected in red ink.”
“NORWEGIAN WOOD”
“What happens when people open their hearts?"

"They get better.” - Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood -
P eople also read literature to explore the world and open themselves to
new ideas and cultures. There is no more effective way to become part of
a new way of thinking than reading. Reading Haruki Murakami is like
gradually learning to think differently. It is a way that allows us, Westerners, to
begin, almost imperceptibly, to take on an Eastern mindset, which is
substantially different but difficult to perceive because it is subtle.
Murakami's poetics is based on the existence of two worlds, two realities in
specular opposition: the world here ( Kochi no Sekai ) and the world there ( atchi
no Sekai ). These two distinct and parallel dimensions are the topoi that run
through his poetics, but they are not real worlds. The division is more marked
and imaginative, as they depict two incommunicable realities within a person.
Norwegian Wood is the book that, more than any other, questions the internal
division between the two worlds in a way that remains realistic and intimate.
Tōru is an ordinary boy who is much like Holden Caulfield. His dissonance with
the real world is marked by his moments of loneliness and melancholy. Tōru
feels estranged from his surroundings as if he can't catch the rhythm and sing the
song. Then, love takes over. The death of his first love severs his relationship
with the world even further.
As in many coming-of-age novels, the only solution is to embark on a solo
journey to rediscover oneself. Innocent heroes come up against the harshness of
life and are not ready to face maturity and grow up. In this novel, however,
nothing is idealized. The feelings are real and raw; reality and unreality move to
the inner plane, where the fragmentation becomes shareable.
While not fully belonging to the Japanese tradition, this novel was written as
Murakami’s challenge to himself. He wanted to test himself by meeting the
tastes of a wider audience. As in a narrative that expands, the sound unravels and
we all listen together to the same melancholy song from our adolescence.
FASCINATING FACTS
The book's title is based on a Beatles song, but Murakami’s musical
influences are vast, especially jazz.
Before he started writing, Haruki Murakami ran a jazz bar called Peter Cat.
The entire novel is one long flashback of protagonist Tōru Watanabe
nostalgically recalling the crucial years of his youth.
This is the author's most realistic novel, and it began as a bet with himself: he
wanted to prove that he could also be a good realist writer.
ABOUT THE STORY

Norwegian Wood is the title of a Beatles' song that triggers the memories of the
protagonist, Tōru Watanabe, specifically memories of the ever-important and
formative period of adolescence, including first loves and first conscious
confrontations with the pains and critical issues of life. The story begins with
Kizuki, best friend of the protagonist, who, at only 17 years old, inexplicably
takes his own life.
From this point, the storylines of Watanabe, Kizuki's girlfriend, Naoko, Midori
Kobayashi, and the unscrupulous Nagasawa mix in a flow of memories that
reveals their sense of loss will to do good. It shows readers that we should never
underestimate the flow of emotions, feelings, and internal and external pressures
that young people preparing for adulthood must face.

1. Nostalgia is an important feeling . Make it your own but don't fall victim to
it. In love, as in life, sometimes you lose your way and find yourself alone
and sad. Even these moments should be embraced.
2. It's important to fight to maintain a relationship you're involved in .
Watanabe and Naoko, with the help of Reiko, attempt to keep their newly
blossoming relationship going.
3. Love is not premeditated . Between Midori and Tōru, it arises
spontaneously because it is an emotion that cannot be planned; it overwhelms
them instantly and totally.
4. Honesty is the best way to have complicity in life and in love . Whether it's
a love relationship or a friendship, simplicity and truth are essential.
5. Relationships can be really complicated. If there's one thing Murakami
teaches us, it's that relationships follow threads that are unpredictable,
especially when feelings are involved.
6. If he cheats on you, leave him . Hatsumi suffers in silence from Nagasawa's
constant cheating. It's not easy, and you have to be brave, but in these
situations, it's okay to break off a relationship.
7. No matter the age, unrequited love can really hurt a lot . Nevertheless, it
is a situation anyone can experience and is mainly surmountable with time.
8. There are times when you will feel broken in life, but you have to move
on because bad things happen. All of the characters in Norwegian Wood in
one way or another face serious pain or grief. They have to learn to move on
in order to live.
9. There are times when two fragile souls can come together and find
strength from each other .
10. Don't underestimate joyful and open people in a relationship .
Sometimes staying happy while everything falls apart takes a lot of courage,
and Midori is a true example of that.
11. Relationships are sometimes born without us even realizing it . They
simply happen with proximity and time.
12. In a relationship, be careful what you say because hurting someone's
feelings is terrible and always has consequences that you will regret.
13. Even if you have suffered and been hurt, love will come, but you have to
let it into your life. It is only when Tōru finally opens herself up to new
possibilities that she discovers that love is still possible in her life.
“OF HUMAN BONDAGE”
“People ask you for criticism, but they only want praise.”
- W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage -
I n 1915, at the height of the world conflict, author William Somerset

Maugham published Of Human Bondage . It is neither the writer's first nor
his last work, but it may be his most appreciated, although that was not the
case immediately. The story of the young Philip Carey was greeted with little
enthusiasm by critics, who called it foolish and obsessive.
However, when some critics noted the similarities between Phil and William,
both of whom stuttered and had medical degrees, the novel began to be seen in a
different light. Thus, Maugham began to include overtly autobiographical
references in his later works as well.
The story focuses on the relationship between the protagonist and his lovers .
The first is a student who struggles to build healthy social relationships. She
seems incapable of love and is apathetic toward others, but she is in love with
Phil. He does not realize it, and, sometime later, she commits suicide.
Gripped by remorse, he then dates Mildred, a deceitful woman who leaves him
several times. He then dates Norah, but Mildred does not entirely leave his life
and lashes out at him for not accepting her back. Phil, now poor, agrees to work
in a hospital alongside Thorpe Athelny, who also invites him to live with his
family.
Phil falls in love with Sally, his daughter, and thus crowns his dream of love
once and for all.
FASCINATING FACTS
The title, Of Human Bondage , is taken from a postulate by philosopher
Baruch Spinoza that addresses the subject of the human being's enslavement
from a psychological perspective. The treatise had the title De servitute
humana and was part of the larger work Ethica .
Phil, like Maugham, has a disability called clubfoot , a deformity in which
the foot is turned inward. This defect made the author very introverted,
especially toward women.
According to Maugham, the only thing that matters in a book is what it means
to you.
Maugham was also inspired by the tragic figure of Pia de' Tolomei , a
Sienese woman in Dante's Purgatory who suffered much for love until her
husband killed her.

1. Attraction is often directed toward wicked and reprehensible people.
Phil longs for Mildred, even though she mistreats him.
2. Sadomasochistic love could lead to self-destruction. Phil is like that. He
likes to feel pain, and his obsessive love for Mildred proves it. The woman is
punished with death due to a sexually transmitted disease, while Phil is left in
debt.
3. Lack of self-acceptance leads to a lack of social awareness. Phil is greatly
affected by his malformation, so much so that he is shy and introverted. He
does not fully understand the signals of women who fall in love with him, so
much so that Fanny commits suicide because of his mismatch, while Sally
takes a while to declare her love.
4. Bourgeois morality pushes man to become incompetent in relationships.
Phil is a child of his time, immersed up to his neck in the dull mentality
wealthy English society. He is an educated man, but he loses himself too
much in his reflections and in the constant search for beauty that is nothing
but an illusion. He believes he has found love with Mildred, and, when he
realizes he is a slave to love, it is too late.
5. The purest love could be conjugal love. The official engagement happens
with Sally only at the end, after his torrid relationships with other mistresses.
Here, Phil realizes how easy his life would have been if he had immediately
married a woman who loves him. Therefore, true satisfaction in a man's life
is not to be sought in pleasure but in married life. It is here that Phil's
moralistic and bourgeois side emerges.
6. The inability to love stems from a lack of affection in childhood. Phil is
orphaned very early and finds himself living with his aunt and uncle, a very
strict and strongly religious couple. The relationships are not the rosiest, so
Phil often finds himself shipped away to boarding school.
7. An inability to love stems from trauma. In fact, even Mildred presents
ambivalent and confused attitudes, probably due to her troubled relationships
and the trauma of prostitution.
8. One is attracted to a person who is somewhat similar to oneself. Phil is an
ambiguous man, perhaps because of his relational incompetence. He doesn't
know exactly how he feels about women. Often, he is first disgusted and then
lost in love, and he is unsure of the choices he makes. On the other hand, so
is Mildred. At first, she seems like a grateful and passionate woman, but then
she turns out to be anything but that, leaving Phil even for his own friends.
“You will find as you grow older that the first thing needful to make the world a
tolerable place to live in is to recognize the inevitable selfishness of humanity.
You demand unselfishness from others, which is a preposterous claim that they
should sacrifice their desires to yours. Why should they? When you are
reconciled to the fact that each is for himself in the world you will ask less from
your fellows. They will not disappoint you, and you will look upon them more
charitably. Men seek but one thing in life -- their pleasure.”
“The secret to life is meaningless unless you discover it yourself.”

“The important thing was to love rather than to be loved.”

“It was one of the queer things of life that you saw a person every day for
months and were so intimate with him that you could not imagine existence
without him; then separation came, and everything went on in the same way, and
the companion who had seemed essential proved unnecessary.” - W. Somerset
Maugham, Of Human Bondage -
“ORLANDO: A BIOGRAPHY”
“Love, the poet said, is woman's whole existence.”

- Virginia Woolf, Orlando -
V irginia Woolf has the ability to enter the reader's heart through the mind.
That subtlety and refinement of her writing create unforgettable sensory
images. A woman full of contrasts, Woolf is brilliant, sharp, and ironic,
but also dark, deep, and dense.
The whole world, in some way, owes Woolf for being able to dip her pen and
collect her ideas into works of such value. Orlando is a kind of collection,
almost like a compendium, of all of her important themes. First, the novel is
written in an unfailing stream of consciousness, and it experiments with the
passage of time and identity. Woolf demonstrates that her innovative and
modern writing style is perfectly suited to a more classical text in the word's
fourteenth-century sense.
It almost seems as if you can see the ideas gathering in her head and imprinting
themselves on the paper. In just the first line, the first ten words in fact, she
presents us with a sharp and piercing irony.
With Orlando , Woolf can finally allow herself to unleash her most sarcastic
vein, where she can critique social mores and conventions freely, partly because
Orlando embodies a multi-faceted figure, embellished with striking colors and
sensations, and partly because hers is an experiment with a modern, three-
dimensional knight.
Every novel that Virginia Woolf has written is a gift of love for the world. This
one is especially so because it is a very personal reinterpretation of Ariosto that
shows that love is not bound by time, place, or (and especially) gender.
Thus, this novel raises existential questions. How can we say we really know
ourselves if we live confined to our own era? What would happen to us and our
identity if we suddenly lived in another time? The answer is that a person's
identity, as much as it is subject to the historical epoch it inhabits, is not
transformed by it; the identity that composes us is something pure and
inviolable, above all else.
It is an unpredictable novel and a wonderful gift for readers.
FASCINATING FACTS
Woolf wrote to her beloved Vita Sackville-West that just by writing the
words "Orlando - A Biography" on white paper her mind was filled with
ideas.
The idea of sex change comes from Ovid's The Metamorphoses, in which
humans transform into trees and animals just as gods often incarnate
themselves as humans.
Orlando is the first English novel in which the protagonist is transgender .
In 1992, the novel was made into a film of the same name starring Tilda
Swinton, who plays Orlando as a man and a woman.
ABOUT THE STORY

Orlando was born a man even though he undoubtedly has feminine
characteristics, so he is a borderline man. He loves nature, and he has a great
sensitivity that will lead him to be a poet. Throughout his life, Orlando embodies
his masculine role with suffering. He does not like salons and ladies. Instead, he
prefers to hole up in his rooms with a pen and an inkwell. He loves a Russian
woman who breaks his heart. Finally, he achieves a promising career as an
ambassador in Constantinople. When the rebels attack the British Embassy's
headquarters, Orlando stays asleep, and, renouncing the male prerogative of
fighting and violence, becomes a woman.
From being a woman, Orlando derives many advantages due to her knowledge
of both sexes and conditions. Here, Woolf begins a particular critique of society.
Orlando, once a woman, will meet the love of her life in an unconventional man,
and both will live a relationship of perfect balance.

1. Love is the most beautiful feeling that can exist, and it is not fair to confine
it within canons.
2. Find the person who understands you. Only the one who is able to
understand you to the core can return your love.
3. Even if you are in love, keep your identity intact and firm . You can only
make the compromises you choose to make. Don't get rid of yourself and
who you are.
4. Follow your sensitivity . A sensitive person may seem harder to deal with,
but your sensitivity just needs to find its own expression, and you'll see that it
will take you far.
5. Men are not all knights, and women are not all ladies.
6. There are no ways of loving that can be said to be masculine or feminine
; love is free from the shackles of gender.
7. Always feel free to declare your love. Virginia and Vita exchanged
beautiful letters and supported each other in complete sincerity and
complicity.
8. Life is an adventure that must be lived without social and conventional
limitations . It should not involve things that you cannot do just because you
are a man or a woman.
9. Putting yourself in the other person's shoes is essential . There are some
things about the opposite sex that are difficult to perceive; empathy might
help you understand each other.
10. In life and in love, there are no roles to play . Men cry too, and there is
nothing wrong with that. No one has to play a part.
11. By now, we can talk about sex quite freely. It is an achievement that
women like Virginia Woolf helped us reach so that we can now rightly claim
equal gender rights.
12. You can easily be more masculine than your man if you don't affect
his sensitivity. You don't have to be afraid that he will love you less just
because you are a particular person. The important thing is not to violate
anyone's feelings.
13. When you love someone intensely , you do memorable things. Orlando
is dedicated to Vita Sackville-West, and all the love Woolf felt for this
woman shines through.
14. Irony has always been a sharp weapon to express what one thinks.
Irony also has great charm when used in love.
15. Despite your opinion of yourself , there will always be someone who
loves you for who you are.
16. The right person always comes, even if you have to wait . Orlando
waited for centuries before meeting the only man who could understand her
and make her happy.
“PLEASURE”
“And in the kisses, what deep sweetness! There are women's mouths that seem to
ignite with love the breath that opens them. Whether they are reddened by blood
richer than purple, or frozen by the pallor of agony, whether they are
illuminated by the goodness of consent or darkened by the shadow of disdain,
they always carry within them an enigma that disturbs men of intellect, and
attracts them and captivates them. A constant discord between the expression of
the lips and that of the eyes generates the mystery; it seems as if a duplicitous
soul reveals itself there with a different beauty, happy and sad, cold and
passionate, cruel and merciful, humble and proud, laughing and mocking; and
the abiguity arouses discomfort in the spirit that takes pleasure in dark things.”
- Gabriele D'Annunzio, Pleasure -
T his is the first novel of Gabriele D’Annunzio, and it is a jarring

interruption in the period's literary fashion. It is not a philosophical
treatise or a novel with a spiritually and intellectually elevated
protagonist. Instead, it documents the downhill journey, or rather the fall into a
ravine, of Andrea Sperelli , an inept man who does not understand the events
that happen to him and cannot gain control of his life. He is a thinker, sure, but
his reasoning only leads him to failure.
Pleasure is a curious novel . It is not an easy read, but it allows one to get an
idea of Gabriele D'Annunzio's kaleidoscopic and aesthetic personality. The
novel seems almost like an exercise in style in which the bard exaggerates with
free indirect speech, reflections, and references to memory.
Therefore, it should be considered a required readings. It is a volume that
should not be missing from anyone’s shelves classics due to the originality of
the style and the lexical choices, which are sometimes exaggerated. D'Annunzio
manages to outline the characteristics and fears of man in his time.
FASCINATING FACTS
Andrea Sperelli embodies a man similar to d'Annunzio, who strongly
criticizes the bourgeoisie for their excessive conduct and attention only to
money but who also adopts some of these characteristics. He was an aesthete
and, as such, squandered large sums of money on objects.
It seems that D'Annunzio, before writing the novel, was planning a larger
project, namely a trilogy of short stories of which Pleasure, The Intruder, and
Triumph of Death were part. The goal was to create a novelistic sketch of a
high passion drama, with three protagonists —two women and one man—
all of whom were elevated in mind and spirit .

1. Love can never be satisfying because it always clashes with the
perfection of an unattainable ideal. When we love, we tend to idealize the
object of love, avoiding seeing its flaws but bringing it closer to our vision of
perfection. This is an unreal transfiguration, an illusion that leads only to the
suffering of not being able to reach one's ideal. This is demonstrated by the
relationship between Andrea Sperelli and Elena, on whom he places many
unrealistic expectations. Thus, their love is destined to run out.
2. Love is a supreme feeling. In D'Annunzio's eyes, love is a form of devotion,
something transcendental and similar to a mystical experience. This feeling is
inescapable in the life of a human being, as the suppression of love leads to
feelings imprisonment.
3. Art is even more important than love. In D'Annunzio's literary production,
one often encounters a juxtaposition of love with art. For him, art is devoted
to beauty and leads man to understand things that the mere feeling of love
hides.
4. Love is something instinctive, whereas art is intellect, awareness, and
understanding of things. This is demonstrated by Maria, who keeps a diary
dedicated to her feelings for Andrea Sperelli, a sort of brainstorming that
leads her to clarity.
5. There are two types of love, but they are not clearly distinct. They are
embodied in the two women with whom Andrea falls madly in love. One is
Helen, the other Mary. Even the names are reminiscent of Greek mythology,
to which D'Annunzio was particularly attached, and sacred literature. On one
side is the woman who triggered the Trojan War; on the other is the mother
of Jesus. Andrea Sperelli often seems confused and mixes the peculiarities of
one with the other, thus creating idealized images of the two, perhaps
demonstrating that the Apollonian and the Dionysian are destined to meet.
Thus, Andrea is tormented by memories of a frivolous love and the desire to
redeem himself in Maria's arms, although that never happens.
6. It is society that makes man lovesick. The portrait that D'Annunzio gives of
the bourgeoisie of his time is one of fake respectability and a bigoted and
inconsistent morality. This generates only sick minds that are unable to love
seriously. This is demonstrated by how Andrea handles his two relationships
with women—confused and pathetic way, but also brutal and deceptive.
7. Pleasure cannot be sought, reproduced, or pursued; it is obtained by
loving what one has without the pretension of possessing it forever . Love
may only last for a moment, but it can satisfy those who feel it forever.
“SENTIMENTAL EDUCATION”
“It’s hard to communicate anything exactly and that’s why perfect relationships
between people are difficult to find.” - Gustave Flaubert, Sentimental Education
-
S entimental Education allows one to immerse oneself in a realistic reading

that tells of an era as well as of love.
It presents the theme of "bovarism" but in a male key. As a protagonist
who is eternally unsatisfied and willingly victimized by life’s failures, it is
difficult to feel empathy for Frederic's character because he contains all the fears
of a reader. Disillusioned hopes, unmet ambitions, and love never lived make up
the background of this wonderful French story from the mid-1800s.
It is a little gem of classic literature that is absolutely unmissable for an avid
reader.
ABOUT THE STORY

On a boat, Frédéric Moreau makes the acquaintance of Jacques Arnoux, a
publisher, who is accompanied by his wife Marie. Frédéric falls madly in love
with Marie but is unable to deepen the relationship. Sometime later, in Paris, he
enrolls in the Faculty of Law and deepen his acquaintance with Mr. Arnoux in
order to meet the woman he loves again. Then, he leaves Paris because of
economic difficulties and returns shortly thereafter thanks to an inheritance
received from an uncle. Next, he meets Rosanette, a woman of easy virtue with
whom he falls in love, while simultaneously declaring himself to Mrs. Arnoux,
hoping to have his affection reciprocated.
The man, undecided on what relationship to undertake, has a child with
Rosanette, who dies, and Frédéric, unable to deepen his relationship with Marie,
becomes the lover of a rich woman, a financier's wife. Upon the death of her
husband, it is discovered that the woman has very little property. As a result of
some love affairs, the woman also ends up besmirching Marie's name and falling
into poverty after the economic failure of her husband. Frédéric then leaves the
city only to return years later and admit his total failure in life to a dear friend
from his youth.
FASCINATING FACTS
In addition to being a love story, the novel is a detailed account of young
Parisians' aesthetic preferences and sociability in the mid-1800s.
Within the story, we can find autobiographical notes. Marie Arnoux can be
identified with Elisa Schlésinger, also the wife of a publisher and Flaubert's
muse.
As you read the novel, you will notice how each character is depicted with
clichés that represent the social type of which they are a part.
The novel was not particularly successful upon publication. On the contrary,
it was subject to numerous criticisms. It was because of Marcel Proust’s
praise that people began to see the book as innovative and convincing.
Another novel written by Flaubert with the same title but a different plot was
published after his death.
It is set between the French Revolution of 1848 and the founding of Napoleon
III's Second Empire.
Despite being written more than 150 years ago, the themes that are addressed
within it are incredibly current. With the advent of technology, younger
generations seem increasingly indecisive. They possess many passions but
struggle to accomplish anything concrete.

1. Lightning strikes when you least expect it. Our protagonist was on a ferry
when he fell in love with Marie. He saw her sitting on a bench, and after the
first glance, he had eyes only for her. That's precisely how the spark is
ignited. We do not decide when it will happen, nor with whom we will fall in
love. It just comes, and we are simply and painfully subjected to it.
2. Perfect love does not exist. Frédéric dreamed of it ardently, and, when it
seemed he could have it years later, he rejected it.
3. Before looking for great love, it is good to focus on yourself. At the end of
the novel, the protagonist finds himself summing up his life and defining it as
a failure. Frédéric goes from one ambition to another without having the
ability, and above all, the will, to accomplish them. In everyday life, we
should learn to find our own place before placing ourselves next to another
person.
4. Do not covet others’ women. Although this lesson is very religious, it is also
always relevant. Desiring a person who is already committed, perhaps even a
parent, will not lead to a happy ending. Interest in someone whose love we
cannot have will preclude us from knowing the person with whom we could
truly know happiness.
5. Not being able to have the one we want does not give us license to hurt
others. Not able to have the object of his desire, Marie, Frédéric begins
relationships with two other women, pretending at the very love he longs for.
It is not right to fall back on another person without feeling a real interest
because not only will we be unhappy, but also we will hurt someone totally
innocent.
6. Every action we take has consequences for which we must take
responsibility. A striking example of this point is Frédéric's paternity. After
having had a child with Rosanette, he repudiates the idea of becoming a
parent. He finds it almost unacceptable. Yet, in life, things do not happen by
chance; they occur because of our choices, and we must take responsibility
for them.
7. Eternal dissatisfaction ends up leaving nothing behind. Just like another
Flaubert character, Madame Bovary, Frédéric is perpetually dissatisfied with
life and constantly searching for more. Without really committing to
anything, he failed at life and was literally empty-handed.
“While there's life there's hope.”

- Gustave Flaubert, Sentimental Education -
“Besides, she had just reached the autumnal period of womanhood, in which
reflection is combined with tenderness, in which the beginning of maturity
colours the face with a more intense flame, when strength of feeling mingles with
experience of life, and when, having completely expanded, the entire being
overflows with a richness in unison with its beauty. Never had she possessed
more sweetness, more leniency. Secure in the thought that she would not err, she
abandoned herself to a sentiment which seemed to her justified by her sorrows.
And, moreover, it was so innocent and fresh! What an abyss lay between the
coarseness of Arnoux and the adoration of Frederick!”
“His heart was flooded with immense love, and as he gazed on her he
could feel his mind growing numb.”
“SIDDHARTHA”
“It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and
despise it. But I think it is only important to love the world, not to despise it, not
for us to hate each other, but to be able to regard the world and ourselves and
all beings with love, admiration and respect.” - Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha -
W ritten in 1922, this novel is considered by the author to be an Indian

poem that combines the epic, lyric, and fiction in a very original
register. Siddhartha is a work made specifically to stimulate the
mind and thought, gathering the reader around an epic theme that is that of
happiness in this life.
The character is not the actual historical Buddha but a boy on a journey of
formation, as one of a thousand potential Buddhas throughout the world and the
ages. Siddhartha is any person who chooses to divest himself of earthly and
frivolous joys, seeking a deeper meaning of life.
It is not often that we can read a true spiritual adventure of this caliber, and we
should not be frightened by the complexity. Behind the objective difficulty lies a
desire to enable everyone’s participation in a search that is basically the search
of every man. In this novel, love represents only one of the facets of happiness in
life. We can reach Nirvana through the sublimation of love itself.
The use of complex language is the specific narrative tool chosen by the author
to render the complexity of the search for personal fulfillment not through the
possession of material goods but through an understanding of the dynamics that
govern man's intimate life and its connection to experience and nature.
This novel is no different from a work of pure narrative because basically all the
stories we read are written for the same purpose: finding oneself. The difference
is that Siddhartha shows the way that leads everyone to universal happiness,
which is not to detach oneself completely from earthly life but to become part of
it, to participate in the whole world by becoming one with it.
Emotions, like love, are the experiences that make us human and bring us closer
to the whole. Using a narrative form to communicate such an important concept
makes it more immediate and enjoyable as well as direct and engaging.
FASCINATING FACTS
In Siddhartha, the author combines the Indian philosophy of Hinduism with
Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Henri Bergson's European doctrines.
This novel is inspired by the story of the Buddha, although it is not directly
about this figure.
ABOUT THE STORY

The young Indian Siddhartha is the son of a wealthy Brahmin who, dissatisfied
with his own existence, sets out searching for deeper truths, specifically a more
vital interconnection between beings, the world, and nature.
Tracing the true story of the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, Hermann Hesse traps
us in the coils of a novel about life and the search for one's identity through all
the stages, including dissatisfaction and mistakes, to give the reader a more
profound sense of what exists in the world.

1. In love and in life, you can only learn from experience. Being afraid to
start loving will not make it easier for you to do so. Siddhartha makes
numerous mistakes in his life, but only in this way can he arrive at
enlightenment.
2. There is more to a relationship than just your view of things . Each
person engaged in a relationship will experience the same things differently;
learning that there are different worldviews is the only way to build a healthy
relationship.
3. There is no such thing as one love that works for everyone . Siddhartha
and Govinda are two extremely close brothers who seek enlightenment, but
what is good for one will not be good for the other.
4. Love matters in life . Surrounding oneself with luxury, covering oneself
with jewels, or owning many things does not necessarily bring happiness.
Love, the right kind, always brings it.
5. Searching is the only method to find love. The protagonist, throughout his
life, searches for an inner awareness that is slow in arriving. His
dissatisfaction should be an example for us to understand that only by
searching will we find love.
6. Mistakes in love are permissible . Everyone in love makes mistakes. The
important thing is to follow Siddhartha's path and keep learning so that you
don't make them again. This process will make you the best partner you can
be.
7. Don't idealize the person you like . One of Siddhartha's lessons is that if
you are not open to perception, your mind and eyes only see what they want
to see. Even if you are in love, you should see your partner for who they are
and not what you would like them to be.
8. Everything has a value , even a relationship that has ended. Regardless of
the situation he finds himself in, Siddhartha can grasp its true value by
transforming a defeat or a disappointment into knowledge, thus giving it
value. It is also possible to do this in love relationships.
9. If a relationship is not for you, don't run away . Face the breakup with
courage. Siddhartha ends his relationship with Kamala by practically running
away. Because of this, he does not meet his son, her child, until many years
later.
10. Sometimes you are your worst enemy in life and in love. Siddhartha
finds his nemesis in the son he previously left behind by giving up his life
with Kamala. In the end, she has to realize that she has to let him go because
everyone has to find their own way on their own.
11. Presence is the key. Like the river’s journey in the tale, we learn that
today's actions are what determine us, even in love.
“Wisdom cannot be imparted. Wisdom that a wise man attempts to impart

always sounds like foolishness to someone else ... Knowledge can be
communicated, but not wisdom. One can find it, live it, do wonders through it,
but one cannot communicate and teach it.”
- Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha -
“So she thoroughly taught him that one cannot take pleasure without giving
pleasure, and that every gesture, every caress, every touch, every glance, every
last bit of the body has its secret, which brings happiness to the person who
knows how to wake it. She taught him that after a celebration of love the lovers
should not part without admiring each other, without being conquered or having
conquered, so that neither is bleak or glutted or has the bad feeling of being
used or misused.” - Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha -
“TARZAN OF THE APES” AND “THE RETURN
OF TARZAN”
“I am Tarzan of the Apes. I want you. I am yours. You are mine. We live here
together always in my house. I will bring you the best of fruits, the tenderest
deer, the finest meats that roam the jungle. I will hunt for you. I am the greatest
of the jungle fighters. I will fight for you. I am the mightiest of the jungle
fighters. You are Jane Porter, I saw it in your letter. When you see this you will
know that it is for you and that Tarzan of the Apes loves you.”
- Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes -
I t is impossible not to have at least heard of the protagonist of this successful

series of novels. Tarzan and his female counterpart, Jane, form one of the
most beautiful and curious couples in American literature. Although it may
seem strange to read a book whose plot is so well known, it really is worth it.
These books contain many now-refuted notions that were clearly generated by a
vivid imagination and explicitly written to feed readers' unbridled creativity
regarding primal man's passionate behavior. However, this is the beauty of the
work: it is basically a series of novels that exceed the concept of genre. Between
adventure novel, fantasy, and, in some place, horror, the cycle of the Tarzan
novels belongs to the genre of suggestion. A mysterious world, an impossible
love, an interest in the wild, and the beauty of discovery are the main themes of
this long story. Ultimately, the story is a pleasant discovery that is full of
imagination and enchantment, the fruit of a brilliant mind that the modern world
struggles to recognize.
ABOUT THE STORY

Following a mutiny by the crew in 1888, the ship on which Lord Greystoke and
his wife are traveling abandons them on a deserted beach in Angola. Here, the
young Lady will give birth to a child, and both spouses will be won over by the
wild nature. The newborn, Tarzan, will be cared for by a gorilla named Kala
while surviving and learning to live with nature.
Years later, another group of people will land on the same beach. This group
includes the explorer Jane Porter with whom the ape man falls madly in love.
After many adventures, the characters, including Tarzan himself, return to the
United States. In The Return of Tarzan , the protagonist leaves for Paris but is
caught in an evil plan by Nikolas Rokoff. His adventures take him back to
Africa, where, by a fortuitous chance, he meets Jane again after they had said
goodbye due to her indecision about their future.
FASCINATING FACTS
Despite being a fantastic adventure and coming-of-age novel, almost all of the
writer's information about apes and gorillas has been refuted.
The Tarzan cycle includes as many as 28 books.
Before writing Tarzan, Edgar Rice Burroughs had considered suicide after
having failed in so many jobs, yet fortune smiled on his genius so much so
that he had to create a company to manage the proceeds of his books and the
demands of Hollywood. Ultimately, he was able to retire to a luxurious villa
in California to write and grow old peacefully.
The famous ape, Cheetah, who is Tarzan’s companion in the films, is not
present in the novels.
In Los Angeles, there is a neighborhood called Tarzana in honor of the
homonymous character. This is where the author built his villa, Tarzana
Ranch.

1. Love at first sight exists . In the very instant that Tarzan sees Jane, love at
first sight strikes, and although he has never known this special feeling
before, he understands that she is the woman destined for him.
2. Live your love sincerely without letting them judge you . Gorilla Kala
gave Tarzan all her love by adopting him and protecting him like a true
mother. No one can judge if your love is worth it because only you know
your own heart.
3. Don't ever give up, because sometimes fate helps lovers . Tarzan and Jane
suffer and separate, taking different paths; however, these two soul mates
will meet again one way or another. If you really love each other, you should
find a way to meet again and feel that spark return.
4. When there is love, nothing else matters . Jane is an educated American
girl from a good family, while Tarzan is a man raised by apes. Nevertheless,
the two do not care about these differences. When it comes to love, class,
education, and titles do not count. Only the feelings you have for each other
count; the rest is marginal.
5. Loving is an adventure. Let yourself be swept away by this feeling, and
although you are not a damsel in distress on a roguish African adventure, you
will still experience an extraordinary adventure.
6. Love is a powerful and, simultaneously, natural feeling . It involves body
and soul; it is both wild and rational, and Tarzan and Jane are concrete
examples of it.
7. Don't choose the safer path by rejecting love just because you are afraid
. Jane, confused and scared, chooses to marry William Clayton, considering
him the safest choice for her, but her heart belongs to another man, and lying
to herself is the greatest sin.
8. Throwing yourself into a romance can be scary . If you start to get scared
when the relationship gets serious, don't worry, it's normal. Jane was afraid to
start a life completely different from her own with Tarzan, but, in the end,
nothing could stand in the way of the love they felt. If you love each other,
take your courage in two hands and live it.
9. When love arrives, it catches you unprepared . Jane finds the man of her
life by chance during a trip to Africa. If you still haven't found the right
person, don't despair because somewhere there is someone who will love you
madly for who you really are.
10. Get out of your comfort zone, and chase your love! In the African
forest, Tarzan was an undisputed king, the only man capable of living and
reigning undisputed among the animals, yet he leaves everything he knows to
go to the USA to find love.
“...those features are burned so deep into my memory and my heart that I should
recognize them anywhere in the world from among a thousand others, who
might appear identical to any one but me.”
- Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan -
“THE AGE OF INNOCENCE”
“I want - I want somehow to get away with you into a world where words like
that -categories like that- won't exist. Where we shall be simply two human
beings who love each other, who are the whole of life to each other; and nothing
else on earth will matter.”
- Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence -
H ere's a book to completely immerse you in New York’s upper-middle

class society during the Gilded Age, which lasted from 1870 to 1900.
High society is the absolute protagonist through which the characters
do their dance, wholly absorbed by society's conventions and compromises.
The narrative voice is the protagonist Newland Archer, who is completely tamed
by the hypocrisies and limitations of his social class, although he also develops a
clear desire to move away from them. Despite the world moving toward
technological progress and the avant-garde, there is no room for people to grow
until social prerogatives change; instead, personal expression is suppressed by
the prejudices of the bourgeoisie.
Edith Warton manages to reveal the duplicity in that even if they want to, not
everyone can escape the comfort zone of roles imposed by society. Some don’t
have the right character to free themselves, and they remain chained in a mental
scheme that does not allow them to act.
The decline of the society of innocence has begun, and readers witness the defeat
of an entire era enclosed in the personal story of Newland Archer and people
close to him. To read The Age of Innocence is to take part in a total spectacle
from which it is not possible to look away until the last page.
FASCINATING FACTS
The Age of Innocence won Edith Wharton the Pulitzer Prize in 1921. She
was the first woman ever to win one.
The story first appeared in Pictorial Review magazine installments and
was later encapsulated in a book due to its success.
The author of The Age of Innocence was a good friend of the writer
Henry James and, like him, a cosmopolitan. As an American, she lived for
many years in Paris.
The book has made a comeback thanks to Martin Scorsese's film starring
Michelle Pfeiffer and Daniel Day-Lewis.
ABOUT THE STORY

The story centers on the gentleman Newland Archer, a young scion of one of
New York's finest families who is steeped to the core in class hypocrisies and
headed for a brilliant but undisrupted life.
Promised to marry May, a young heiress who is frivolous but has the right class
connections, his existence is disrupted by the arrival of Ellen Olenska, May's
cousin, who, with her rejection of social conventions and her strong character,
highlights the vacuous world in which Archer first believed. The two fall madly
in love, and through them, the author shows American society with its dark sides
and idiosyncrasies.

1. Never be influenced by what others say about you . The book's female
protagonist wreaks havoc on a puritanical society, but only their prejudice
comes to light.
2. If he doesn' t love you, you should leave him . If he doesn't love you, you
are right to leave him and ask for a divorce, just as Ellen Olenska does.
3. Seeking love and respect in a loving relationship is your right . Everyone
has the right to seek love and care from their other half.
4. A good name will never be worth as much as a good person . Social
reputation being at the top of the pyramid will not make the person you meet
an honest man. A good person with a righteous soul is always to be preferred.
5. Don't spend your life regretting a love. Live it . Newland Archer is a rich,
famous man, yet he doesn't have enough willpower to love his wife or hold
on to the woman he loves. Sometimes in life, you need to jump in and live a
love affair even after many years.
6. A strong woman is a natural aphrodisiac that lingers . Newland cannot
get Ellen out of his mind because her strength has bewitched him.
7. Not hiding behind a mask is essential in both love and life. The book's
protagonist has no fear of showing herself and her intentions. In life, choose
to be like her so those who can appreciate you sincerely will be able to stand
by you.
8. A strong character does not mean shrewdness . Even though Ellen
possesses a strong character and is sure of herself, she can do nothing against
the twisted, well-thinking American women who crowd the novel. The
strength of her genuineness becomes a disadvantage.
9. Are you sure a mama's boy is for you? Newland is a good man, sweet and
romantic with a great sense of duty, but throughout the novel's plot, he is
always being manipulated by the women in his family; are you sure you want
something similar in your relationship?
10. Don't pretend that your relationship is happy just because society
dictates it . Despite suspecting her husband and despite being in a
relationship that was not the one she had always dreamed, May Newland
pretends that her marriage is happy just to comply with social mores.
11. If you want to speed up your marriage because you’re afraid of
falling in love with another woman, you never loved your future wife. A
marriage should never be born under any context other than love.
12. A child cannot save a relationship . Having a child is a responsibility,
sure, but it should also bring immense happiness to a couple. Because of the
child Archer and May are about to have, Ellen returns to Europe without him
following her. May saves her marriage, but Archer will never love her has the
way he loves Ellen.
“Each time you happen to me all over again.”

- Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence -
“I couldn't have spoken like this yesterday, because when we've been apart, and
I'm looking forward to seeing you, every thought is burnt up in a great flame.
But then you come; and you're so much more than I remembered, and what I
want of you is so much more than an hour or two every now and then, with
wastes of thirsty waiting between, that I can sit perfectly still beside you, like
this, with that other vision in my mind, just quietly trusting it to come true.” -
Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence -
“THE CHARTERHOUSE OF PARMA”
“The lover thinks oftener of reaching his mistress than the husband thinks of
guarding his wife; the prisoner thinks more often of escape than the jailer thinks
of locking the doors. Therefore, in spite of every obstacle, the lover and the
prisoner are certain to succeed.”
- Stendhal, The Charterhouse of Parma -
T he Charterhouse of Parma is an undeniably epic work . Not all epics

are like Homer’s classics; the style can also be found in more modern
writings, like Stendhal's. There is a hero, even if imperfect, whose life the
reader can follow. There is a battle, as occurred in the classical poems, although
this is uncertain and conducted by frightened soldiers who lose their dignity. The
form is in prose and narrates the lives of mortal protagonists who, though noble,
are not demigods. In short, it is a modern epic poem that overturns the paradigms
of the classical genre.
The Charterhouse of Parma is the novel of Fabrice del Dongo's formation,
who shatters his childhood dreams as he matures and develops a personal vision
of the world around him. The work tells of a series of misadventures and
provides a harsh criticism of the time's politics as an obstacle to personal
fulfillment and progress. Politics stifle passions, instincts, and aspirations.
Political life invites people to be heroes, but it simultaneously hinders them,
leaving them exhausted and disappointed.
Stendhal presents the noble and military caste with all their faults. Fabrice, the
protagonist, soon finds himself having to come to terms with his idyllic vision of
myth and realize that life's real aspiration is not success but freedom .
FASCINATING FACTS
Balzac dedicated much attention to The Charterhouse of Parma , even
writing a treatise about it. The author argued that the work was a masterpiece
that brought together the Literature of Ideas with the Literature of Images,
evoking reality as it is.
The title of the work clearly indicates a small citadel that does not seem to
coincide with any of those at the gates of Parma. The author does not
mention it until the last chapter of the work.
The story seems to have autobiographical characteristics, as Stendhal, like
Fabrizio, also witnessed Waterloo's Battle.
It is an enormous work that Stendhal wrote in only 52 days during voluntary
imprisonment.
ABOUT THE STORY

In the course of the work, several situations are presented in which a character
falls in love but is disappointed by the beloved's feelings . This happens to
Gina, who is lost in love with Fabrice, while Fabrice must accept being
separated from his beloved Clelia.
In this work, it seems to be love that sets the whole story in motion : the plot
starts from Fabrice's chivalrous love for freedom and the model of Napoleon;
Sanseverina's love for Fabrice leads her to save him from some unpleasant
situations; and, again, Fabrice's love for Clelia allows him to understand what it
means to feel true feelings for a person and fight to get her back.
One particular love is destroyed from the beginning of the play, and that is
Fabrice's love for politics . He flees his wealthy home to pursue an ideal that
disappoints him from the start. Throughout the opera, it seems that politics get in
the way of the characters and their desires, loves, and passions.
Although love is indeed a major theme in Stendhal's work, the author draws on
the French Romantic tradition that sees love as an overwhelming feeling
toward an ideal and not a person in their entirety. Often, relationships in
Charterhouse have dual purposes or are idealized. Perhaps this is also why
external agents destroy them. The hero's ardent desires and passions are destined
to turn into disappointments that generate more desires, and the cycle continues.

1. The human being feels love but is selfish . This is demonstrated by the
various characters' attitudes. For instance, Fabrice, Sanseverina, and Count
Mosca all seek opaque and incomprehensible happiness. They have no
precise objectives and act as if they are in a fog in which the only thing they
perceive is the self. They are overwhelmed by passions that are often
inexplicable, such as the aunt's incestuous love toward her nephew, and they
do not seem to understand exactly what pure and genuine love is.
2. Love is an irrational element in the lives of human beings. Stendhal’s work
is romantic even in the way he describes the value of the feeling of love. It is
an all-encompassing aspiration that drives a man to think of nothing else and
to act with the sole purpose of achieving love. Whenever Fabrice takes
matters into his own hands, it is only for love.
3. Love leads to dissatisfaction . Still, Stendhal also shows the negative
aspects of love on the romantic line, understood as a feeling destined to fade
and leave a terrible void in people. When this happens, the romantic hero
runs away unsatisfied and in search of more love; it is a search that will never
end.
4. Childhood is the period of life in which humans are not yet afflicted by
aspirations and disappointments; therefore, it is the happiest period for
people. It is a time of life to strive for again, a time when the individual is
free and characterized by naivety and pure irrationality.
“This beautiful thought, of 'dying close by that which one loves', expressed in a
hundred different ways, was followed by a sonnet in which it was found that the
soul, separated, after atrocious torments, from the frail body in which it dwelt
for twenty-three years, and impelled by that instinct for happiness natural to all
that has once existed, would not reascend to heaven to mingle with angelic
choirs as soon as it was set free, and in the event of the awful judgment
according it forgiveness for its sins, but, happier after death than it had been in
life, it would go a few steps from the prison where it had lamented for so long, to
be reunited with all that it had loved in the world. And thus, the sonnet's last line
went. I shall have found my paradise on earth.”
- Stendhal, The Charterhouse of Parma -
“THE DECAMERON”
“Nothing is so indecent that it cannot be said to another person if the proper

words are used to convey it.” - Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron -
T he Decameron makes use of what is called the "narrative frame," or a

story within a story. This particular structure was typical of oriental and
Arabic novels, of which The Thousand and One Nights is probably the
most famous example. The primary intent of the Decameron is precisely to
escape death by telling stories. Man is a narrating animal, continuously
searching for meaning through stories and tales.
There are many individual stories that cover fun, engaging, and amorous topics
within the larger story's framework. Characters often let themselves be carried
away by the power of an incomprehensible attraction, leading to adultery,
relationships not legitimized by marriage, or even breaking the vow of chastity.
The dynamic of love also results in comedy, and the situations that are created
challenge the moral codes and common sense of society.
The book leads readers to revise their considerations of sex as a manifestation of
love that is not dyed in sin. Here lies Boccaccio's great revolution: to speak
openly to challenge society. With his transgressive manner and pressing prose,
Boccaccio teaches readers to laugh at fears and to chase oppressive conventions
away with a smile. The ideal is to find a place in the world where one feels
protected by friends, safe from danger, and stimulated to live by nature,
preferably somewhere in the Tuscan countryside.
ABOUT THE STORY

The Decameron , Giovanni Boccaccio's most famous work, is a collection of 100
novellas narrated by a group of young people isolated in a country villa during
the plague epidemic that devastated Europe in 1300. Although slightly
complicated by the archaic Italian, it is a colorful and lively read that gives the
reader a detailed overview of fourteenth-century life.
During the plague of 1348 that devastated Florence, a group of seven young
women (Elissa, Emilia, Fiammetta, Filomena, Lauretta, Neifile, and Pampinea)
and three boys (Dioneo, Filostrato, and Panfilo), all from a higher social class,
move to a villa in the country to get away from the contagion. The boys spend
their time singing, dancing, playing games, and praying. To occupy the
afternoon hours, they decide to tell each other stories, one each day except
Friday and Saturday. Every morning, a king is elected to set the theme on which
the tales must be based. The first and the ninth day have a free theme.
FASCINATING FACTS
The title literally means “ten days,” which is about the amount of time that
the young people spend in the Tuscan countryside.
The Decameron is dedicated entirely to women who, in that society, read
much more than men.
Boccaccio's contemporaries harshly criticized the work for the dedication to
women, for the themes treated, and for the choice to write in prose.
The Decameron is one of the most important works of literature of the 1300s
and influenced such writings as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales .
The title, chosen by Boccaccio, is a reference to St. Ambrose's Hexameron.
The Decameron appeared on the Index of Forbidden Books established by
Pope Paul IV in 1559.

1. Love is an irresistible force. In the Decameron, love manifests itself in all
its forms. Live it, and don't be afraid of it.
2. In life, love is important , so much so that Neifile makes it the third day's
central theme. Learn to respect love and its importance. In the Decameron ,
there are 70 novellas dedicated to love.
3. Every woman is free to love as she pleases . There is no gender with more
rights than another when it comes to love. The freedom to love is a right that
many women have won through struggle.
4. Making love in a couple should not be taboo . Boccaccio narrates many
lovers' carnal bonding, demonstrating that this amorous exchange is a natural
expression of a feeling that binds two partners.
5. Learn how to get back up after being disappointed by love .
Unfortunately, you may feel pain due to unrequited love or the end of a
relationship, but the important thing is never to stop loving.
6. Not all loves are reciprocated. As Boccaccio teaches us in his novellas,
sometimes a lover may be disappointed when their beloved does not love
them in the same way in return.
7. To conquer a person, you do crazy things . Like Chichibio in a famous
novella of the Decameron , one ends up making extreme gestures for love.
He, however, had the quick wit to pull through and not get into trouble. Love
can sometimes be a very adventurous thing.
8. Doing forbidden things always tickles the fancy of lovers. In the
Decameron , there is a strong Christian morality that pushes some people to
commit sins, but even today the taste for the forbidden has not been lost
despite the freedoms achieved. On the contrary, many couples often make
use of it to rediscover their dormant passion.
9. Bucolic surroundings stimulate the spirit. When you are in the midst of
nature, you are much more inclined to love in direct contact with life.
Consider it as a vacation for two next time.
10. Every once in a while, it's essential to disconnect from life's problems
and enjoy love . It's not about running away or pretending nothing is going
on. It's about indulging in moments just for the two of you away from the
hustle and bustle of life.
11. In love and in life, you must not put up with any abuse . It is not true
love if he continues to make you feel bad. Do not be like Griselda, who bears
the pain caused by her husband Gualtieri Marquis of Salluzzo. You must
react and rebel against those who limit your freedom.
12. Don't let anyone decide for you who you should love . Lisabetta loves
and is reciprocated by young Lorenzo; when her three older brothers kill her
fiancé so that she won't marry him, she will remember her love all her life
until she dies of it. No one can make you feel this way. If your love is true,
don't let them separate you.
“To have compassion for those who suffer is a human quality which everyone
should possess, especially those who have required comfort themselves in the
past and have managed to find it in others. ”- Giovanni Boccaccio, The
Decameron -
“THE DIVINE COMEDY”
“Through me you pass into the city of woe:

Through me you pass into eternal pain:
Through me among the people lost for aye.
Justice the founder of my fabric moved:
To rear me was the task of power divine,
Supremest wisdom, and primeval love.
Before me things create were none, save things
Eternal, and eternal I shall endure.
All hope abandon, ye who enter here.”
- Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy -
A t a certain point in every man's life—let's say, around middle age—one

begins to ask many existential questions, and it is possible to get lost in
obscure thoughts until one actually gets lost. This is what happened to
Dante, more or less. Only for him, this phase made it possible to conceive of the
greatest literary work ever written—one that has conditioned the whole of world
literature.
The predominant subject matter of Dante's cantos is doctrinal. The poet
meditates on high religious truths and philosophical-scientific ones, striving to
reach full awareness of the world through scientific, philosophical, and
theological reasoning. The work is nothing but a metaphor for the spiritual
improvement of man, who starts from the Underworld to arrive, finally, at the
gates of Heaven thanks to the purity of his soul.
The plot of Dante's work is known to most, because it is studied in schools
worldwide, and his verses are engraved in many of our minds. The Divine
Comedy will remain the trace of humankind that will mark the future ages until
the end of time, and when a man travels among the stars, he will still have with
him the cultural baggage of Dante's work in the history of humanity.
ABOUT THE STORY

" All hope abandon, ye who enter here ” These are the words engraved on the
door of the entrance to the Inferno that Dante is about to cross together with the
poet Virgil . His journey begins in Antinferno among the unsuspecting, those
who in life did not want to take sides. Immediately afterward, the souls are
waiting to be ferried across the Acheron. From there, one descends. Hell is
imagined as a series of numbered rings that descend and form an inverted cone
that Dante will have to cross one by one, meeting famous people of the time as
well as historians.
After leaving Hell, Dante and Virgil find themselves at the entrance to Purgatory
, guarded by Cato. Here, in the antipurgatory, they meet the first group of souls
formed by the negligent. Once through the door of purgatory proper, one
discovers that it is divided into seven frames where souls serve their inclination
to sin in order to purify themselves before entering paradise. Here one
encounters the proud, the envious, the wrathful, the greedy, the gluttonous, and
the lustful. At the gates of paradise, Dante and Virgil part because Beatrice will
guide Dante in the last part of his journey.
Freed from all his sins, Dante can finally enter Paradise, which consists of nine
heavens. At the end of his dream journey, Dante has to undergo an examination
in faith, hope, and charity by St. Peter, St. James, and St. John. Beatrice and
Dante then make their way to the outermost heaven, the one in which God
resides.
FASCINATING FACTS
The work, having been written before printing, does not exist in its original
form. Of all the manuscripts, no two versions are the same.
The original title was Comedia . The adjective Divine was attributed to it by
Boccaccio.
The work was extraordinarily successfull and contributed to the process of
affirming the Tuscan dialect as an official Italian language.
The nine heavens of Paradise are the seven of the Ptolemaic system—Moon,
Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn—the sky of the fixed stars, and
the First Mobile.
Dante's works have inspired many rock artists, from Kurt Cobain to Bob
Dylan to the Sepulture.

1. Just like Dante's adventure, life and love are a constant journey toward
improvement. The Divine Comedy begins in Hell and ends in Heaven. This
tale is a metaphor for life and love. We can always improve ourselves, day by
day. Dante saw hope in humanity, so it would be good not to disappoint him.
2. In love, you are not always reasonable. Paolo and Francesca, who are
already married, become lovers and end up paying for the guilt of adultery in
hell. Dante is not moralistic toward the two; on the contrary, he feels
sympathy for them. This is because love is not always reasonable. Sometimes
it is such an overwhelming force that it is not possible to control.
3. If you've made a mistake in love, you can fix it . There are no sins you
can't make up for, especially if you're sorry for them. Life is not Dante's
Inferno.
4. Don't idealize your soul mate . Dante idealizes Beatrice, turning her into a
true angel, but no one is perfect, not you and not your love. You are simply
perfect for each other.
5. Get to know yourself in-depth to understand how to love better. Each of
us should take an inner journey to know what really lurks in our minds.
Learning to recognize our most inherent emotions will also help us to
manage them in a relationship.
6. In love, you have to get rid of judgments and prejudices . No one can
judge your love story. If you are sure and if you love each other, don't let
anyone tell you how you should live your life.
7. You are the sole guardian of your life and your love. You alone are
responsible for your life, and no one else can say otherwise. Characters
within The Divine Comedy are described based on the decisions they made in
life. Their fate was their choice. Learn to live by your own morals, and your
love will grow and prosper.
8. Love as Dante loved Beatrice. Dante's love for Beatrice is famous.
Although he never had any love affair, the writer poured out some of the
most beautiful Italian literature verses on her. When she died, Dante was
deeply devastated. Love should be like this: deep, rooted, and incredibly
romantic.
9. Love is a journey. Do not be afraid to undertake it . To see Beatrice again,
Dante navigates the Styx, crosses the Inferno, and makes his way through
Purgatory. You should not be scared to undertake the magnificent journey
that is the love of a couple.
10. Declare your love! Don't throw away the chance to be truly happy.
Express your love; don't be like Dante. Speak to your loved one.
“Consider your origin. You were not formed to live like brutes but to follow
virtue and knowledge.” - Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy -
“The mind which is created quick to love, is responsive to everything that is

pleasing, soon as by pleasure it is awakened into activity. Your apprehensive
faculty draws an impression from a real object, and unfolds it within you, so that
it makes the mind turn thereto. And if, being turned, it inclines towards it, that
inclination is love; that is nature, which through pleasure is bound anew within
you.”
- Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy -
“THE GREAT GATSBY”
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby -
T he handsome faces of first Robert Redford and then Leonardo di Caprio

playing the charming Mr. Jay Gatsby are imprinted in all of our minds.
And how can we forget the splendid Mia Farrow, who plays Daisy?
Fitzgerald's novel is a timeless love story with which we all, in one way or
another, have come into contact.
Jay Gatsby is the classic American self-made man . Everyone in town wonders
where his fortunes come from and gossips about his connections and shady
dealings. Unlike Gatsby, Daisy's husband, Tom, is a man who has inherited his
wealth and is respected and loved by all. However, as a husband, he is not the
best. He keeps mistresses and is unkind to Daisy.
Telling the story is Daisy's cousin, Nick Carraway , who has just finished his
studies and come to town to pursue a career in the stock market. He is the one to
expose the hypocrisies of the Jazz Age , especially the lies and lack of
sensitivity of the era. Told from the first-person perspective, readers see the story
from Nick’s innocent eyes, including the glitz, the balls, and the big parties at
Gatsby's house. When he goes to the city, we go through the work district with
him and encounter the men and women who live under the big blue sign of Dr.
T.J. Eckleburg's eyes, which are watching over the less affluent class as they
struggle to build the needs of the rich. The city of the Roaring Twenties is a
delirium of music and people and business and movement. It's progress that
crushes and leaves behind those who can't keep up.
Gatsby succumbs to that pomp and circumstance not because he isn't clever
enough to pursue success, but because he is, at heart, a boy who is still pure and
in love and who will never accept that he can't have Daisy. Unfortunately, Daisy
is nothing more than a green light on the other side of the pier to be looked at
and admired but never grasped.
FASCINATING FACTS
Although now considered a pillar of literature, the novel met with little
success and overwhelmingly negative reviews upon its release.
There are several important symbols in the novel. The two main ones are the
eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg, which represent the eyes of God, and the green
light on the pier, which represents Gatsby's desires, namely his love for
Daisy.
Friends of the writer inspired some of the characters in the novel. Daisy was
based on Geneva King, the subject of a brief relationship with the author. The
character of Jordan, on the other hand, was inspired by golfer Edith
Cummings.
It was the book most widely distributed to soldiers during World War II.
From there, the accolades began.
The author did not like the title The Great Gatsby and proposed several
alternatives, such as Among the Ash-Heaps and Millionaires , Gold-Hatted
Gatsby , The High-Bouncing Lover , On the Road to West Egg , and, very
simply, Gatsby .
Upon release, the book cost $2.00.
ABOUT THE STORY

After moving to West Egg, Nick Carraway begins to frequent the home of his
cousin, Daisy, and her husband, Tom. On the surface, they are a happy and
comfortable couple. In reality, the man has a mistress in town, of whom Daisy is
aware. One evening he is invited to the party of his wealthy neighbor, Jay
Gatsby, who turns out to have been in love with Daisy for years, and we learn
that they had a fleeting affair sometime in the past. During the party, Gatsby asks
Nick for a favor: to arrange a meeting with Daisy so that he can see her again.
After some initial awkwardness, the two manage to establish a clandestine
relationship.
This is a poignant romance novel about a love born of the past and tragically
extinguished in the present. This wonderful cross-section of the Roaring
Twenties keeps the reader glued to the pages, eager to shake the hand of and
reassure the famous Jay Gatsby that he can go further and achieve anything, that
he could be happy, that she doesn't deserve him, and that an ugly truth is better
than living in a world of fiction and hypocrisy.

1. Wealth doesn't buy love or friendship . Everything Gatsby acquired was
meant to entice Daisy, but even so, it was all for naught. Daisy would never
be his again.
2. When love is lost, one must have the strength to let it go , just as Gatsby
should have done with Daisy. The main character is described as a smart and
brilliant man who could have achieved great things in life but, instead, he
loses everything for love.
3. Although Gatsby's love is passionate and intense, it should not be taken
as an example . The man is so obsessed with Daisy that he fails to see her
obvious flaws and barely reciprocated affection.
4. Putting love on a pedestal is wrong no matter what , even when we are
delighted and happy with it. Love is anything but rational, but we must learn
to be realistic and see beyond affection.
5. Choose who you surround yourself with carefully . Whether they are
friends or a love interest, choose people you want at your side throughout
your life. Genuine affection should be long-lasting, especially in times of
difficulty; otherwise, it is just for show.
6. Do not judge without knowing . We all have a past, and it may be one that
still brings us pain. We should not judge anyone without knowing them, and,
even after we know them, there is no need to judge them.
7. True love requires nothing but love . Money and comfort are not
necessary; love is a pure, non-material feeling.
8. Don't do the impossible just to get noticed . Gatsby threw the biggest
parties in New York just to be noticed by Daisy.
9. Be the protagonist of your own story . Nick is in the middle because he is
Daisy's cousin and Gatsby's friend, but he could have stayed out of their
problems and freely lived his love with Jordan.
10. Always speak your mind . Even if your opinion goes against the grain,
always be consistent with yourself.
11. Don't underestimate a man who loves you . If he is willing to do such
great things for you as Gatsby is willing to do for Daisy, perhaps he should
be appreciated..
12. Don't idealize the people you love. Daisy was not the same girl Gatsby
had known and loved, and she would never be the same girl she once had
been.
TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS FROM

“THE LITTLE PRINCE”
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to
the eye.”
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince -
T his is a story for little ones that teaches adults the importance of
relationships. The Little Prince is a work initially conceived as a fairytale
for children (even including drawings and watercolors done by the
author), but it should be equally appreciated by adults. In fact, it is full of
teachings about friendship and love, as well as appearances and the essential
aspects of life. It is a novel about the genuine beauty of friendship.
Each of the Little Prince's encounters is a kind of allegory of the world of
grown-ups, which is complex and full of alienating details to a child. However,
each of the quirky characters has something to teach the little boy, particularly
on the subject of relationships.
The fox, for example, indicates the uniqueness of a bond of friendship. Initially,
the animal and the Little Prince are nothing more than two ordinary entities that
have met. Still, as they begin to get to know each other better and rely on each
other, they recognize each other's uniqueness. Throughout his or her life, a
human can meet many other men and women, but establishing a relationship
with some of them is what differentiates those people from the rest of the world's
population.
Unlike the fox, the vain man who cares a lot about others' judgment represents
the fear and sense of inferiority that is established between some adult people
who base their relationships on a competition of appearances. How many times
have you known someone who uses materialism to outdo or try to mark
themselves as better than others?
The Little Prince teaches the reader to go beyond the vices and frailties of human
beings. After all, all people are beautiful, but you have to dig deep and go
beyond what the eyes alone see. The work is an invitation to consider the
interiority of individuals and rediscover the importance of human relationships.
FASCINATING FACTS
The subject of the work is not surprising. It is well known that the author,
Antoine de Saint-Exupèry, was fond of aviation, so much so that he enlisted
in the military during WWII and died when his plane was shot down.
The starting point of the entire work comes from an experience in which the
author risked death by dehydration while he was on a mission with his
companion André Prevot in the Libyan Sahara .
The story is dedicated to the child Léon Werth, a friend of the author.
The book was published in 1943, when Antoine de Saint-Exupèry was
already dead. Given de Saint-Exupèry’s progressive ideas, the Vichy regime
did not accept The Little Prince's release, which had to wait for the end of the
Nazi regime in Europe to see the light of day.
ABOUT THE STORY

An aviator crashes in the Sahara Desert and meets a young boy. As the aviator
tries to repair his plane, the boy begins to narrate the events of how he ended up
there, listing in very simple words a series of bizarre characters he met along the
way.
Each of the characters in the novel has a moral meaning. The story is about
events told through the eyes of an innocent and genuine child who does not
understand adults' behavior, as they are all caught up in their own affairs. The
themes are deep and addressed through metaphors and allegories that attract
readers and leave us with fundamental life lessons.
Although it may seem simple, reading this novel can be life-changing. It is one
of those stories where you discover a little more each time you re-read it. The
story of the aviator and the Little Prince can open your mind to many aspects of
life, especially the importance of relationships and the time you spend on them.

1. Relationships depend on us . Friendship and love do not come into being on
their own and do not stay alive without our commitment to each other.
2. Actions are always more effective than words . In human relationships, it
is important to make concrete gestures that allow the other person to feel
good. Speech is fleeting and intangible, while action can subvert the course
of things.
3. Wonder is within you. Before anything else, you have to love yourself.
Sometimes, happiness is near or within us, and there's no need to go crazy
looking for better elsewhere.
4. Even as an adult, it is vital to dig inside yourself and rediscover your
childhood innocence in order to not be influenced by avarice, money,
temptations, and distrust. Without those influence, children love intensely
and without prejudice.
5. Spend time on friendship and love . Bonds are based on the time you spend
deepening your understanding of each other. The Little Prince's Rose is
wonderful because he dedicates time and cares for her. Human beings should
do the same for their loved ones.
6. Every relationship is essential . Today, we could translate that as "the
human being is a social animal." Men and women need to give and receive
love because this shares happiness.
7. Be careful not to hurt other people's feelings . You need to let others know
the love you have for them. Also, unspoken words can create
misunderstandings and lead to wrong actions.
8. Love is about collaboration . The beauty of relationships is in sharing
projects, having the same goals, and being on the same page.
9. Respect is a significant value . One should not judge others too much
because it is a negative attitude that only attracts negativity. Giving respect is
crucial if you want to receive as much in return.
10. Use your imagination to avoid the grayness of adult life and make
your existence rosier in life and in love . You'll immediately be a happier
person who is more fun to hang out with.
“THE ODYSSEY”
“There is nothing more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep
house as man and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends.”
- Homer, The Odyssey -
T o say that The Odyssey is about a long journey is self-evident. We are all
aware of it in one way or another. The journey of Odysseus, who is tired
from a long battle and his absence from home, becomes an epic of
temptations, mistakes, unexpected events, losses, and changes. Yes, Ulysses'
story is indeed mythical, but the real protagonist of the whole work is the
beautiful Penelope. She is Ithaca, she is home, and she is the ultimate goal and
the burning hope that moves her husband's entire journey. Penelope weaves her
web, unraveling and trimming the plot, which is thick with courage and fear but
woven together through the hope of their being together again. The journey is
the backbone of every story, an ancestral motif that man has adapted infinitely,
feeding endless stories and giving meaning to life.
ABOUT THE STORY

Odysseus' journey is undoubtedly the most important one in Western culture. He
crosses the boundaries of literature to land in Western culture and the history of
civilization. Gods, sorceresses, cyclops, and sirens take turns in the journey that
has inspired so many other journeys. During his return to his homeland after
Troy's very long war, Ulysses must face a mysterious and cruel Destiny that
targets him and his fellow travelers. Ithaca remains the green beacon of hope that
controls all of Ulysses’ decisions. He is lucid, stubborn, and ready to do anything
to return home to his Penelope and rule over Ithaca in peace. However, the
voyage has changed him and his world, creating yet another test to overcome.
Ultimately, this is a splendid epic poem that founded the history of Western
civilization.
FASCINATING FACTS
There are numerous similarities between The Odyssey and the Epic of
Gilgamesh . Both went to the realm of the dead, received advice from a
mythological creature devoted to the Sun, and sailed to an island at the edge
of the world.
The Odyssey was the inspiration for Virgil's Aeneid , for Sinbad's
character in the Thousand and One Nights , and for James Joyce's
Ulysses.
Many of the names found within The Odyssey were later used to rename
celestial bodies .
The work features several Greek dialects .

1. Some loves are worth waiting a lifetime for . Penelope waits for Odysseus
for 20 years simply because he is the only man she can ever love.
2. Fighting for one's love is important . Each in their own way, both Odysseus
and Penelope fight with all their strength and wiles to be reunited. You have
to fight for your loved one in order to keep what you have built.
3. Fidelity in love is fundamental . Penelope, queen of Ithaca, is beautiful and
intelligent and could have any man she wanted, but she waits for the one she
loves to return, remaining faithful to the promise of marriage. In everyday
life, creating the conditions for mutual trust is what makes a relationship
solid.
4. If you really love someone, nothing is more important . In a beautiful
scene from the Odyssey, the protagonist has everything: an island, immortal
servants, and a goddess like Calypso, who loves him yet weeps because she
wishes she could go home.
5. Love is a fundamental emotion in life . Even in an epic poem mainly based
on adventure, there is a part dedicated to love, and this is because there is no
adventure and no life without love.
6. Don't underestimate the importance of simplicity in love. The dog Argo waits
for his master for 20 years. Old and lonely, he stubbornly survives to see the
one he loves again, and when they finally meet, he dies happy. You should
never underestimate those who love intensely but simply. You may realize
too late that it was all that was needed.
7. Not all loves are reciprocated . Nausicaa, daughter of the king of the
Phaeacians, Alcinoo, falls in love with the brave Odysseus, but he cannot
love her. He must return home to Penelope. Sometimes life presents us with
people who are impossible to love.
8. In life, if you love, there is only one person you will have in your heart .
Odysseus meets the goddesses Circe and Calypso and the young and
beautiful queen Nausicaa, all of whom have feelings for him, yet he always
leaves to return home to Penelope.
9. If you love someone, let them go . Calypso is a goddess, and she is truly in
love with Odysseus, yet she will have to let him go when she realizes he
doesn't love her back.
10. Intelligence is sensual and an aphrodisiac . Odysseus is certainly a
fearless warrior. He is powerful, valiant, and beautiful, yet all the women
who meet him are fascinated by his sagacity and quick wit. It is no
coincidence that he is called the man of many wits. Remember this, and make
your wit your most effective weapon of seduction.
11. You cannot hide anything from those who love you . When Odysseus
returns to Ithaca, he does so in disguise; he does not want to reveal his
presence to possible adversaries. Yet, Euriclea, his nurse who raised him and
loved him, recognizes him immediately thanks to a small scar.
12. Courage, in love and in life, is fundamental . Courage is often your
best weapon. You should not be afraid to live and to open yourself to new
experiences and ambitions. Even if love is a jungle, you should not be afraid
to jump in and live your emotions to the fullest.
13. In love, the small and simple things are the most important .
Penelope waits for Odysseus for 20 years even though she does not know
whether her husband is alive or dead, and her heart, when she sees him again,
does not know whether to accept this or not. Only by revealing to her how
the bed he has built for the two of them is made does Odysseus know how to
make himself known. It is not the jewels or the great deeds that count; it is
the small, spontaneous gestures that matter—for example, a king who makes
the wedding bed for his young bride with his own hands.
14. Love is epic . In the Odyssey, the immortal bard Homer includes love in
all its forms, and that should say it all about how important this feeling has
been since the dawn of time.
“For a friend with an understanding heart is worth no less than a brother”

“Take courage, my heart: you have been through worse than this. Be strong,
saith my heart; I am a soldier; I have seen worse sights than this.”
“Now from his breast into the eyes the ache

of longing mounted, and he wept at last,
his dear wife, clear and faithful, in his arms,
longed for as the sunwarmed earth is longed for by a swimmer
spent in rough water where his ship went down
under Poseidon's blows, gale winds and tons of sea.
Few men can keep alive through a big serf
to crawl, clotted with brine, on kindly beaches
in joy, in joy, knowing the abyss behind:
and so she too rejoiced, her gaze upon her husband,
her white arms round him pressed as though forever.”
“A man who has been through bitter experiences and travelled far enjoys even
his sufferings after a time”
“ THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING”
“When the heart speaks, the mind finds it indecent to object.”

- Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being -
M an is destined to live only one life. He is allowed only one, and in this
life, he cannot experiment. He cannot try everything. At a certain
point, he must be content to live experiences one at a time. It is cruel
that man has so much beauty, art, love, and passion at his disposal but can only
experience them in a limited way.
In this novel, the characters love each other intensely, and because of that, they
suffer. None of them can know what could have happened if they had followed
their instincts and said one thing rather than another; for them, there is no escape
and no possibility of verification. There is also Kundera who, from the height of
his omniscience as the author, loves each character and goes along with his
choices and wishes, slavishly following the fleeting destiny of men and women
who are addicted to true, concrete, physical, and real love.
Kundera, the Pygmalion of literature, creates an alternative reality in which love
regains the classic aspect that had long been forgotten. He often enters the story,
interrupting the Pindaric flight and bringing readers’ feet back to the ground. His
teaching is still a great lesson in life.
Love and art, feelings and passions, are not the only topic covered. The novel
also involves history, censorship, struggles with Soviet communism, and death.
Kundera taught us that what is heavy is heavy because of its value. Life must
give the right weight to things, and we decide whether to remain anchored to the
ground or glide lightly over them—not superficially but because we are free of
useless weights.
Love is a subject discussed extensively in world literature, even if only to
reiterate its lack. Literature is pervaded by it, yet only Kundera has overturned
the canons to tell us that heavy is not always bad, and lightness is not always
good. For this and many other reasons, The Unbearable Lightness of Being is
nothing less than a masterpiece.
FASCINATING FACTS
The book, although written in Czech, was published 17 years after its official
release in the Czech Republic; this is because his works were banned in
Czechoslovakia after the Prague Spring , and the author didn’t grant the
rights to the novel in the original language in which it was written until 2006.
In 2008 there was a scandal about Kundera regarding a document found in
the Prague police archives from 1950.
ABOUT THE STORY

The story contained in the novel takes place in Prague, in the period between the
historical events of the Prague Spring and the Soviet invasion. In this book,
Kundera describes the life of Czechoslovak intellectuals and artists. Strong
tensions and many anxieties are generated within the quartet of protagonists, and
the book takes on great depth in describing existence itself. With tact, he lays
bare our psychological fragility and poses important existential questions to
which we may not know the answers.
The plot centers around Tomáš, a surgeon by profession, who also applies his
profession to his love experiences. He searches for details in women, surgically
rummaging through their depths, searching for what makes them different from
one another. And then he falls madly in love with them. Kundera has the ability
to make the characters familiar and real. While the book is marked by
philosophical and moral reflections, everything remains real and immediate.

1. In love, you have to make choices; keeping your feet in several stirrups is
not allowed . Tomáš does nothing but make the women he loves suffer from
his constant betrayals.
2. We should never, for any reason, accept a relationship that makes us feel
deeply bad . Tereza puts up with her husband's cheating because she doesn't
dare to face it. She loves him and is afraid of losing him, but it makes her feel
jealous and sad.
3. One should never be afraid to love . Sabina is a free spirit who is afraid to
love, but running away will bring the man she loves to ruin.
4. A cheating husband is not a good husband . He is not the right man for
you; fidelity is the foundation of a healthy and happy relationship.
5. Don't chase after someone you can't have . Don't act like Franz.
6. If you love, confess your love . Sabina is afraid to declare her love, yet she
will discover that hers is an entirely unfounded fear.
7. Love is never a weak emotion . It may make you feel lighter and make your
heart soar, but love is a complex, multi-faceted emotion, and it reveals its
weight sooner or later.
8. Art and love are two related passions . Everyone has fallen in love with the
subject of a painting or a statue. Art was born precisely to overcome the
boundaries of time and defeat death. Is that not love for life itself?
9. It's not always the first man you meet that you fall in love with . Franz
and Sabina prove this very well.
10. Hypocrisies are part of life . The characters in the book must learn this
the hard way, and once they understand it, they can grow up and be free to
love.
11. Every woman is unique . To love a woman means to love her
particularities as her very own. This is the value that distinguishes each of
them.
12. Love is not a light subject to talk about . It is an indispensable topic for
humanity, and it is essential to give it the right weight.
13. There is no going back in time. What has been done is done . You
have to make peace with the past to move forward and live happily.
14. We often talk about love metaphorically , but talking about it
randomly actually devalues it and will cause you to make mistakes.
“WHITE NIGHTS”
“I am a dreamer. I know so little of real life that I just can't help re-living such
moments as these in my dreams, for such moments are something I have very
rarely experienced. I am going to dream about you the whole night, the whole
week, the whole year. I feel I know you so well that I couldn't have known you
better if we'd been friends for twenty years. You won't fail me, will you? Only
two minutes, and you've made me happy forever. Yes, happy. Who knows,
perhaps you've reconciled me with myself, resolved all my doubts.
When I woke up it seemed to me that some snatch of a tune I had known for a
long time, I had heard somewhere before but had forgotten, a melody of great
sweetness, was coming back to me now. It seemed to me that it had been trying
to emerge from my soul all my life, and only now-
If and when you fall in love, may you be happy with her. I don't need to wish her
anything, for she'll be happy with you. May your sky always be clear, may your
dear smile always be bright and happy, and may you be for ever blessed for that
moment of bliss and happiness which you gave to another lonely and grateful
heart. Isn't such a moment sufficient for the whole of one's life?”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, White Nights -
A classic of literature that is more currently relevant than this one is tough
to find. Its topicality lies in its ability to represent the desire to be
overwhelmed that each of us, in some way, pursues.
Man needs to feel involved in life and emotions because the stress of today's
hectic society makes us feel alienated from ourselves . The flow of life passes
us by without impressing us. Few people are capable of being open to new
things and new people. They struggle to be overwhelmed by feelings. Life seems
to be reserved for dreamers.
Dostoevsky is the dreamer of the short novel The White Nights . He is searching
for inspiration to live intensely. What he perhaps does not expect, however, is to
be disappointed.
The night for Dostoevsky is not a matter of darkness, which is a mere fact of
time; the night is an experience to be experienced. It is personified and becomes
the protagonist of the novel. Saint Petersburg by night is a magical city, made for
new experiences and diving into emotions.
Dostoevsky's dreamer is the one who wants to open up to the world and
genuinely give himself to others but continuously runs the risk of being
disappointed by his high expectations. Perhaps due to immaturity, or perhaps
because the world is not yet ready, the fact is that he still has much to learn about
life and love.
FASCINATING FACTS
The work's name is taken from a specific time of year when the sun in St.
Petersburg sets after ten o'clock in the evening .
White Nights was published in 1848 in a magazine of literary short stories
called Annalii Patrii .
It is remarkable that such an intense tale was written during the author's
youth.
A crater on the planet Mercury is named after Dostoevsky .
ABOUT THE STORY

A young man, a symbol of all the dreamy and artistic souls of the world, strolls
through the day-lit streets of beautiful St. Petersburg, proud of his uniqueness. A
bit melancholic and lonely, he wanders lost in a dreamy cloak. In this state of
mind, he meets the young Nasten'ka with whom, while walking and chatting, he
falls madly in love.
The writer will never give his protagonist a name, preferring to call him "The
Dreamer." In this short novel, he wants us to see the intensity of the love of
which a writer, a literary man, is capable, highlighting the impossibility of living
a normal life. The boy is always lost inside his mind, does not have many
material things, and is destined to loneliness.

1. One true and great love alone can suffice for a lifetime . It is the Dreamer
who says, "A whole moment of bliss! Is it little, even if it remains the only
one in all a man's life?"
2. Free yourself from the chains of an oppressive life . Nasten'ka is
continually tied with a pin to her grandmother's dress. This is no way to live.
3. If you're in love with someone else, even a good man courting you
shouldn't sway you .
4. Being sensitive and dreamy is really nice and necessary , but you also
have to keep your feet on the ground. The Dreamer falls madly in love with
an idea, an image, and will suffer for it.
5. It is possible that both men who are courting you are worthy of love and
trust . It's not always a competition, and you don’t always have to find fault
with someone in order to reject them; sometimes, you need to understand
which way your heart is going.
6. Still, having the ability to dream is typical of sensitive souls and artists .
Don't let anything or anyone take this extraordinary power away from you.
7. Walking the streets of a beautiful city is the best way to make life-
changing encounters . This is the only way the Dreamer experiences his
fleeting love affair.
8. Wait for his return . The main character's boyfriend was away for a long
time—not because he wanted to leave her but because he was committed to
building a worthy future for her. If you have pressing duties in a relationship,
it is good to wait for the one you love.
9. Love is a feeling that sometimes make people feel as if they are in a
dream . Both protagonists experience feelings of love as if in a dreamy
stupor.
10. Love, when it comes, is better and more powerful than you could
have ever imagined .
11. St. Petersburg, especially at certain times of the year, is so romantic that
it is difficult not to get involved in its atmosphere.
12. Don't feel uncomfortable because of your kindness . Being shy is not a
fault but an asset. Nowadays, it's important to be quick-witted, but the book's
protagonist is liked precisely because he's awkward and shy; if you find the
right person, you'll be liked for your own qualities, whatever they are!
13. Conversation is a powerful way to fall in love sincerely . When talking
and conversing, one's own dreams and ideals come out. When people are
sincere, they bare themselves, which is why a spark born in this way flares up
stronger than any sexual drive.
14. If you remain alone because you have loved but it was useless, do not
despair . According to the poet Alfred Tennyson, it is better to have loved
and lost than never to have loved at all. Also, you may have the chance to
love again.
15. Sometimes you have to listen to the voice of pragmatism . It is
Matrenka, the main character's maid, who has the last word in the novel,
declaring that it is time for the young man to get married and that he should
"invite people." Every now and then, it's not bad to hear the words of those
who live with their feet firmly planted on the ground.
“But how could you live and have no story to tell?”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, White Nights -
VOLUME
3
LOVE &
MARRIAGE
9 TIMELESS LESSONS FROM
“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM”
“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”
- William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream -
A Midsummer Night's Dream seems almost like a fairy tale. In this curious
story, the classical world and the world populated by fairies and goblins
merge to create a funny yet absurd comedy of misunderstandings. It is a
must-read for Shakespeare lovers.
The story focuses on love and its contrast between the supernatural and the
mortal through three interconnected stories that take place during the celebration
of an important wedding. One story tells of four young people and their love
skirmishes. The second story is about Oberon, King of the elves, and Titania,
Queen of the fairies. Finally, the third story focuses on a company of craftsmen
who, for the wedding, stage the opera of Pyramus and Thisbe.
This play is highly entertaining, mainly thanks to Nick Bottom and Puck's
brilliant characters, who take the reader on an adventure through a colorful and
lively world that is full of twists and magic that only a mind like Shakespeare's
could conceive.
ABOUT THE STORY

In Athens, during the preparations for the wedding between Theseus and
Hippolyta, Hermia's father and her two suitors show up to ask the Duke for his
judgment. The girl refuses to marry Demetrius because she is in love with
Lysander. Her father, however, prefers Demetrius, and Theseus tells her that she
must respect her father's wishes. The two young people decide to run away
together, and Hermia reveals her plans to her friend, Helen, who was previously
Demetrius' lover. Demetrio leaves in search of Hermia, followed, in turn, by
Elena herself.
In the meantime, in the wood where the protagonists fled, the elf King and fairy
Queen, Oberon and Titania, contend a child to make him a page. To have the
child, Oberon hires the elf Puck, who uses the juice of a flower to make the
Queen fall in love with the first being she sees and forget everything else so that
her husband can win the challenge. By mistake, the elf will also pour the juice
into Lysander's eyes, who will fall madly in love with Elena.
The Queen’s potion-induced vision sees Bottom, a craftsman whose head Puck
has transfigured into that of a donkey, and she falls in love. The elf then pours
the juice into the eyes of Demetrius, who falls in love with Elena. Oberon, at that
point, orders Puck to rearrange his jokes, and, after having made the young
people fall asleep, Puck puts the couples back together and undoes the magic on
Titania.
FASCINATING FACTS
Three of the moons of the planet Uranus are named after characters in the
play. They are Puck, Oberon, and Titania.
There is no precise dating for the play, but it is thought to be from 1595 or, at
the latest, 1596.
Some theories suggest that they play was written for an aristocratic wedding
or as a gift to the Queen for the feast of St. John. However, there is no clear
evidence in support of the latter.
It is thought that Shakespeare was also completing The Merchant of Venice
during the same period.
The time span of the work remains a debate today. Some argue that the
narration takes place in one night, while others argue that it takes place in
four.
There have been many theatrical and cinematographic adaptations of this
work. One of the most famous featured a Hollywood cast of beloved actors,
including Rupert Everett, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Christian Bale.

Despite being a play, the work is totally focused on love and the
misunderstandings that this feeling entails.
1. Don't try to stop love. The father of the beautiful Hermia tried, and it ended
with the four young people running away and experiencing a night of magic
and misunderstandings.
2. Everyone deserves to be loved. Poor Helen was in love, but she was not
given a chance to express it fully before the careless spell. It is pretty sad that
the girl is loved only thanks to a magic spell.
3. Love is a form of madness. Love is anything but rational, and A Midsummer
Night's Dream proves it through Puck's crazy pranks.
4. The rational choice is not always the right one. Hermia could have chosen
Demetrius, a solid man and well-liked by the girl's father, who would have
given her a wealthy marriage. Yet, she falls in love with Lysander and prefers
to run away with him rather than have material security.
5. Love is beautiful, but one's dignity is more important. Returning again to
Elena, it is essential to emphasize how fundamental self-love is. If someone
does not return your love, do not persist in desperately chasing him. Let him
go, and remember that there is someone out there for each of us.
6. No one can be forced to love someone else. The whole play is based on fake
love stories that are all caused by a spell. Unreal loves lead to nothing.
7. Love is difficult. As much as love seems like a beacon that lights up one's
life, it is not easy at all. In fact, most of the time, it leads to suffering. Of
course, this should not be a deterrent to falling in love, but it should provide a
small glimmer regarding the situation's reality.
8. Jealousy does not lead to anything good. In love, jealousy sometimes occurs,
but it ends up creating unnecessary tension and misunderstandings when it
gets out of hand.
9. Don't stifle your love. Feelings are a force that none of us can oppose. Learn
how to recognize them, express them, and manage them effectively.
Sometimes you will succeed; sometimes you won't.
“The course of true love never did run smooth.”

“And yet,to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together
nowadays.”
“AN IDEAL HUSBAND”
“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”

- Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband -
I t is a world of labels and idealisms that Wilde invented. Although it was

written as a play, it is light and smooth in such a way that it can be read as if
it were a novel. The biting jokes will make you love you love the
protagonists and smile at the polite and courteous ways they exchange thinly
veiled insults.
It all starts with the ideal of the perfect married life of Sir Robert and Lady
Gertrude, both impeccable and refined, who exchange comic jokes, attend
parties and receptions, and show off their social affiliation and prowess at work.
The subject of political corruption has never been as attractive as Oscar Wilde’s
exploration of it. The author wanted to show that women tend to embroider an
image of perfection around their mates, the picture of an ideal husband, and the
man often struggles to attain or maintain this image. Although we would
disagree with this concept today, Oscar Wilde nevertheless dealt with his theme
through a fresh, sparkling comedy with funny and interesting dialogue that never
gets boring. Indeed, this is the version of Oscar Wilde that has been handed
down to us from his books.
ABOUT THE STORY

Sir Robert Chiltern is an upstanding politician, an example of perfection, and the
"ideal husband" of Lady Gertrude Chiltern. Unfortunately, to make his career, he
had to sell a state secret to an Austrian nobleman. Sir Robert never revealed the
secret of his success to his wife, and they have happily lived a quiet life. At a
reception, he meets Mrs. Cheveley, an old friend of his wife's, who is aware of
Sir Robert's secret and threatens to reveal it unless he agrees to approve a
speculative project of hers. Of course, doing so would start a scandal resulting in
the ruin of his image as a politician and his happy marriage.
Lady Gertrude, who knows everything and is desperate, asks an old family
friend, Lord Goring, for help. He strives to help the distraught couple in every
way he can, eventually blackmailing Mrs. Cheveley to make sure that she leaves
the Chilterns alone. Fortunately, the story is resolved positively with the re-
appeasement of the couple and the defeat of Mrs. Cheveley, as well as the happy
engagement of Lord Goring and Miss Mabel Chiltern, Robert's sister.
FASCINATING FACTS
The whole story takes place in the space of 24 hours.
Several film adaptations have been made of the play. The most famous was in
1999 with the actors Rupert Everett, Julianne Moore, Minnie Driver, and
Cate Blanchett.
Upon its theatrical release, the play was immediately a huge success with
critics and audiences alike.
During the production, Wilde was arrested for indecency—i.e., his
homosexuality—and all of the actors testified against him at the trial. As a
consequence of the scandal, the author's name was removed from the play.
An Ideal Husband is the third and last of Oscar Wilde's so-called salon
comedies.

1. In love, do not lie . Lies have short legs, you might say, especially in love.
Sir Robert Chiltern lied to his wife, Gertrude, for fear of disappointing her,
but his lie triggered a series of misunderstandings. Try always to be honest
with those you love.
2. Perfection in love, as in life, does not exist. Gertrude's ideal husband, in the
end, turned out not to be so perfect. No one is without flaws. That's just the
way people are—full of virtues and marked by shortcomings—and our
ability to love anyway is what is most important.
3. In love, forgiveness should not be underestimated . In life, we make
mistakes, big and small, and sometimes it's important to forgive because it's
the only way to move on.
4. A lively intelligence is sexier than a pretty face . Although Mabel Chiltern
is a beautiful woman, it's her intelligence that impresses Lord Goring. Never
underestimate the power of your intelligence.
5. Love is a precious commodity . Lord Goring proved to be a sincere friend to
Mr. and Mrs. Chiltern, helping them save both their reputation and their
marriage. When you find someone who loves you and is willing to put
himself on the line for you, don't let him slip away.
6. In love and in life, nothing good comes from a bad deed. Mrs. Cheveley is
opportunistic and manipulative, but her attitude will never get her where she
aims.
7. Free yourself from people who want to manipulate you both in love and
in life. For them, it's not you as such that's important, but what you could do
for them to help them meet their ends. Manipulation is a subtle and cruel
evil.
8. You can't force anyone to love you. Mrs. Cheveley proposes that Lord
Goring marry her in exchange for Sir Robert's incriminating letter. However,
he vigorously refuses, accusing her of making love a vulgar transaction. Love
cannot be and never will be so trivial.
9. True love withstands the shocks of life and events . Despite being
embroiled in misunderstandings and problems, Robert and Gertrude Chiltern
do not stop loving each other.
10. Never allow anyone to tell you that your life has less value than that
of a man. These are retrograde concepts that were never valid. Women and
men are equal.
11. In married life, all topics should be addressed, even the thorniest
ones . Each couple can draw its own conclusions regarding the truth, but
sincerity comes first.
“It takes great deal of courage to see the world in all its tainted glory, and
still to love it . And even more courage to see it in the one you love”
“Questions are never indiscreet. Answers sometimes are.”

“AS YOU LIKE IT”
“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”
- William Shakespeare, As You Like It -
R osalind and Orlando should be counted among the great couples of

literature. Unfortunately, they are often left behind to make room for
tortured romances, monumental tragedies, tougher characters, and a
thousand other problems. For once, let go, and enjoy a fun, free-flowing story
that is full of energy and zest for life.
Although the story starts out more like a family tragedy, the story spills over
almost immediately into an idyllic and delightful forest. Suddenly, everyone is
liberated and begins to sing, rejoice, and live. Although relegated to the forest of
Arden, deprived of their rightful realm, the characters who live there give
themselves over to free entertainment, delight, and laughter.
Orlando is aware that Ganymede is actually Rosalind, which makes the sexual
tension between the two very apparent. They are an alternative couple, perhaps,
but no less interesting for that. Through this story, you can refresh your spirit
with an enjoyable and exciting tale that includes lots of twists and turns and,
every once and a while, some misunderstandings. Some might consider it a
frivolous story, but that is not true. The tradition of humans meddling in gods’
affairs and playing in enchanted forests has deep and ancient roots in the history
of Western literature. The forest is an extreme dream of love that turns into
reality and that continuously flourishes. Love, the real kind, makes people laugh,
joke, enjoy life, and have fun. Those acts are part of its immense power.
ABOUT THE STORY

The beautiful Rosalind, banished from Frederic's court, disguises herself as a
man named Ganymede and runs away with the duke's daughter and her best
friend, Celia, and the jester, Touchstone. The three, in disguise, take refuge in
the Forest of Arden.
Shortly thereafter, they meet Orlando, who is in love with Rosalind but does not
recognize her because of her disguise. In the meantime, other characters will
intertwine in the play, including, for example, the shepherdess Phoebe, who is in
love with Ganymede, Silvius, who is in love with Phoebe, Audrey, the object of
Touchstone's desire, and Oliver, Orlando's brother who ends up falling in love
with Celia.
Ultimately, these stories come together to form an ambiguous comedy that
passes from family tragedy to the most romantic of stories, with many scene
changes and revelations. It presents a picture totally out of time and space that
takes place in an enchanted forest teeming with life.
FASCINATING FACTS
The opera, and the beautiful protagonist's name, is based on Rosalynde , a
novel by Thomas Lodge.
According to writer Harold Bloom, Rosalind is one of the most beautiful
female characters created by Shakespeare.
Many critics believe the play is not up to Shakespeare's standards.
The original manuscript, as well as that of all of Shakespeare's works, has
been lost. The text we all know today is the one that appeared in the 1623
First Folio.
A film adaptation of the play was directed by the famous Shakespearean actor
and director Kenneth Branagh. The film is set in an English colony in 19th
century Japan.

1. Love at first sight does exist sometimes. Beautiful Rosalind and young
Orlando can't help but love each other passionately after just meeting.
2. Love is sometimes complicated. Shakespeare knows how to render this
aspect of it very well. Emotions one feels are never linear, and love, which is
the strongest feeling, is no exception.
3. Pastoral atmospheres and poems are still a great way to make a love
story blossom . No matter what other people say, nature and poetry are
tremendously romantic.
4. Can you distinguish between love and infatuation? Not every kind of
feeling can be called love—certainly not that of the shepherdess Phebe
toward Ganymede. The young woman's infatuation with the protagonist is
intense, but it is not love at all. Getting clarity so that you don't confuse the
two is helpful.
5. Knowing how to make the right compromises in love is vital . Knowing
how to adapt is really important and can change the fate of your relationship.
Celia succeeds in this and thus crowns her dream of love.
6. Love is not always tragic . It's nice to be able to enjoy moments of healthy
frivolity. Who said that the most beautiful love stories are the tormented
ones?
7. In love, let yourself go. The immortal bard describes the difference between
the rigid court and the more natural country life, and it is no coincidence that
love blossoms in the latter. Never underestimate the importance of letting go
in love and in life.
8. In life, look for a love that is ready to do anything for you. Rosalind and
Celia are not sisters, but their friendship is so vital that Celia does not hesitate
for a moment to abandon all the comforts that life offers her to follow her
now exiled friend. In love, look for someone who is ready to do anything for
you.
9. Songs are a powerful medium to express your love. This play is different
because dances and songs combine to create an atmosphere of love and joy.
10. In love and in life, always try to remain yourself. Even if you are
faced with obstacles to overcome, don't lose your personal touch. Many
critics believe that Shakespeare wrote this play to please the audience. You
should never live just to please someone.
11. In life and in love, try to be a little like Rosalind . The main character
goes from being a court girl who grew up with kingdom comforts to an
independent woman who takes the reins of her life, becoming the trigger of
her own events.
12. Sometimes, love can be unrequited. Sometimes, no matter how many
ways we try, our feeling is unrequited. When this happens, try to pull
yourself together and accept the situation.
“All the world's a stage.”

- William Shakespeare, As You Like It -
8 TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS FROM “DEUX”
T he Great War has just ended, and young people want to rediscover their
passion. Yet, it seems that the trauma of violence and the dark period is
still alive in them, so much so that they can no longer engage in healthy
love relationships.
Although the title, Deux , makes one think of a love story involving a couple,
one soon discovers that the story is actually more intricate. The main characters
are Antoine Carmontel and Marianne Segré, who fall in love during an evening
with friends. He is not very interested in the relationship, while she seems
entirely enraptured by the young man.
Meanwhile, Antoine's brother is dating Solange, the friend who introduced the
two main characters. The girl gets pregnant, but the loss of her child will drive
her to madness. Marianne and Antoine marry and have three children, but their
relationship is cold, so Marianne decides to date Solange's ex-boyfriend,
Dominique, while her husband ventures out with Evelyne, her sister-in-law.
Evelyne then commits suicide with barbiturates, and Marianne gets closer to her
husband, now destroyed by pain and unable to love.
In short, the story centers on the continuous and disillusioned search for
pleasure, which, more often than not, is resolved in devastation.
Irène Némirovsky wants to investigate couples' relationships deeply, finding the
precise moment when passion vanishes. Her question is this: what remains when
the fire goes out?
FASCINATING FACTS
Némirovsky published her novel Deux at the outbreak of war. At that time,
her family decided not to emigrate to Switzerland, as they were convinced
that France would defend the Jewish people. This terrible choice led to the
writer being deportated to Auschwitz, where she died from a typhus
epidemic.
The novel's title does not refer to the number of people involved in a couple
but to the duality and internal conflicts of human beings that, once resolved,
shape a new unity.
The duality of which the author speaks could mirror the period in which she
was living, with the roaring years behind her and the economic crisis leading
to the first signs of World War II. Duality thus reflects a complicated past
and an uncertain future.
1. Trauma leads to a lack of understanding in relationships . Irène
Némirovsky recounts a time when young people feel like survivors. The war
is over. They are still alive and must be free to love. They challenge the rules
and limitations imposed by a society afraid of change by ardently seeking
satisfaction for their desires.
2. One cannot hide one's demons through the unbridled pursuit of pleasure
. This is demonstrated by Marianne and Antoine, who don't give themselves
peace by seeking pleasure outside of their relationship. The same is true for
Solange, who runs away from Dominique convinced that she will redeem
herself and feel fulfilled. In reality, it is insecurity and one's own shadows
that darken the minds of those who seek unbridled pleasure.
3. Marital love might be the only choice that leads to happiness. Irène
Némirovsky's compassionate eye observes her characters’ one failure after
another, always leading them back to their starting point. It doesn't matter
how many lovers they have or what choices they make in love, they always
retrace their steps, realizing that the simplest life is between husband and
wife.
4. Happiness comes in twos . Under the covers, there is a delicious warmth,
and the warmth of that shared bed numbed the characters and made them feel
united as they had never been in the tumult of love. Adultery is only a
frivolity and cannot lead to pure love. Love cannot be sought in a relationship
based only on passion; it is found in a couple's affection. Thus, being
husband and wife creates a kind of bubble within which one is safe from
difficulties and where everything is more serene and routine.
5. On the other hand, it seems that a man and a woman cannot last long in
a couple . Marianne and Antoine are tired of family life, while his parents are
bored and detached.
6. Bourgeois morality is strongly criticized as repressive of passion. The
parents of the characters are all rich bourgeois, very attentive to money and
not at all to their children's needs. It is probably because of this lack of
affection that the characters never learned to love.
7. Money and love are connected . All of the paired characters seem very
concerned about money. Passion fades, and they stay together more out of
financial interest or not to go against bourgeois custom.
8. Love changes over time. Their years of shared life accomplished, almost
unbeknownst to them, an unrecognized goal: of two beings, they had made
one. They could clash, sometimes hate each other, but they were one, like
two rivers that mixed their course. Némirovsky does not believe in eternal
love. She thinks that the feeling grows and changes as people mature. The
couple thus becomes more mature and less passionate as the burning fire of
passion is lost.
“DREAM STORY”
“When you cannot love or hate anymore, then where is the charm of life?”
- Arthur Schnitzler -
W e are in the midst of German decadentism in mid-1920’s Vienna, a

city in continuous movement and transformation between innovation,
progress, and modernity, where the history of the twentieth century
arguably began.
Arthur Schnitzler’s Traumnovelle is more of a long story than a novel. In it, he
manages to probe the human psyche so much that he is remembered as the Freud
of literature. The protagonists are a bourgeois couple in total crisis. Their
marriage is challenged by an existential crisis that has enlivened dormant
instincts and jealousies in them.
The beauty of the novel lies in the incomprehensible mixture of reality and
dream that are constantly being confused. The oneiric dimension becomes the
place where repressed desires find free rein, the place where man and woman are
finally free from their daily inhibitions.
Some recurring symbols, such as the masked ball and dreams, are an open
criticism of society and alienation, which imprison the human in the chains of
morality. Only in the dream world can one find relief and freedom. Moreover,
the dream world can reveal the deepest self, dissolve the chains of imprisonment,
and provide the most intense pleasure.
The moments of the dream take on greater importance than those of the waking
and the masked life in which the protagonists are immersed. Even their
relationship is nothing but a mask. Marriage represents the apotheosis of
bourgeois contradictions, as it is a facade that demonstrates a spasmodic search
for perfection. Instinct, the unconscious, and drives do not fit this pattern, and
they rebel by revealing themselves in the dream. But what is the line between
dream and reality?
FASCINATING FACTS
This book was the basis for Stanley Kubrik's last and iconic film, Eyes Wide
Shut , starring Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, who were still married at the
time.
Schnitzler attended the University of Vienna during the same years that Freud
was there.
His dissertation, with Professor Jean-Martin Charcot, was on hypnosis. After
graduation and the death of his father, he left medicine to dedicate himself to
literature. Freud, who had greatly admired his work, quoted him many times.
He joined the Viennese literary avant-garde movement called Jung Wien,
meaning “young Vienna.”
Schnitzler should be credited with a better understanding of the female
psyche than Freud, as Albertine demonstrates in Dream Story .
ABOUT THE STORY

The story of the couple takes place over just two days. It is a carnival, and the
couple has been enjoying themselves after a long time at a masquerade ball.
They indulge in dancing and pleasure with strangers. These awakened urges are
the lynchpin of jealousies and strong disagreements that arise in the couple.
Dr. Fridolin is a cold, controlled, and determined man, according to the
expectations of his profession, but these features of his personality hide a
somewhat fragile and insecure side. He is obsessed with the hypothesis that his
wife, Albertine, might cheat on him or even think about it. The man first
wanders Vienna's streets and then meets an old musician friend who invites him
to a private masquerade. He will have to conceal his identity completely and will
be allowed to enter by uttering a password. At the party, Fridolin encounters a
beautiful, completely naked young woman who begs him to leave the villa for
her safety. She will sacrifice herself in his place when he is discovered. Upon
returning home, Albertine confesses to him that she has dreamed of
consummating a relationship with a young man she met the previous summer. In
a rage, Fridolin attempts to return to the villa from the previous night, but he is
told to leave. He returns home thinking how stupid he was to be jealous of a
dream, but she is of a different mind.

1. In marriage, you must be honest. It is useless to be together if you lie to
each other.
2. Everyday life kills passion. It is crucial to devote time to your life as a
couple, including your passions and desires.
3. Listen to your dreams. It's not possible to remember all of your dreams in
detail. Sometimes you wake up with a strange feeling and don't remember
much. Follow that feeling.
4. Following your instincts frees you from frustration . Women and men
have sexual desires that should be indulged. There is nothing wrong with
that. The important thing is to find complicity and do it together.
5. Distinguish between jealousy and possession. One is healthy and normal
when you love. The other is synonymous with something being wrong.
6. What happens in the dream is not literally real. Therefore, it is useless to
get caught up in strange anxieties or distress.
7. Do not underestimate the sexual satisfaction of both partners. In a
couple, it is important to love each other and know how to satisfy your
partner's desires.
8. Fidelity and trust are the basis of a happy marriage.
9. Not all that glitters is gold. So many couples look beautiful and happy from
the outside, but often it's just a facade. Try to make sure that your
relationship is not like that.
10. Don't live a life full of unfulfilled desires. Once in a while, if you're
single, let go and live intensely.
11. Don't psychoanalyze your love too much . Let yourself go and live it.
12. Women have sexual appetites and fantasies too.
13. Don't live a disguised life. Even in a couple, it's right to be yourself.
14. If you don't love him, you should leave him , even if he is Tom Cruise.
15. Couple intimacy is not just being naked. It is a deeper and more
spiritual bond.
16. You have the right to decide what is best for you and your love life.
17. Talk to your partner before it's too late. It is the lack of
communication that destroys Fridolin and Albertine's marriage.
22 TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS FROM “EMMA”
“If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.”

- Jane Austen, Emma -
T his is Jane Austen’s fourth manuscript. Published in 1815, it is the only

one of her novels that bears the protagonist's name in the title. Emma is
different from Jane Austen's other heroines. She is beautiful, rich,
intelligent, and particularly hateful.
Indeed, Austen herself declared that this heroine would not please everyone, and
she was always very good at criticizing her protagonists, particularly in an ironic
way. To be sure, Emma is very sure of herself and of her aristocratic position,
which makes her very socially and economically privileged. Her days are
punctuated by love affairs and vanity, and she rarely encounters opinions
different from her own.
Jane Austen's books represent a point of reference for many women. They are
stories that, at first glance, may seem dated and dedicated only to women, yet
they are true classics because they are universal stories that are suitable for men
and women. From her novels, you can draw lessons of life and love that are
always valid. This makes Emma and all of Jane Austen's novels timeless classics
that embody life ideals that remain valid today.
Jane Austen's heroines are never frivolous. They are intelligent, headstrong
women, many of whom can deal with complicated life situations and have to
deal with a hostile environment and fight against prejudice. They are almost
always bright girls who can handle themselves. They are often supported by
respectable, but not always rich, families. They are stubborn to the point of
exhaustion. They are girls who learn a lot and who grow stronger, and
sometimes, gentler through love.
Jane Austen is often criticized for only writing stories that lead to marriage. It is
true that love is her chosen pretext to detail society’s problems. Most often, she
critiques society’s expectations, rules, and contradictions regarding men and
women. Love is profound for Jane Austen, and the marriage and happiness of
her heroines represents a larger resolution and acceptance.
FASCINATING FACTS
Emma is the only Jane Austen character who has no financial problems and
who thinks nothing of marriage. This is the most significant difference
between Emma and all of Austen's other novels.
Published on December 11, 1815, Emma is over 200 years old.
Emma is the only Austen novel with the protagonist's name as its title,
inspired by Richardson's epistolary novel Pamela .
Emma was a revolutionary novel in its form and narrative technique. Just as
Emma lives through illusions, the reader also perceives the world through the
protagonist's deformed lens. This makes it an experimental novel.
The story is dedicated to the Prince Regent, even if unwillingly. Austen had
been given permission by the Prince to visit the Carlton House Library and
was invited to dedicate her work in publication to the Prince. Austen wanted
to decline the invitation but realized it was a formal obligation she could not
escape.
ABOUT THE STORY

Reading a Jane Austen novel is always an exciting adventure because there is so
much joy and zest for life in her stories. Emma is an adventurous novel in both
its feelings and events. Emma Woodhouse belongs to one of Highbury's most
distinguished families. Orphaned by her mother and with her sister Isabella
living far away with her husband, Emma lives with her father, whose
hypochondria she indulges. Emma learns early on to be a rational and persuasive
girl, who is confident in herself. She spends her time planning other people's
weddings, deeming her own useless. The only one who dares to criticize Emma's
decisions is Mr. Knightley, her brother-in-law. The main theme throughout the
novel is misunderstandings in love. Emma will have to question herself and her
certainties to understand that love cannot be calculated.

1. Presumption in love leads to nothing good.
2. Before you marry and fall in love, you must love yourself.
3. The person you love feels the same insecurities and fears as you.
4. Empathy is the key to understanding others in love.
5. If you have doubts about someone, it's best to ask yourself why first.
6. Small spontaneous gestures in love count more than anything else.
If you love, give your partner proper attention.
7. Holding hands, hugs, and caresses are small gestures of affection that are
important for a couple.
8. Someone who loves you appreciates and accepts you for who you are and
does not try to change you.
9. It's okay to listen to the advice of those who love you.
10. Follow your heart. When it comes to love, a bit of advice is welcome, but
it's your heart that guides you.
11. Be ready to change your mind. Only fools never do.
12. Couple’s complicity occurs in the looks and understanding between
partners.
13. If you feel you can be completely yourself with that person, then he is the
right person.
14. It is not always easy to know how important you are to someone. Love is
patient.
15. No one is perfect. If you think you are, you will never change or grow
and fall in love.
16. Love goes beyond physical appearance and financial well-being. Even
the prettiest and richest girl can have a hard time finding love.
17. Fall in love with that person who positively twists the way you see the
world.
18. Playing couples with girlfriends does not make you Cupid.
19. Your social status doesn't depend on your husband or marriage. Better in
love and poor than alone and sad and rich.
20. A girl with a cynical and challenging character always hides a person
with a heart of gold who is ready to fall in love.
21. Marriage cannot be a woman’s ultimate goal. To make a life complete
requires many amazing adventures!
“I may have lost my heart, but not my self-control. ”

“One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.”
“FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD”
“Love is a possible strength in an actual weakness.”

- Thomas Hardy, Far From the Madding Crowd -
E nclosed in a bucolic setting, Far From the Madding Crowd is a sweeping

love story told in classic style. The impeccable writing by Thomas Hardy
is beyond reproach. His prose is poetic, enjoyable to read, and forms a
novel that everyone should read.
Bathsheba is the female protagonist, an orphan girl who moves to her uncle’s
country estate. He is dying and leaves her everything in inheritance. This is a
controversial character, of which Hardy emphasizes the weakness and
mutability.
Even if the author repeatedly tries to ridicule Bathsheba as a woman, it is also
true that her fickleness and her mistakes contribute to giving her a human depth
that resonate with the reader. Hardy's novel comes many years after heroines
such as those in Pride and Prejudice or those of the Bronte sisters, from which
Bathsheba takes her strong character and stubbornness.
On the other hand, Gabriel Oak, the positive protagonist of the story, is granitic
and immovable in his convictions and in his right choices. At times, he even
seems presumptuous from the height of his goodness and consistency, and
although he remains a good example of a blameless man, he fails to become an
engaging character.
The title invokes a rural atmosphere, but the setting that is not devoid of events.
Although the story takes place in the countryside, the characters are anything but
peaceful. The titles irony suggests that wherever you are in the world, you
cannot escape the madness of life. Another meaning can be traced back to
Gabriel Oak's character, as he is the only one who really keeps away from the
daily madness and upheavals, although not by his own will.
Love is represented in all its forms, from infatuation to pure love, passing
through many other shades of behavior. Far From the Madding Crowd perhaps
also refers to what happens in the depths of the human soul, far from the din of
the world; it is all that happens when everything becomes silent and one begins
to love.
FASCINATING FACTS
The novel was serialized in Cornhill Magazine , edited by Virginia Woolf's
father, Leslie Stephen.
The author continued to rewrite the novel throughout his life.
Thomas Hardy's writing was appreciated as highly cinematic, and in this
technique, he preceded and influenced many future writers.
The book's title is a quote from a Thomas Gray poem.
ABOUT THE STORY

Gabriel Oak has a modest but fulfilling life. Everything seems to be going well,
at least until the beautiful Bathsheba Everdene enters his life. The young girl
bewitches every man with her charm, but her soul is not open to compassion.
From a situation of poverty, the young girl finds herself becoming wealthy, and
she takes advantage of her new condition to increase her influence even more. In
contrast, Oak suffers the opposite fate and, losing everything, finds himself
having to work for her. Troy's arrival will set in motion the gears that will shake
up the plot by introducing all of the contradictions inherent in life and feelings.

1. In love, perseverance is rewarded. Read the book for confirmation.
2. Be careful when rejecting a generous man because you may then fall into
the arms of someone who does not deserve you. Bathsheba rejects Oak and
then falls prey to an unscrupulous adventurer. This is not the fate you want
for yourself.
3. You believed him once. Don’t do it twice. Troy is a liar who has no
scruples and knows how to take advantage of women. If you've ever had a
man like this and fallen for it, make sure it doesn't happen again.
4. When a man takes advantage of you, it's not true love . Troy is an
exploiter who has no qualms about taking advantage of women. Never allow
this to happen to you.
5. Don't stretch too far, and don't promise your virtues and your heart if
you know you're not willing to give them. Boldwood eventually succumbs
to madness over Bathsheba's continued refusals.
6. Don't use your beauty as a weapon . It is a virtue to be cherished; it should
not be exploited for cruel purposes.
7. In love, as in life, everything can change in an instant . Pay attention to
your behaviors and don't rest too much on the comfort you have; in romance,
luck fluctuates a lot, and there are several financial reversals.
8. A mistake in love can cause severe damage. All the protagonists of the
novel are aware of this. And in one world or another, they will all make
mistakes and have to pay for their mistakes.
9. To come to terms only at the last moment is not the preferred solution in
love.
10. In love, there should be no class barriers . Only when Bathsheba
realizes this does she understand that Gabriel Oak has always been the right
man and that it doesn't matter that he works for her.
11. Valentine's Day cards can be a significant statement, but be careful
who you send them to, and don't play with other's hearts. Boldwood will
fall in love with the beautiful Bathsheba after she, as a joke, sends him a
Valentine's Day card.
12. Calm and quiet men are the ones who often have the most to give .
Oak can love steadily and be a staple in a woman's life.
13. Don't prefer a pretty face without substance to true love . Troy is a
handsome guy who knows how to act and wears a nice uniform, but he's
certainly not the kind of man you want to be around for the rest of your life.
“They spoke very little of their mutual feeling; pretty phrases and warm
expressions being probably unnecessary between such tried friends.”
“I shall do one thing in this life - one thing certain - that is, love you, and
long for you, and keep wanting you till I die.”
“GONE WITH THE WIND”
“After all, tomorrow is another day!”

- Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind -
A spoiled, wayward, and often unhappy young heiress must face the grim
reality of a life that is not at all comfortable, although she is an heiress to
a plantation in Georgia. Scarlett O'Hara is an eccentric protagonist, not
precisely a heroine, but a peculiar woman nonetheless, who will have to
overcome the most challenging test of all: maturing.
The War of Secession seems to overwhelm her whole existence. Indeed, women
of the time were not taught how to be strong and independent. Instead, they
learned to be flirtatious, to entertain, and to please men. This is what society
expected of Scarlett O'Hara, but her fate was different. Fortunately, through her
indignation and with the help of her black nanny, she manages to survive the era
that inevitably changes to her detriment.
Scarlett is an atypical heroine. She is selfish, vain, and self-centered. However,
she enters the reader's heart like a thorn that sticks and eventually penetrates the
soul. She is so inconstant and fickle that she will end up increasingly despising
those who love her the most, but she, nevertheless, possesses an extreme
strength of mind and a strong personality. A woman like Scarlett never gives up
despite everything she experiences, and her warrior spirit makes her a person to
admire, despite her character. Even with her flaws, Scarlett remains a memorable
and fascinating woman to take inspiration from. In the darkest days, she reminds
readers that tomorrow is another day.
ABOUT THE STORY

Scarlett O'Hara lives on a plantation in Georgia at the beginning of the War of
Secession; life promises to be simple and easy, but this dream is shattered at the
first roar of the cannons. The War and the changing times destroy Scarlett's
dreams and the lifestyle of the southern United States. Living through the War,
Scarlett’s complexity as a character makes her multifaceted. While she is
admired for the ardor with which she defends her home, she is, simultaneously,
hated for her unpreparedness to face the difficulties that life imposes on her.
Ashley, Rhett, and all the characters in Gone with the Wind contribute to
recreating an atmosphere that is simultaneously both realistic and romantic. The
writer combines poetically lyrical and romantic nuances with the reality and the
drama of war.
FASCINATING FACTS
The character of Scarlett is based on multiple people, including Margaret
Mitchell herself.
Initially, the title was supposed to be Tomorrow is Another Day , a quote from
the last line of the novel, but, ultimately, she chose Gone with the Wind to
reference the part of the story when Scarlett wonders if her house is still
standing or if it has been blown away by the wind.
The book was a national success upon release and is still one of America's
favorite books after the Bible.
The novel spawned a very famous film adaptation starring Vivien Leigh that
is still regarded as one of the greatest Hollywood films ever made.

1. Love is not a whim. Scarlett and Ashley's love, which began sincerely and
dispassionately, turned out to be, in the end, a mere whim of the protagonist.
Don't let this happen to you. No love story should be experienced as a
challenge or a whim.
2. In love and in life, behavior is fundamental . Scarlett loses a man who
really loved her. If you find yourself in a situation where you are not
respected, you have to end it all.
3. Learn to appreciate unconditional affection. Melania has loved Scarlett
unconditionally, while Scarlett, in contrast, has been corroded by jealousy
and has done nothing but reject those who have been close to her.
4. Learn to say "Frankly, I don't care." Small gestures and chivalry are
important. It's essential to be well-mannered, love, and please your partner,
but you need to learn to keep your wits about yourself and think about
yourself every now and then.
5. Love back those who are part of your life and love you . Scarlett probably
loves Tara (the family estate) more than her sisters. Material possessions
should always come after people.
6. Loving shouldn't always be painful. Rhett Butler truly loved Scarlett with
all his heart, but the girl drained his soul with her constant search for another
man. This is not a healthy love relationship. Loving and respect is important.
You shouldn’t keep suffering for nothing
7. In life and in love, you have to be tenacious. Scarlett’s determination is of
enormous merit. In life, you must never give up but always fight for your
well-being.
8. Learn to recognize and accept the love that is given to you . The
protagonist had true love at her fingertips, but she was unable to grasp it.
9. Dialogue in love is everything . In a relationship, it is important to come
together. Talking is the first foundation of a lasting love story.
10. Those who love you know you and will always do their best to
understand you. Rhett understands Scarlett completely, and for this reason,
he can't hate her even though he wants to escape their unhealthy relationship.
11. In love, you can regain trust. Scarlett’s prerogative is never to give up.
Follow her example in this, and if you are wrong, make sure to regain the
trust of those who loved you and who you have lost. "After all, tomorrow is
another day," and anything can happen.
12. Don't live in dreams, and don't idealize who you can't have. The
protagonist of the story idealizes a love that she cannot have. If you do so,
you will suffer like Scarlett does, and you will never find what you are
looking for.
12 TIMELESS LOVE LESSON FROM “IVANHOE”
“I will tear this folly from my heart, though every fibre bleed as I rend it away!”
- Walter Scott, Ivanhoe -
A true lover of literature cannot avoid exploring different worlds and

genres. The historical novel must not be missed, and we recommend
starting with the first historical novel of modern literature. In this novel,
Sir Walter Scott takes the reader on a journey through England in the 1100s. The
depth and beauty of this work has imbued it with deep literary importance.
The events are not historically accurate; Scott does not seek historical accuracy.
Indeed, he seeks verisimilitude instead. It is the first novel whose historical
reconstruction is as accurate as many modern historical novels. At the same
time, the author grants himself significant narrative license.
This novel is often considered to be a book to read to children or study in school,
yet the themes of Ivanhoe are much more current and multifaceted than such
considerations indicate. The ideological conflict between the Saxons and the
Normans reflects the contrast that has always existed between the people that
make up England. Ivanhoe is a positive character and a sympathetic person with
a strong personality who leaves behind the haughtiness of military knights.
In this novel, Walter Scott focuses mainly on the characters and the psychology
behind the characters, including the chivalrous concepts that influence their
behavior, while sometimes leaving out an accurate physical description. One of
his intentions in Ivanhoe is to amuse and excite the reader while criticizing the
social situation in which he lived.
It is a wonderful novel to read not only for the knights but also for the many
different psychological characteristics of the female characters who manage, in a
world made of weapons and testosterone, to remain intact and confident in
themselves and their principles.
Ivanhoe proves that a chivalrous and historical novel that deals with high and
significant themes does not have to neglect to talk about love, which, after all,
moves the sun and the stars.
FASCINATING FACTS
Ivanhoe is considered to be the first historical novel in modern literature.
The character of Robin Hood has a brief cameo in this novel.
In 1820, Walter Scott, despite keeping his novels formally anonymous, was
named a baronet for his literary skills.
Alessandro Manzoni declared that if he had not read Ivanhoe , he may not
have written The Betrothed .
ABOUT THE STORY

Wilfred d'Ivanhoe is a brave knight whose father has disowned him in order to
prevent him from marrying the beautiful Rowena, who is betrothed to another
man. He, therefore, decides to leave for the III Crusade in the Holy Land
together with King Richard the Lionheart. During the absence of the King, his
brother John, with the help of some Normans, usurps the throne. Back home,
Ivanhoe fights against the usurper and overcomes a thousand adversities and
many dangers to regain the honor he lost after being disowned.
This historical novel combines an action novel's epic chivalry and intrigue with a
realistic and reliable, if not perfect, reconstruction of events and customs.

1. It is impossible to keep two souls who sincerely love each other separate.
This chivalric novel is a prime example of that.
2. Even if your love is opposed, pursue your dream and do not give up.
Ivanhoe, disinherited and opposed by his father in every way, does not stop
loving Rowena even for a moment; this is true love.
3. Not every love story is meant to begin . Rebecca falls madly in love with
Ivanhoe, but, unfortunately for her, the knight's heart is already destined for
another.
4. Devious plans will certainly not help you win the person you love.
Maurice De Bracy wants to kidnap Lady Rowena and then pretend to have
freed her to make her fall in love with him. This not very sly plan will not
work.
5. Every woman has her own inclinations and has to stand firm on her own
principles. In fact, in order to resist Bois-Guilbert's advances, Rebecca
impetuously threatens to throw herself off the tower, while Rowena, a
noblewoman, bursts into tears.
6. Love is the most valuable feeling in the world . Although this is a novel
about brave knights, it is all about the feeling of love and its importance
through the ages.
7. Good deeds are rewarded by karma. Ivanhoe will succeed in his endeavors
and grow strong from his previous moral victories.
8. No one should be able to stop you from being with those you love.
Ivanhoe's father disowns him to keep him from marrying Rowena, but no one
should give that right to themselves; we should be free to choose who we
love.
9. Even a strong and brave man can suffer the pains of love. Many knights
in this novel suffer for love and do not lose their dignity and masculinity.
10. Love wounds more than the sword. His love for Rebecca will cut Bois-
Guilbert down.
11. If you have been disappointed in love, becoming a nun is not the best
choice for everyone. The beautiful Rebecca chooses a rather hard path, but
you don't have to do that.
12. Cowardice and deception are not solid foundations on which to build
something. Having usurped the throne and ruled with malice, Prince John
will be left with nothing once Richard the Lionhearted returns to his
homeland.
“We are like the herb which flourisheth most when trampled upon”
“I have sought but a kindred spirit to share it, and I have found such in
thee.”
“JANE EYRE”
“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an

independent will.” - Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre -
T hat Jane Eyre is a love story is by now a fact. It is a pillar of romantic

literature from 1800, with a protagonist that many girls have identified
with ever since. She is a strong and courageous girl despite the adversities
of life, and she is able to love deeply.
And what is a romantic heroine without her male counterpart? Mr. Rochester is
difficult to understand. He is disillusioned and cynical, almost a lost cause. Still,
Charlotte Brontë was able to breathe new life into these two beautiful characters.
Mr. Rochester remains a fascinating man despite his grumpy nature. Gradually,
the reader learns, as does Jane, how much life has broken him and how much
stronger she is.
Mr. Rochester is a mysterious man. He has been destroyed and disillusioned by
love, first because of his daughter Adele's mother and, shortly after, because of
his marriage to Bertha Mason. He does not know how to love until he finds
redemption in Jane Eyre, a young woman so similar to him that she accepts him
for who he really is.
Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester are probably one of the most beautiful and
romantic couples in all of literature. Although he represents an interesting man
to love, Jane is the example of a woman that all young people should come to
understand and respect. She encapsulates strength, humility, greatness, and
inspiration, making her a true heroine of sound principles and integrity.
FASCINATING FACTS
The novel Jane Eyre was published in 1847 under the pseudonym of one of
the Bell brothers, in this case, Currer. In their first novel, all the sisters chose
to publish under the false name of one of the Bells. This is because women
were heavily discriminated against by critics and the public.
Many events in Jane Eyre are autobiographical. For example, the protagonist
lived in Lowood for a period, as did Charlotte Brontë. Brontë also attended,
together with her sisters, a school for girls. The sisters' terrible experience
was comparable to Jane's in the book.
Like the protagonist in the novel, Charlotte was also hired as a governess for
a wealthy family. Unlike Jane, the author hated every moment of that job.
In 1983, Charlotte visited Norton Conyers' mansion, and there she learned the
story of Mary, a woman considered insane and locked in a room of the
building. This story strongly inspired the writer in the creation of the
character of Bertha Mason.
Italian best-selling author Bianca Pitzorno has written a book entitled The
French Nanny that tells the story of Jane Eyre from the point of view of
Sophie, Adele's nanny.
ABOUT THE STORY

Young Jane Eyre, after being orphaned, is adopted by her good maternal uncle.
After his death, his wife, albeit reluctantly, continues to take care of her. Bullied
by her aunt and her spoiled cousins, she responds with a solid and determined
character. At the age of 10, Jane is sent to Lowood School, a charity school for
young girls. Here, she forges a deep bond with Helen Burns, who dies shortly
after that of tuberculosis. Years pass, and Jane becomes a governess. She is hired
at Thornfield Hall to teach little Adele, the adopted daughter of the landlord, Mr.
Rochester.
During this period, Jane spends some happy moments, and, eventually, she and
Mr. Rochester fall in love. Jane's life, however, has always been tough. Since
childhood, when she lost her dear friend, she has understood how much life
gives and how much it takes away. For this reason, she remains humble even if
she is superior to others in intelligence and creativity. Passionate about poetry
and drawing, Jane can teach readers a lot thanks to her extraordinary strength
and dedication.

1. Never stop believing in love . What sticks out most about Charlotte Brontë's
iconic novel is that despite the almost total absence of love in Jane's
childhood, she still believes in it.
2. Love always catches up with you, one way or another. Jane trusts in love
even though she does not know it before her encounter with Mr. Rochester.
Still, though, she is not afraid of it. She accepts this feeling and embraces it,
just as she happily accepts the affection of Adele and the other characters she
meets during her life after Lowood.
3. Learn to love yourself first. Despite the deep feeling that binds her to Mr.
Rochester, Jane loves herself first, and when she learns of Bertha Mason's
existence, she goes away, leaving the man but, more importantly, saving her
wounded dignity. If there is one thing Jane teaches us, it is that it is
fundamental to love oneself before we love someone else.
4. Love does not mean submission. Love is not compatible with submission.
Although he is a good man, St. John Rivers tries to suppress the feelings and
passion of the protagonist to the point of controlling her excessively. Jane
feels that he wants to take away her freedom of thought, and this is precisely
why she rejects his marriage proposal.
5. Don't make compromises you disapprove of. Jane does not compromise in
love. She chooses not to be with a man who wants her to conform to his
ideas.
6. In love, there are no protagonists. There are always two of you, and space
for the needs of both is necessary.
7. In life, it is better not to be bigoted and too stubborn in one’s beliefs. It is
not right to make judgments based on an empty social conviction.
8. Happiness is the key to love. It is useless to be together if you are not
happy. Happiness is the highest expression that any man and woman yearns
to achieve, and love is its favorite means.
9. Always make your own decisions. Jane Eyre is a very decisive and
independent woman, who, while remaining humble, allows herself the
freedom to choose what is best for her.
10. Never lose your self-respect, and never doubt your worth.
11. Step away from bad circumstances that you have no control over. If
you cannot positively impact events, just walk away.
12. Be a reliable companion who genuinely cares for friends and looks out
for their best interests.
13. Be graceful in your behavior amongst all people everywhere.
14. Be willing to make sacrifices for the ones you love , mainly when they
are aged or ill and cannot take care of themselves.
15. Be a person of substance . Constantly work on improving yourself until
you have layers of talent, knowledge, and personality.
16. Beauty lies not in looks but in the shape of the heart.
17. We should all be a little Jane Eyre. Deep sensitivity, peculiar and
hidden beauty, character, grace, and intelligence, she really seems like
someone to take inspiration from.
“I would always rather be happy than dignified.”
- Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre -
“I have for the first time found what I can truly love–I have found you. You are
my sympathy–my better self–my good angel–I am bound to you with a strong
attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is
conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my centre and spring of life,
wrap my existence about you–and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you
and me in one.”
- Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre -
Every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own: in pain and sickness it

would still be dear.” - Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre -
“MIDDLEMARCH”
“It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of
view.”
- George Eliot, Middlemarch -
T he novel of this English writer was affected by the scientific progress of

the time, not in terms of the topics covered, but in terms of how the
author probes the characters and the scientific approach she uses to study
the movements of the citizens of the book carefully. A slow, meticulous,
punctual style of writing, which is expressed through an incredible and skillful
mastery, makes the novel highly elegant.
The beauty of “Middlemarch” lies in the highly realistic, truthful narrative in
which men make mistakes and are subject to envy and jealousy, pride and
misery. Eliot, like a scientist, places her microscope on a town core, preparing to
experience electoral reform as the shadow of progress that will hinder daily life
and revolutionize the small town looms over their heads. It's human to be afraid
to move forward, to fear the uncertainty of the future, the changes. And the
author's experiment is extraordinarily successful, finding the same feelings in the
life of the young Dorothea, from the universal to the particular.
The events in “Middlemarch” are anything but extraordinary or sensational.
There is no good or bad, there are no good or bad characters, the boundaries are
blurred, and everyone lives their own real but complex lives, possible to be
grasped only by the hands of a good and careful writer. She intended to enclose
in the novel the expression of the moment in which all life seems to be contained
at the maximum intensity. The most mundane things, when observed carefully,
acquire a deeper intimate beauty precisely because of the very fact of being
subdued.
FASCINATING FACTS
George Eliot's real name was Mary Ann Evans. The author wrote under the
male pseudonym throughout her life, beginning with her first novel, and did
so to be taken seriously and to avoid gender biases toward her stories.
She married critic and philosopher George Henry Lewes who was already
married and living in an open relationship with his wife from whom he could
not divorce. At the time, their openly bigamous relationship caused a scandal.
“Middlemarch” represents a novelty in fiction that also incorporates social
conditioning and a keen sense of politics that demonstrates a sublime mastery
of the world.
According to The Guardian magazine, “Middlemarch” ranks twenty-first
among the 100 best British novels.
Virginia Woolf described “Middlemarch” as "one of the few English novels
written for adults."
ABOUT THE STORY

“ Middlemarch”, a study of a provincial life, is a microscopic analysis of an
imaginary local town that, through the precise and logical manner of a scientific
method, proceeds by hypothesis and deductions which prove their accuracy
through the experiences and suggestions of the characters which multiply as the
magnifying glass of the author widens its range. Published between 1871 and
'72, it is considered both the absolute masterpiece of George Eliot and one of the
most influential novels of nineteenth century literature. This is both for its
ambitious narrative project that ranges from sociology to psychology,
philosophy to science, and religion to art - all subjected to a universal and, at the
same time, detailed analysis of the complex network of relationships that exist
between the inhabitants of a small rural town one step away from
industrialization and on the brink of the Electoral Reform of 1832, a historical
event on which the clash between the social classes over their interests, both
private and public, and the fervor of the bourgeoisie, occurs.
The protagonists are Dorothea Brooke and Tertius Lydgate. They, firm in their
lofty ambitions, have to contend with the harsh realities of life in a conservative
society that runs counter to their ideals. They aspire to create outstanding works
for themselves and for others. Still, the society in which they live cannot offer
itself as a springboard to quench the thirst of their souls unless the two break
those same rules to which they are daily bound. But in a society where breaking
the rules means being excluded and marginalized, there is no room for
innovation, growth, and change, and, therefore, for the full expression of their
individuality. However, the two young and inspired protagonists are only
fragments of a more extensive network in which all the characters are
interconnected and are the pawns of an experiment carried out by a brilliant
author who tries to capture the nuances of real-life through their everyday
experiences.

1. Love is a constant struggle. For true love, one must be willing to fight and
risk it all. Dorothea has to fight to break free from the constraints to indulge
her heart and love Will Ladislaw, and she couldn't have made a better choice.
2. It's not fair to put yourself in the service of another person . Dorothea
marries Edward Casaubon initially because she believes he can be an
inspiration for her excellent work. She indulges him because of her
profoundly idealistic soul. Still, in doing so, she sacrifices herself and her
dreams.
3. The love of your life comes when you least expect them. Will Ladislaw,
Casaubon's cousin, is an intelligent young man who surprises Dorothea out of
the blue and makes her fall madly in love.
4. Don't idealize your man . Casaubon appears to be nothing short of a
humorous character seen through his wife's loving glorification. In reality, he
is gruff, serious, deeply anchored in the past, and unable to build a family
with Dorothea.
5. In life, it is not right to completely give up on oneself . Dorothea represses
all her will to live, her dreams, sexuality, and needs as a woman, including
her need to be loved. She deprives herself of living through her body and
listening to her urges and, in this way, becomes unhappy. Passion is a fire
that you should always keep burning in a relationship.
6. Marriage is a choice that must be made consciously . One must pay
attention to the obligations one places on oneself because they can preclude
many possibilities, especially in marriage to the wrong person.
7. In love and in a couple, if you think the other person is making a wrong
choice in life, it is essential to advise the other person as best you can and
give your opinion. Mary Garth advises Fred regarding his intention to
become a clergyman.
8. In love and in life, it is vital to have great ideals, such as those held by
Dorothea, but it is also essential to enjoy every little gesture and everyday
activity that can also make you happy.
9. Happiness lies in the little things . Only when the protagonist and the
characters in this choral novel realize this small but essential truth do they
manage to find satisfaction in life and especially in love.
10. For love, you can go against the tide and make choices that society
does not approve of. Dorothea, in the end, is willing to give up everything to
follow her heart and be with Will Ladislaw.
“If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be
like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die
of that roar which lies on the other side of silence.”
- George Eliot, Middlemarch -
“MOOD INDIGO”
W hat if everyone was wrong and you were right? Vian thinks that the
individual is the only one who really matters, the only one who can
make a priori judgments about everything, the only one who can
project his reality onto material life and give it a plane of reference. Only, this
plan tends to be crooked and, in reality, only love matters above all else, perhaps
along with pretty girls and the music of New Orleans or Duke Ellington.
This is the idea at the beginning of the novel, “The Foam of Days”, by Boris
Vian. With these words, more or less quoted, one already has an idea of what
they are going to read: a story that is a little bit fairy tale and a little bit surreal, a
little bit witty and funny, that makes you think of something poised between a
joke and the fantastic.
Genius and quirky research lends itself perfectly to a classic love story told
poetically and interestingly, as never before. It came out in 1947 for Gallimard
and, at the time, it was a real novelty, both for its stylistic originality and its
imaginative and surreal prose. It's almost like being in a Dali painting. It's a
hymn to subjectivity and the ways everyone has of seeing and changing things.
But it's not a joke novel - the love story inside is genuinely heartbreaking.
It's about when your loved one gets sick when they leave, and the walls of the
house you shared with them shrink. It's about all-encompassing, crippling love.
“The Foam of Days” is what is left when the wave breaks and comes back.
When life fails, reality becomes an empty shell and, with it, enthusiasm and
vitality disappear. Without love, life is boredom, work and degradation,
annihilation and alienation. Love makes life a beautiful invention - like those
extravagant devilries, those bizarre useless and devilries that delight us were
invented by Colin between pianos and cocktails - just as reading this original
and unmissable French novel also delights us, talking about love in a new,
different way, opposite to how it has always been talked about, but still effective
and real.
FASCINATING FACTS
“Mood Indigo” is Michel Gondry's 2013 film, starring Romain Duris and
Audrey Tautou, based on Vian's novel. But there was another adaptation well
before that, with the same title, written and directed by Charles Belmont in
1968.
Boris Vian was an executive in the jazz record department of the Philips
record company and was also a trumpeter.
He wrote four other books in the hard-boiled genre published under the
pseudonym, ‘Vernon Sullivan’.
He died at only 39 years old while he was at the movie premiere of the film
adaptation of one of his books, “I Spit on Your Graves”.
ABOUT THE STORY

The city in which the story is set is an invented one in which no one works
because it is considered degrading. The main character, Colin, is very rich and
lives off his income, spending all his days inventing strange contraptions and
hanging around with his best friend, Chick. At a party, he meets the beautiful
Chloé and falls in love instantly, almost as a way to break the monotony.
Lightning strikes, and the two decide to get married. At first, they are happy, so
much so that they don't touch the ground, but Chloé turns out to be suffering
from a disease. It is a water lily that grows in her lungs, a disease that can only
be cured by filling the house with water lilies. Gradually the ruin, also economic,
will fall on the couple before they are happy, and the sun will stop shining,
foretelling a sad and tragic ending. Vian's work is the work of a misunderstood
genius. It is contemptuous and sadistic at the same time; it makes us able to
dream and fly on a pink cloud one moment and, the next, it brings us back to
earth, stunned and destroyed in front of the spectacle of life.

1. Love is disarming. It leaves you defenseless and vulnerable, so you have to
be ready for it. It's like going on a merry-go-round that transports you up and
then immediately down, suddenly and without warning.
2. Even the most extravagant person is capable of absolute love . Colin is
individualistic and impulsive - he is certainly not a hero - but he is ready to
do anything for his Chloé and his friends without asking for anything in
return.
3. Sometimes, it is necessary to see things through the eyes of a child . Only
from this perspective is it possible to grasp all the facets of life fully and to
be able to respond well even to the bad things that happen.
4. Love is free from social patterns and conventions . Only by living the love
story without rules will it be possible to live it fully and completely.
5. Love can be told in many ways, and it adapts to every current, even the
surreal ones. It is a universal and unique feeling that everyone
communicates in their own way.
6. You only really fall in love when you're ready for it . It happens suddenly,
but it's also a matter of attitude; you fall in love when you decide internally
that the time has come.
7. Love makes you grow . Colin is a person who spends his time inventing and
having fun but, when love comes along, so do responsibilities, which he has
to be ready to face for the sake of the people he loves.
8. Love does not save . Salvation is found in living it. It is not that a person
suddenly arrives who can save your life; rather, it is the experience of love
itself that changes your life for the better.
9. Love is not rational . It's rarely a reasonable feeling. Sometimes it's a rush,
sometimes it's a daydream. That's why it's so unique, and you have to let
yourself succumb to its magic.
10. A love story doesn't always have a happy ending . There may be
terrible moments in which everything seems to collapse on you, and reality
comes back, overpowering all things, but only the strength of the love you
feel will be able to lift you from difficulties and pain.
11. Falling in love is a beautiful feeling . Feeling the butterflies in your
stomach - the powerful energy, the feeling of being able to do anything - is a
wonderful emotion to be carried away by, and is renewed each day with your
loved one.
12. Music fuels love. It is the preferred means through which to convey a
feeling, whether jazz or blues. Music is a perfect tool to communicate what
you feel and tell a beautiful story. In this novel, music, literature, film, and
painting come together to create a modern and unique masterpiece.
“MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING”
“Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,

Men were deceivers ever,-
One foot in sea and one on shore,
To one thing constant never.”
- William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing -
P assions, intrigue, games, mistakes, misunderstandings, and fun all take

place under one dazzling sun. With brilliant, witty, and lively dialogues,
Shakespeare's play showcases the misunderstandings and intrigues of love
and seduction. The play is based on a series of deceptions, not all of which are
operated in bad faith. Making “much ado about nothing” means creating a great
deal of excitement and feeling around things of little importance.
Shakespeare's romance is joyfully liberating. Many people know him mainly for
his tragedies, controversial romances, and existential problems, but in this play,
the bard approaches love as a sobering thing. Star-crossed lovers are fodder for
crowds, while the play of relationships contained in Much Ado About Nothing is
all about the subtle art of words. Through verses, Shakespeare expresses an
intellectual war between the sexes and unleashes lust and sexual attraction
through language.
Sometimes, love is also experienced through frustration and hatred, and it takes
an intelligent mind and intense feeling to distinguish between fascination and
contempt. Love, therefore, is not always clear, and being able to recognize it is
not for everyone. The mistakes and misunderstandings you encounter along the
way become a compelling storyline to follow. In those cases where you make a
lot of noise about something of little importance, you need to learn
Shakespeare's lesson that the most powerful relationships are based on the mind,
affinity, and attraction.
ABOUT THE STORY

We are in Messina (present-day Italy, but at the time under Spanish domination),
at the court of Governor Leonato, his daughter Ero, and granddaughter Beatrice.
Here, Prince Pedro of Aragon arrives, together with Claudio, who falls madly in
love with Ero and asks her to marry him. Benedetto initially pretends not to be
interested in Beatrice but then falls madly in love with her.
The prince's half-brother, Don Giovanni, decides to interrupt the idyll that has
been created by ruining Claudio's wedding and accusing Ero of betrayal. The
comedy ends happily and under a beautiful Italian sun, and love will find its way
among other deceptions and intrigues.
FASCINATING FACTS
The opera has been adapted as many films and remains one of the most
popular comedies in theaters.
Famous French composer Berlioz wrote an opera named after two of the
characters, Béatrice and Bénédict (Benedick).
Shakespeare wrote his own epitaph. A sort of curse for grave robbers; a
warning not to disturb his repose.
If starlings, a particular type of bird, now dwell in Europe, it is because
Shakespeare spoke of them in his plays, and Eugene Schieffelin imported
them by suggestion in 1980.

1. Communication in love is crucial. If you can't talk, the relationship
languishes and dies, which is why you need to learn how to communicate
effectively.
2. Don't believe gossip. When Claudio publicly repudiates Ero on their
wedding day, he does so based solely on gossip and two figures seen in the
dark. Always remember not to get carried away by tittle-tattle. Always seek a
direct, transparent, and honest confrontation.
3. Sometimes, in love and beyond, those who know you deeply see certain
things before you do. Friends and family, knowing that Beatrice and
Benedick not only loved each other but would have made a perfect couple,
have conspired behind their backs to confront them with the truth. Those who
know you and love you can make you grasp things you don't see from your
perspective.
4. Don't separate a loving couple . Don Juan masterfully concocted the
deception to split Ero and Claudio, yet those who love each other eventually
managed to find each other and overcome the difficulties. Focus on investing
your time in something better and nobler.
5. Love is born, often, out of friendship . Understanding each other, knowing
each other, and laughing together is what keeps a relationship strong. The
protagonists of the story love each other profoundly and show their
complicity even by bickering. In love, you have to be a precious and faithful
friend.
6. Deception is not inherently evil . It can be used as a means to good or bad
ends. In the play, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between good and
evil deception. When Claudio announces his desire to woo Ero, Don Pedro
takes it upon himself to woo her for Claudio.
7. Can love, desire, and marriage threaten you from having a strong, free
will? For the characters in Much Ado About Nothing , romantic experiences
are always connected to questions of freedom and shame. If dignity
originates from having a strong and free will, then desire, love, and marriage
are menaces. That is the position assumed by most of the characters.
8. Flirtation is also hidden in the bickering . In the play, Shakespeare seems
to unveil an ode to the pleasures of intellectual warfare as a form of flirtation.
9. Love can be irritating. It takes maturity to be able to distinguish charm from
disgust, as sometimes there is little difference between both.
10. It is critical to base a relationship on self-respect . The relationship
between Benedick and Beatrice — their names partially mirror each other —
is complex. Still, it is also quite simple at root: they are a pair of sexual and
intellectual equals who recognize each other. What they like about
themselves, they like about the other. It's a relationship based on self-respect,
and that's a model everyone should follow.
11. Beatrice is a heroine of today . After the suicidal Ophelia, and the naive
Juliet who is drunk on love, Beatrice comes in as a woman of today. She
embodied a spark of feminism that would only develop centuries later. And
Benedick, who recognizes and yet discards some of the individual pleasures
and rights of being born male to be with her, has lessons for young men as
well.
12. The strongest partnerships are mind-based . In a world where women
still feel as judged by their looks and the way they use them as they do by
their spirits and how they employ them, remember that the healthiest
partnerships are always mind-based.
“For which of my bad parts didst thou first fall in love with me?”
“I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest.”

“Let me be that I am and seek not to alter me.”

“NIGHT AND DAY”
“I see you everywhere, in the stars, in the river, to me you're everything that
exists; the reality of everything.” - Virginia Woolf, Night and Day -
N ight and Day is a novel by Virginia Woolf that is not among her best
known works. This is because it is her second book and is more like a
good preparation for the following ones of extraordinary and great fame.
Works such as Mrs Dalloway or To the Lighthouse , also by Virginia Woolf,
have marked the history of world literature by creating a gap between what came
before and what would come after.
Virginia Woolf, in this novel, though not only in this novel, has posed
fundamental questions such as: what does freedom of choice for a woman
consist of? The social conditions of young women, their education, and their role
in society are all themes that are dear to the writer.
Night and Day presents itself as a realistic story revolving around a series of
misunderstandings and mistaken identity. The action takes place in London -
with a brief interlude in the Lincolnshire countryside - in pre-1914 times. At the
core of the narrative is a young woman belonging to a family of aristocratic
origins, Katharine Hilbery, who has uncertainties in the face of a world in which
the traditions of the past struggle with the dimension of the present, full of new
hopes but also of new tensions. In shaping this character, Woolf thought of her
beloved sister, Vanessa Bell, to whom the book was dedicated. In front of
Katharine, the passionate Ralph Denham, and the aesthete William Rodney
personify the two faces of love between which the young woman has to choose.
Next to her, and profoundly connected to her, are two female characters: her
friend Mary Datchet, a fervent supporter of women's rights, in love with
Denham, and her young cousin Cassandra, who falls in love with Rodney.
Through recording the small, minute details of daily life, Night and Day tells us
all about them. The action, though extremely simple, refers to predominantly
internal events. The narrative draws its reality from the vibrations that pass from
one character to another, from the intersection of the influences that each of
them communicates to the others. Woolf's most celebrated gifts - perception at
once delicate and penetrating and the ability to represent the most tenuous and
almost elusive tones of emotional life - imbue the pages with particular grace. As
fresh as it is, it is also, in a certain way, evanescent.
FASCINATING FACTS
The primary references that run through the entire novel are to the writings of
William Shakespeare, in particular the work As You Like It.
The book was published in 1919 by the publishing house Duckworth and
Company, belonging to the writer's half-brother, Gerald Duckworth.
Night and Day refers not only to the difference between men and women but,
more deeply, to the soul and the society that forces us to behave as we do not
actually want to.
ABOUT THE STORY

The novel's plot revolves around the lives of four young people: Katharine
Hilbery and Mary Datchet, and William Rodnet and Ralph Denham, their
respective suitors. They, all from respectable families, are young and still
undecided about the future and what to do. There is a constant back and forth
between the thoughts of four young people who love each other and do nothing
but misunderstand each other but continue to love each other platonically.
They are grappling with existential questions in their own ways, so much so that,
rather than being in love, they seem absorbed in themselves and their desires -
those of the soul - and are constantly clashing with the limitations that society
imposes. Night and Day takes place in the romantic swings and second thoughts
of the young protagonists grappling with their lives' vicissitudes and
relationships.
LOVE LESSONS
1. Marry for love. Marriage, at the time, was often experienced as a social
pressure that could chain you down. Marriage can be a long and great
journey. Marry based on love and not interest.
2. Life is the sum of our choices . Being indecisive is understandable. Each of
us wants to live fully and cultivate our value in the world. Sometimes, you
may be impatient to get started, as with the young people in the novel. Give
yourself the time you need to make the best decisions for yourself.
3. Changing your mind is wise. Changing it often, not so much. It can lead
to sad consequences. That's what happens to Katharine, who changes her
mind several times. Only fools never change their minds. Changing your
mind is a sign of maturity, but changing your mind often can mean you never
really had one.
4. Being independent makes you attractive . There's no denying it: we can't
help but turn around in the street when we see a beautiful person, but when
we find ourselves talking, we'd like to feel attracted mentally as well. Being
confident, empowered, and passionate makes you sexy.
5. Money can't buy your love . If you're rich and he's poor, that doesn't make
him any less worthy of your love. Money matters, but not to define who you
love. Be together based on mutual love, trust, respect, and many little
significant gestures.
6. Unrequited love can teach you and be a learning experience . Mary is in
love with Ralph but finds out that he is in love with Katharine; however, she
doesn't beat herself up and understands that the importance of the experience
lies in the fact that it will help her grow.
7. Be a good friend . Mary fills this role in the novel. She always has a good
way of consoling both Katharine and Ralph. Before you worry about having
good friends, commit to being one.
8. Doing what you love is freedom . Loving what you do is happiness. Mary is
a young activist who believes in her cause and lives through it; Katharine, on
the other hand, is forced by her mother to pursue literature when she'd
actually prefer math. Choosing, loving, and believing in what you do are
among the best approximations of freedom and happiness you can
experience.
“ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE”
“There is always something left to love.”

- Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude -
W hen you start reading this novel, you must be ready to pack your bags
and spend a good hundred years in Macondo. But don't worry, these
hundred years will pass so quickly that you'll want to get back on that
plane and fly back there.
In Macondo, you will find a swarm of life, a continuous coming and going,
loving and living of characters. Some are apathetic, some are angry, some are
active, and some are lonely. But those lonely characters are not really alone; they
are building an internal dialogue with themselves. They are figuring out how to
act and what to do. Throughout the novel, they grow up and understand that you
cannot be alone in the world.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is not a novel that can be easily broken down. It
is superbly written and cannot even be reduced to adjectives. It is something of
such beauty that you cannot hold it in your hands. It would be like grabbing a
snowflake.
Cartomancy, esotericism, and magic are impeccably mixed with the realism of
feelings and events. The prophecies with love and hate, fate with the hardness of
life. Marquez gives us an absolute masterpiece of literature not to be missed. His
writing is metaphorical and real at the same time, like a one-hundred-year-long
ballad with the interference of stories told in history and much more to be
discovered.
One Hundred Years of Solitude should not only be read but also read again to
fully grasp the substance, to be able to dance again to the notes of a beautiful
song that speaks of a certain family, the Buendía.
FASCINATING FACTS
Aureliano Buendía, one of the novel's main characters, already appears in a
1950 writing published by the author in a literary magazine.
The book was written by Marquez in just 18 months.
The author was en route to a family vacation in Acapulco when he found
inspiration for this novel. So, he reversed course and returned home,
forgetting about the holidays.
The stories the author told within the book were inspired by those narrated to
him by his grandmother. Some characters’ names are those of the writer's
family members.
It seems that an attempt on the life of Fidel Castro was canceled at the last
moment because he was in the company of the Nobel Prize-winning writer.
ABOUT THE STORY

The plot starts with the creation of the city of Macondo by Jose Arcadio
Buendía. We will then follow the town's story and the Buendía family
throughout seven generations, where esoteric and magical facts alternate with
real Colombian events.
Within a recursive infinity, the story of this simple family becomes that of the
Colombian people and, in equal measure, the story of mankind with its victories
and defeats, its passions, and tragic or happy events.
The whole affair is dominated by the disturbing and, at times, indecipherable
predictions of the gypsy soothsayer Melquìades. Gabriel Garcia Marquez opens
the doors to an imaginative world where the real and unreal are configured and
appear at the same time to the skeptical reader who, with each reading, will learn
new things about themselves and the village of Macondo.

1. Even in a family within which love seems to be everywhere, unexplained
events and great tragedies can happen.
2. In love, you can be pragmatic. This is demonstrated by Ursula Buendía, the
wife of the head of the family who, although she loves deeply, never loses
sight of common sense and keeps the family strong.
3. A life interdicting love is an icy life not worth living . Aureliano Buendía
has great ideals, but he will never understand the meaning of love in his life.
4. Jealousy can lead you to do horrible things . Amaranta, jealous of Rebecca
to the point of madness, will push the man she loves, Pietro Crespi, to
commit suicide by refusing to be his wife, and will blame herself for
Remedios' death all her life.
5. Liveliness and cheerfulness are attractive qualities in a woman . Pilar
Tenera will be the most desired woman in all of Macondo, with her roaring
laughter and gentle ways.
6. Moonlight serenades are still a beautiful way to show one's love . Pietro
Crespi plays a beautiful one to Amaranta that the whole village will
remember.
7. If you love another person, it is right to live with them and not to make
those next to you suffer. Aureliano Secondo should have made a choice
rather than betraying Fernanda continuously.
8. Hate does not cease with hate . Hate can only end with love.
9. Love can be a continuous succession of twists and turns, torments and
decisions, from which there is no turning back —all the characters in One
Hundred Years of Solitude experience this fate.
10. In life, you have to know how to apologize and sweeten . Ursula kicks
Amaranta out of the house and only realizes years later that her strength
would have sustained the family much longer.
11. Let go of others’ judgments . Closely related to the previous lesson, this
admonition comes from the life of Amaranta, who, blamed for the
incomprehensible death of her beloved husband, decides to lock herself up in
her house and to hardly associate with any of the inhabitants of Macondo.
Your life is like a closed book of which others can know very little. Only you
know the truth.
12. When you love, choose quality over quantity . Time does not grant
loans. Remember that what counts can never be quantified, but valued.
Commit to living, creating, and sharing memorable and unforgettable
moments.
“PERSUASION”
“You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope...I have loved none but you.”
- Jane Austen, Persuasion -
P ersuasion by Jane Austen is among the greatest love novels ever written
but is often overshadowed by the more famous and praised Pride and
Prejudice . The book tells the love story of Anne Elliot and Captain
Frederick Wentworth, who had fallen in love eight years before the novel's
opening scene. However, Anne was persuaded not to marry him by parents and
friends. The tale follows the rekindling of their relationship and love.
Never before Persuasion had we seen such a mature and morally valuable
character in a novel as Anne, a young woman who is very thoughtful for her age,
perhaps precisely because she has loved, lost, and learned from her mistakes.
The result is an intimate, collected, and reflective novel, where feelings and
moods play a leading role. Jane Austen never loses her irony, brilliant dialogue,
and character believability, but here she rediscovers a more sober and attenuated
role, almost wrapped in autumnal light.
Anne is a person with a strong mind and gentle manners who is wise, sensitive,
and selfless. However, during the narrative, her task will be to take charge of her
life, shape it, and grow by understanding what is important to her. Only this way
will she achieve fulfillment and be able to choose between loneliness or a
marriage imposed by her parents.
Along with this narrative, Jane Austen, through her wit and accessible writing,
comments on social classes, the fall of the great reputation of the Navy, and the
crumbling of the old ages to make way for new thinking and style.
Persuasion is Austen's last released work. She started it when she was nearly 40
years old, and it was finished within a year of her death. Not surprisingly, it is
among her shortest novels. It is undoubtedly the most moving and sad - an
intense and touching read where you will explore both the torment of silence and
the value of hope.
FASCINATING FACTS
This work was published posthumously by her brother Henry in a single
edition together with Northanger Abbey . This volume finally reveals the
identity of the author, who had remained anonymous until then.
Jane died before making a final decision on the title that, in principle, should
have been The Elliotts . Henry Austen and the publisher probably chose the
title Persuasion .
Although they are all set in the early 1800s, Austen's other novels do not
reference a specific time. Persuasion clearly alludes to the war with France
shortly before Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo. It is just a nod, but it is there.
Anne, who is 27 years old in the novel, is the most complex and mature
protagonist in all of Jane Austen's novels. The writer likely relied on herself
in writing the character.
ABOUT THE STORY

Anne Elliot, the second daughter of Sir Walter, lives with her father and her
sister Elizabeth in the estate of Kelly Lynch. The family also includes her
younger sister Mary, now married to Charles Musgrove. A very close friend of
the family is Lady Russell, a neighbor and maternal figure for Anne. Anne is in
love with and finds her love reciprocated by Frederic Wentworth, a good young
man who is, unfortunately, of a lower class than the Elliot family. Lady Russell
and Anne's father, precisely because of the man's social status, persuade the
protagonist to reject his marriage proposal.
Years later, the family is forced to move to Bath because of debts incurred by Sir
Elliot, and Wentworth's sister and her husband rent their house. While Anne is at
her sister's, Mary again sees the man she had loved, who has now become a
captain. The man immediately wins the attention of Charles Musgrove's sisters.
After an initial moment of embarrassment, Anne discovers that her feelings have
never faded, and nor have those of the captain.
In the meantime, her cousin Walter reestablishes the relationship with the family
that had been interrupted some time before and exposes his intention of wanting
to marry Anne. However, Anne's heart still belongs to Captain Wentworth.
Among the various romantic entanglements of the different characters,
misunderstandings, courtships, and ordinary daily life, the protagonists
rediscover themselves after a long and painful separation, showing how great
and insuperable the power of love can be.
1. Don't let others decide for you . In the novel, there is the longed-for happy
ending, it's true, but Anne could have had happiness years earlier if only she
had been firmer in her intentions.
2. Love comes at the right time. Everything has its time, even love. The main
characters in the novel experience a second chance years later and go for it
without hesitation. You can prepare and learn how to wait... learning how to
seize it when you're ready is everything.
3. In a world that is constantly trying to change you, be yourself . It is not
society and its customs that determine how much you are worth. Be true to
yourself and take care of your happiness.
4. Choose who you want to be and what you want for yourself now , just
like Anne did throughout her journey. Once she understood her mistakes, she
no longer allowed anyone to make decisions for her.
5. The power of an intense love letter is immortal . The captain wrote Anne a
poignant love letter. Austen knew that love is life's most significant concern,
then as it is now, and in “Persuasion”, she decides to make Anne's whole
world hang on one letter. You must try at least once in a lifetime.
6. Be devoted and helpful, and you will succeed in your relationship .
Observe the Admiral and Mrs. Croft. They are happiest and most powerful
when they are together, complementing each other's strengths and
weaknesses. They are the most solid couple. Their recipe? By working
together, they avoided all the "ruts" and "fouls." By collaborating and being
patient with each other, their marriage has avoided all the dangers and
arguments.
7. Be kind, responsible, and caring. Anne proves over and over again
throughout the novel that she is a kind and caring soul who can keep her cool
in stressful situations. Throughout the story, the author shows in many small
episodes that Anne is ready to be a good wife and mother. Recognize these
strengths and make them your own. They will make all the difference.
8. Finding yourself is not always easy . The novel's charm is also due to
Austen's ability to convey how Anne and Wentworth slowly grow closer to
each other even as their various missteps, flirtations, and assumptions seem
to drive them further apart.
9. Explicit statements don't always work. The reunion between the two main
characters is the most poignant scene in the entire novel. In it, they don't even
speak face-to-face. Mediated and misdirected messages sometimes have a
much greater charge than explicit statements.
10. "You pierce my soul" can win your heart and crumble every strict
social custom. In Wentworth's declaration and the couple's entire personal
journey, the narrow social conventions of English society at the time are
shattered. There are no customs that can withstand the force of certain
feelings.
“My idea of good company...is the company of clever, well-informed people,

who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.'
'You are mistaken,' said he gently, 'that is not good company, that is the best.”
“There could have been no two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings
so in unison”
“PRIDE AND PREJUDICE”
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a

good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice -
P ride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is undoubtedly one of the most read
novels in the history of literature. It is a work that has successfully
crossed the centuries of time and even the borders of the world. It is
among the immortal classics present in every classification of books that must be
read at least once in a lifetime. Jane Austen told about the world and people with
acumen and an amused spirit. While dealing with rather common events and
everyday affairs, the English writer was able to turn ordinary facts into
extraordinary literary subjects. The eternal appeal of Austenian novels is
undoubtedly due to the author's own irony, sense of observation, and empathy
for situations and characters.
"Here was a woman, in the early nineteenth century, who wrote without hatred,
without bitterness, without fear, without protest, without preaching," asserted
Virginia Woolf, a special reader.
Jane Austen became immortal the moment her pen first touched the page. Her
novels have come down to us as imperishable, perfect, and harmonious, without
suffering the weight of the two centuries that separate them from today's reader.
Even today, more than 245 years after her birth, we cannot help but celebrate the
greatness of the writer who, as an undisputed master of novelistic dialogue,
continues to speak with us and for us.
ABOUT THE STORY

Elizabeth Bennet is the main character. She is an intelligent girl and the second
of five sisters. At the estate where she lives with her family, two men arrive:
Darcy and Bingley. Bingley courts Jane, Elizabeth's sister, while Darcy believes
that he and Bingley are socially superior. Elizabeth cannot help but be bitter
about this behavior. Despite their disagreements, Darcy begins to fall in love
with Elizabeth and finally decides to propose marriage to her, which she
indignantly rejects. Darcy realizes that his pride is wrong and repents for his
behavior. Elizabeth realizes that her prejudices against Darcy are equally wrong.
In the end, after a series of arguments, misunderstandings, and
misinterpretations, there was more than one happy ending.
Jane Austen was a progressive woman and showed it by inserting her critical eye
into the story. She despised marriages of interest and the prejudices that one
family has against the other. The society of the time based its entire existence on
appearances, despising those who possessed less.
“Pride and Prejudice” is a novel to read not only for the plot and its
unforgettable characters, which are both able to reflect the nuances of the human
soul, but also for the unmistakable style of Jane Austen’s writing. It is a
fascinating writing style, perfect and poetic, in which every word, every comma,
is full of meaning and never trivial.
FASCINATING FACTS
Jane Austen wrote at a time when the Romantic current was blossoming, and
the Enlightenment current was being gradually abandoned. Because of this,
the author long-feared that her work would be too trivial and that the public
would not receive it with interest.
The novel came out 17 years after the final draft.
One of the reasons for the delay in publication was the rejection of the work
by many publishers, some of whom did not even deign to read it.

1. You shouldn’t judge a person the first time you meet them. This lesson
revolves around Darcy, a man unquestionably rich but with the ugly flaw of
discriminating against people belonging to other families or social classes.
The original title of the novel was, in fact, “First Impressions”, because Jane
Austen wanted to make the whole story revolve around the
misunderstandings and the wrongness of prejudices.
2. Being together means discovering the other person’s smallest details.
That is, those things that strangers cannot grasp.
3. In true love, there is passion but also reason.
4. There's no single right way to have a relationship . Happiness looks
different to every person.
5. Stability and escape from loneliness are not the right pillars for a happy
relationship ... Nor is just passion, romance, or emotional madness.
6. When you do something for love, recognition isn't necessary.
7. Leave the past in the past. Be capable of swallowing your pride, apologize,
and get through future quarrels without keeping score of past grudges.
8. Before seeking someone else’s love, you must love yourself deeply.
9. If you can be yourselves with someone, it means that you can trust them.
10. ‘Complicity’ refers to an exchange of glances and the ability to see
small things that others do not notice, together.
11. You can never know how important you are to someone else.
12. Some things, often the most meaningful things, are not expressed in
words. It is not necessary.
13. Knowing what you want is the first step to having someone who is
really for you.
14. Give second chances. Don't give up on the person you love. It is the
basis for a long relationship.
15. You should never be afraid to express your feelings in a total,
complete, and open way towards your partner.
16. Don't let a third party interfere in your relationship.
17. Reciprocal respect is essential to a happy marriage.
18. You can learn plenty about a man from the way he treats his sibling.
19. Never play dumb to attract a man.
20. Biting wit and a pair of fine eyes are worth far more than a fancy
dress.
21. If in doubt, say it in a letter.
22. The uniform does not make the man.
23. A brilliant woman should never tolerate a disrespectful man… no
matter how rich he is.
24. "Obstinate, headstrong girl!" is actually a compliment.
25. When you realize you care about someone, eye contact and touching
each other can be hard to manage because you're so excited.
26. Genuine love for another person means accepting that they may
undergo their own changes . And it involves trusting another person to be
fair to your heart.
27. The right kind of love is the love that makes you want to become a
better person.
28. It's worth holding out for the one. Remember to never settle for less
than you deserve.
“You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.
“A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from

love to matrimony in a moment.”
“There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think
well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and
every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters,
and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit
or sense.”
“From the very beginning— from the first moment, I may almost say— of
my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest
belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the
feelings of others, were such as to form the groundwork of disapprobation
on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had
not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world
whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.”
“REVOLUTIONARY ROAD”
“No one forgets the truth; they just get better at lying.”
- Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road -
R ichard Yates is a writer who straddles the line between classic and
contemporary. Never before has anyone like him been able to capture the
spirit of his time and express such a harsh and vivid critique of his era,
the 1950s. He can do so precisely because of his love for writing and his
profession.
The impression that permeates the reading is that there is something imminent
about to happen, as the characters are following a script to get to something that
has already happened. Yates has drawn a little from “The Great Gatsby” and a
little from “Emma Bovary” in writing this story and consigning the reader and
the characters inside a beautiful cage. Disillusionment is represented in a
somewhat atypical way compared to the naturally melancholy tone of Flaubert
and Fitzgerald's masterpieces.
The story itself elicits disarming emotions, painful empathy, and despair. April
Wheeler is a proud woman who aspires to live a full and natural life that is
satisfying, but there is something that pushes her towards madness. Frank, a man
who lies and cheats, for his part, can never feel at home. In the America of the
50s, where it seems essential to be happy and satisfied, April and Frank do not
have the chance to say that they are not and that it is not enough.
They want the luxury of affording something more for their family and, for this
reason, they are considered unconventional, and condemned to adapt.
They, who dream of an imaginative life in Paris, detached from that reality made
of money, escapism, and abundance, are seen as immature and irresponsible
people who do not appreciate what they have. And, as in a modern
Shakespearean tragedy, the ending is already foretold. The crazy lovers of life
are inevitably destined to remain two fools who pretended to be happy and
inexorably slipped into unhappiness, and the dream of a distant Paris fades page
after page and line after line until it remains nothing more than what it was: a
beautiful dream.
FASCINATING FACTS
“Revolutionary Road” gave the writer fame as a writer for writers, as it was
appreciated by colleagues but not immediately appreciated by the public.
In 2005, the famous TIME newspaper wrote about the book's inclusion within
the world's best 100 writings: "if Revolutionary Road does not make Yates
immortal, immortality is not worth having."
“Revolutionary Road” is Yates' first novel, the one with which he began his
career as a novelist.
In 2008, the film that brought Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet together
was made from this novel.
Richard Yates has stated that he started writing this novel from the end, from
the sad and conclusive final scene.
ABOUT THE STORY

April and Frank Wheeler are a playful newly-wed couple who decide to move to
a larger neighborhood and into more suitable housing for their family. The two
are a model couple, in love, young, beautiful, and talented. They are also blessed
with the good fortune of finding each other, spurring each other on, and having
good professional accomplishments. Frank works in the city in a large office
while April is at home with the kids. Everything looks perfect on the surface,
like a vintage photograph of a happy couple. Perhaps, although the two married
too young, she could have a career, be an actress in the theater, break through,
and he, on the other hand, could have a job and be successful in business. They
really could do it all, April and Frank, even move to Paris, just like they dream
of doing.
The problem is, they won't. Day after day, provincial conformity and daily
routine hold them captive and keep them unhappy, unable to abandon their
dreams and realize their desires. Their fantasies and hopes are extinguished in a
crescendo of misery to leave room for fear and create the inability to fight. It is
easier for them to lean on the certainties of an unhappy but secure present than to
risk failure. The two of them, who seemed to be a solid and happy couple, will
slowly conform to the society surrounding them until they disappear, wholly
consumed by it.

1. If you have a dream, keep pursuing it. Neither April nor Frank should have
given up on their dreams. The journey may be more difficult than expected,
but the important thing is to support each other and not give up.
2. Love is best when you both look in the same direction and never give up .
Choose someone who is willing to grow alongside you and commit to always
being the best version of themselves. Constantly cultivate the dreams you
have in common.
3. Make him or her feel special. We need to feel that we matter to the people
who matter to us. If we are convinced that our partner sees us, understands
our feelings, wants, and needs, and is willing to make sacrifices for our sake,
we feel "connected," which translates into a sense of calm and wholeness.
Every day, you should do one small thing that communicates to your partner
that they are unique and special to you.
4. Keeping promises involves commitment. If you make plans or get married
to achieve common goals together, commit to keeping that promise. An
Arabic proverb says: “a promise is a cloud, fulfillment is rain”. By making a
promise, you create expectations and place your trust in the other person.
Making a commitment and not fulfilling it always comes with a cost.
5. Don't fear the judgment of others. If you continue to be afraid of what they
might think of you, you will always remain caged in their social patterns, and
you will not be able to express yourself.
6. Lovers don't cheat. Those who love don't cheat, not because it's wrong but
because they know they already have everything they need by their side.
7. Learn to manage conflicts. Fighting is physiological; it must serve as a tool
to understand one another. When arguing turns into abuse, it becomes a
problem - criticism, defensiveness, contempt, and obstructionism destroy a
relationship. Listen, be empathetic, and stop and think: what am I willing to
do to make this situation better?
8. Be brave and resourceful . In love or life, you must always find the
willpower to be and do what you want. Stop procrastinating. If you don't start
pursuing what you want, you will never get it.
9. Personal happiness is vital for a healthy couple . If you both have a career
dream to achieve, it is imperative to be able to achieve it by helping each
other, so you can be happy together.
10. Being a nonconformist is an uphill path . Nonconformity often remains
only in words but not in deeds. Often, you may be more or less conscious
slaves to a society that imposes its rules and customs on you. Rather than
going towards the new, to freedom, to our dreams, we prefer to remain mired
in a reality that we hate because it is more comfortable. Authentic
nonconformity implies a great strength of character, unshakable confidence
in yourself, and that you are searching for a sense of authenticity. It is a
challenging path - also made of loneliness - towards true freedom.
“SENSE AND SENSIBILITY”
“If I could but know his heart, everything would become easy.”
- Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility -
A usten's best-known novel after “Pride and Prejudice” tells the story of
the two Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne. Elinor, the older one,
is the voice of reason, while Marianne represents sentiment.
Upon the death of their father, the two sisters have to face various economic
problems and live in a modest house in Devonshire. Here, they get to know love,
with its joys, difficulties, and sorrows. Elinor shyly loves Edward, who loves her
back, but his family opposes their love. Marianne, on the other hand, falls madly
in love with the gloomy Willoughby.
Two different loves, as different as they are, lead them to engage in a process of
maturation that will make them become women, capable of reconciling reason
with feeling.
As with every work of Jane Austen, this novel can transport us to her time and
make us breathe the atmosphere of the balls and dream of wearing lace.
However, its main merit lies in the characters, both those of Elinor and Marianne
and the others we meet during the narrative, who are finely characterized and in
whose minds and hearts the author makes us enter.
We dream with the two sisters, suffer besides the two sisters, and grow with
them.
FASCINATING FACTS
“Sense and Sensibility” was the first novel written by Jane Austen and was
originally going to be called “Elinor and Marianne”.
Although we identify Elinor with reason and Marianne with feeling, in the
end, the roles are reversed, with the older and more sensible sister marrying
for true love after many obstacles, and the younger one joining in marriage
with a solid and rational man.
Initially, the story's writing was in epistolary form, which was then reworked
to be in the third person.
As her first novel, Jane Austen had to pay to have it published.
The author remained anonymous, and was also anonymous for all her novels
until the publication of “Persuasion”.
Like all the works of Jane Austen, this one has been the subject of several
film and television productions, including the award-winning film directed
by Ang Lee in 1995 starring Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson,
Hugh Grant, and Robert Hardy.

1. Dating (or courtship) is definitely challenging: "The more I know of the
world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can
really love. I require so much!"
2. It's okay to be impulsive, but keep your head on your shoulders.
3. Emotions are as powerful as they are vital . As when Marianne Dashwood
learns that when people show us who they really are, we need to pay
attention and not get thoroughly carried away by our emotions.
4. Give good boys a chance. True, passion for Willoughby ignited Marrianne,
but it also made her suffer tremendously. It is in Colonel Brandon, mild and
honest, that she finds a solid and safe love.
5. Bad boys: if you know them, you avoid them . Willoughby turns out to be
a man lacking in honesty. Having escaped from an unwanted pregnancy, after
openly courting Marianne, he got engaged to a rich woman, pretending that
nothing ever happened between him and the girl. Respect first and always.
Remember what you are worth and that no one who treats you this way
deserves your time and attention.
6. Do not allow fear to keep you from saying how you feel.
7. It is a truth universally acknowledged that rejection hurts—a lot . But
Elinor and Edward would have gone much farther if they had simply
admitted their feelings to each other and even to themselves. They would
have broken social conventions and gone beyond the respectability of the
time, but they would have saved themselves so much unnecessary suffering.
8. Sometimes, shyness is interpreted as rudeness (and vice versa): “I never
wish to offend, but I am so foolishly shy, that I often seem negligent, when I
am only kept back by my natural awkwardness.”
9. Keep an open mind and heart. Marianne is heartbroken when Willoughby
shows his true colors but, in the end, she can acknowledge and welcome
Colonel Brandon's love. Never allow pain to make you close the doors of
your heart.
10. Happiness means different things to each of us: “I wish, as well as
everybody else, to be perfectly happy; but, like everybody else, it must be in
my own way.”
“I never wish to offend, but I am so foolishly shy, that I often seem negligent,
when I am only kept back by my natural awkwardness. [...] Shyness is only the
effect of a sense of inferiority in some way or other. If I could persuade myself
that my manners were perfectly easy and graceful, I should not be shy.”
“I come here with no expectations, only to profess, now that I am at liberty to do

so, that my heart is and always will be...yours.”
“Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.”
“Always resignation and acceptance.

Always prudence and honour and duty.
Elinor, where is your heart?”
“SHIRLEY”
“If men could see us as we really are, they would be a little amazed; but the
cleverest, the acutest men are often under an illusion about women: they do not
read them in a true light: they misapprehend them, both for good and evil: their
good woman is a queer thing, half doll, half angel; their bad woman almost
always a fiend.”
- Charlotte Brontë, Shirley -
Y orkshire, England, at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Machines

are introduced into factories, work changes, and, consequently, so does
life. On the other hand, the Napoleonic wars raging in Europe push the
states to make decisions and take measures that upset the daily lives of citizens,
their work, and their habits.
The Victorian era must come to terms with change and being catapulted into the
machine age. Along with social changes, moral changes must also be dealt with.
“Shirley” is a novel that stands on the brink of the neurosis of an entire society,
especially that of Robert Moore, a textile entrepreneur who watches helplessly as
the workers’ revolt and who, at the beginning of the narrative, finds himself in
trouble.
The moment Shirley enters the scene, the thread of relationships intertwines, and
the plot unfolds and winds around her. At this point, the novel also becomes
more sentimental and slowly abandons the social theme. Shirley becomes the
bearer of traditional Christian morality and, at the same time, is representative of
the female condition of the time - the limitations and roles assigned to women -
always portrayed on a sentimental level. In the end, the question around which
Charlotte Brontë's novel revolves is the same question that is always asked by
mankind through all the ages: what is happiness? Perhaps the solution is that joy
is found in two, especially when you are kindred spirits.
ABOUT THE STORY

Shirley is a rich heiress who befriends the beautiful and quiet Caroline, a poor
young girl who lives with her uncle. Caroline is hopelessly in love with her
cousin Robert Moore, a company owner in dire financial straits. The young girl,
believing that the man is in love with Shirley, falls ill for some time.
Meanwhile, Robert's brother, Louis, Shirley's former tutor who is in love with
the girl, is added to the story. The novel closes with the characters having to
come to terms with their hearts and unite in marriage with those they truly love.
The book is a manifesto of the social issues and the conditions of women at the
time - a picture that is not dissimilar to our days where human feelings are often
misunderstood or overwhelmed by the jaws of torment and doubt.
FASCINATING FACTS
The title “Shirley”, just as with “Jane Eyre”, was taken from the main
character's name. Initially, the writer had other titles in mind, such as
“Hollows Mill” and “Fieldhead”, names of significant places in the story.
Published in 1849, the novel officially established ‘Shirley’ as a female name.
During the process of writing the book, Brontë was influenced by terrible
grief.
The name of Mrs. Prior, Shirley's housekeeper, is Agnes Grey, just like the
main character in Anne Brontë's novel of the same name.
Unlike her other two novels, Charlotte chose third-person narration for
“Shirley”.
The novel has only one film adaptation, filmed in 1922.
Charlotte confided to writer Elizabeth Gaskell, famous for her “North and
South”, that the character of Shirley was based on what she imagined her
sister Emily would have looked like if she had been wealthy.

1. Seek your independence. Learn to decide what to do without asking
anyone's permission. Have confidence and take care of yourself. No-one can
act on your behalf. Achieving independence will let you be the protagonist of
your life.
2. Friendship is a beautiful gift. It is one of the most important forms of love
you will ever encounter. The friendship between the two main characters,
Shirley and Caroline, is solid and loving, the kind of friendship that is
indispensable in everyone's life. Learn to protect your friends, love them
unconditionally, and support them in life.
3. Don't resist love. Robert keeps his distance from Caroline. He tries to stay
away from her because he is perfectly aware that he could fall in love with
her beautiful face and her sweet and delicate ways. But why resist love,
especially when it is reciprocated? It's not reasonable to resist feelings when
they come. You might find that they make you helplessly happy.
4. A marriage of convenience is never a solution. Robert, while not loving
Shirley, still proposes to her, interested in her money. There are many
reasons not to marry for mere gain. First and foremost, a marriage of
convenience is unlikely to make you happy.
5. Love doesn't always reveal itself right away. That's why it's important not
to underestimate all the relationships that develop throughout a lifetime. It is
incredibly romantic to discover that there is a deeper feeling behind a
seemingly ordinary acquaintance. Open your eyes and think hard about who
you have around you and who is always there for you when you need them
most.
6. Nurture your relationship . Although she loves Robert, Caroline does not
declare herself and, on the contrary, is carried away by melancholy when she
thinks that he will marry Shirley. If you are in love, show your affection. Do
not delay. Love does not live on thoughts. It must be lived and nourished day
after day.
7. There is no such thing as failure in love. Be strong enough to always start
again. Caroline has suffered much pain from her own family and has
developed a fragile character. Learn to be able to cope with difficulties and
learn from failures. Start over with you. Give yourself another opportunity to
better experience the next relationship.
“I am anchored on a resolve you cannot shake. My heart, my conscience shall

dispose of my hand -- they only. Know this at last.”
“Love is real--the most real, the most lasting,

the sweetest and yet the bitterest thing we know.”
15 LOVE LESSONS FROM
“THE ARABIAN NIGHTS”
“It is amazing what women in love will do”

- Anonymous, The Arabian Nights -
R eading “The Arabian Nights” is like taking a dip in the Orient and
discovering that stories are universal. It's why we continue to read
stories, watch movies, follow TV series, and become passionate about
life. Stories have immense and timeless power.
Shahrazad is the first strong woman in literature—a girl who decides to sacrifice
herself for others and who, with her intelligence, can subdue a tyrant and save
her country. The work's modernity is evident in the girl who saves herself and
saves everyone with her strength alone. The form of the collection, a thousand
stories assembled in a frame, creates an additional value.
Telling fairy tales suddenly becomes a serious matter. Fairy tales possess an
undeniable power that stimulates curiosity, ignites the imagination, and satisfies
the desire for escape. And finally, they also contain a moral philosophy—a
practical teaching.
Fairy tales, myths, legends, and stories have the power to make us escape from
death. In “The Arabian Nights”, there is a practical demonstration of this theory.
The human being is always looking for meaning. His desire must be fed as if it
were hunger. And it is here that literature comes into play, giving us further
glimpses of life and possibilities.
FASCINATING FACTS
“One thousand” in Arabic means "many," and, for this reason, the number
should not be interpreted literally.
The fairy tale of the man who fell asleep and then woke up again inspired a
scene of the famous movie “The Marquis of Cricket” with Alberto Sordi.
Many fairy tales are known and have had famous cartoon adaptations such as
“Aladdin”, “Sinbad the Sailor”, and “Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves”, to
mention only the most illustrious.
“Sinbad the Sailor” has many points in common with the Homeric “Ulysses”,
including seamanship and cunning. Both works have their protagonist escape
from a one-eyed monster by blinding him.
The “Aladdin” fairy tale is not set in the Middle East as we previously
believed, but in China.
ABOUT THE STORY

The Sultan of Persia and India, Shāhriyār, has everything he could want: palaces,
riches, a devoted brother, and a beautiful and wealthy wife. When he discovers
that the wife he loved so much is cheating on him with a slave, he becomes
furious and vows that he will never trust a woman again. He demands that the
wife be beheaded. After then, to soothe his lust, he marries a different young
woman of the kingdom every day, consummates the marriage with her on the
wedding night, and then kills her to remain faithful to the promise he made to
himself that he would never trust a member of the female gender.
This massacre continues until the beautiful Shahrazād, the eldest daughter of the
Grand Vizier of the court, decides to stand between the sultan and the other
women of the kingdom. Devising a cunning plan that guarantees that she will
become the new bride of the king, the self-confident woman puts her life at risk,
knowing she can outsmart anyone. And so, after marrying the king, at the
moment when she should be beheaded, she begins to tell the first of the many
tales that make up the story and, every night, she interrupts herself before the
end, postponing the ending until the following evening. The sultan, captivated by
the stories and by the maiden, and eager to discover new wonders, pardons her
every day until, after the last tale, he decides he cannot live without her anymore
because he is hopelessly in love with her. So he not only chooses to marry her,
but also to bring peace to the whole kingdom.

1. A betrayal is always upsetting . Even a sultan suffers intensely when he
sees the blind trust he had in his love destroyed.
2. Lust is not love . The sultan lies with a different woman every night to
appease his desires but, in reality, he loves none.
3. A princess doesn't always have to be rescued . In the end, she may be the
one who rolls up her sleeves and saves everyone. Remember that you don't
need to be saved. You don't have to entrust your happiness to the actions of
others, and marriage is not the only goal in your life.
4. The first night of love is not always the right one . Love is built slowly and
night by night.
5. Even if you have been betrayed and suffered, you can start to love again.
The “One Thousand and One Nights” and the love story between Sultan
Shāhriyār and Shahrazād are proof of this.
6. Even if you have all the fortunes in the world, true love is the greatest
wealth. Aladdin and Badr-al-Budur find happiness only by getting married in
the fairy tale “Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp”.
7. A relationship can come about dangerously . Shahrazād puts his own life
on the line to win over the sultan.
8. If you love someone, don't give up hope and run away. This is what many
of the stories found in “One Thousand and One Nights” teach us.
9. Establishing a dialogue creates love . Only by talking with the king of the
kingdom does Shāhriyār, the beautiful daughter of the Grand Vizier, create a
solid and lasting love.
10. A brilliant mind conquers a smart man. Never hide who you are, your
virtues, and your sagacity, because a man who is intimidated by these
qualities certainly does not deserve you.
11. Be confident both in love and in everyday life because confident
women are incredibly sexy. Shahrazād should be an example for all of us.
12. Not all love stories are destined to end well , as the story of the
merchant and the genie shows.
13. A woman's first weapons of seduction are her voice and her mind.
14. Love can sometimes come about as if in a dream —just as how Qamar
al-Zaman and Budur, the protagonists of the story of the same name, fall in
love.
15. There is always someone to love for each of us. Ahmed loses the
challenge to conquer the hand of his beautiful cousin because his arrow is
lost, but when he goes to look for it, he discovers that the lost arrow has led
him to the cave of the beautiful and powerful fairy Pari-Banu, who falls in
love with him.
“A loss that can be repaired by money is not of such very great importance.”
- Anonymous, The Arabian Nights -
“THE BETROTHED”
“Certainly the heart has always something to tell about the future to those who
listen to it. But what does the heart know? Scarce a little of what has already
happened. ”
- Alessandro Manzoni, The Betrothed -
F or those unfamiliar with it, "The Betrothed" is an italian historical novel

with an intricate and compelling plot, an articulate system of interesting
characters, and an accurate historical reconstruction of the era in which the
story takes place.
Renzo and Lucia are two honest and hopeful young people who wish to realize
their dream of love. It is not a crazy and overwhelming passion. The love
between Renzo and Lucia is very far from what we are used to seeing in works
of fiction, whether in movies, books or TV series. The young couple in the novel
experiences a thwarted love that proves stronger than any criticism they
encounter along the way. Having a chaste and virtuous love, they are a reliable
and straightforward couple bound by solid and lasting feelings.
ABOUT THE STORY

Renzo and Lucia are a young couple ready to get married. Don Rodrigo, a local
squire, breaks into their daily lives and tries to prevent the wedding by
threatening the priest who has to marry them because he wants Lucia only for
himself.
After various vicissitudes, the two betrothed are forced to flee to escape Don
Rodrigo's sordid plans. While Renzo goes to Milan, Lucia goes to Monza to hide
in a convent.
In a whirlwind of events, Alessandro Manzoni uses the realism of the historical
novel to outline the abuses of civil power and the protection of the true church,
embodied in a true epic, a journey, and an extremely modern social criticism.
FASCINATING FACTS
The work is considered a historical novel because, although the story is
fictional, within it there are real events. The most striking is certainly the
plague of 1630.
The final edition of the novel was published weekly across 108 episodes over
2 years.
Manzoni took 21 years to complete the writing of “The Betrothed”.
Although it is not known who the Innominato (The Unnamed) is, he is
thought to be inspired by Francesco Bernardino Visconti.
The work has been the object of numerous reinterpretations ranging from
theater to cinema, television dramas, and even comic book parodies.

1. Always fight for your love. Don Rodrigo tried to keep the couple apart, yet
those who love each other will find a way to stay together.
2. In love, never beat yourself up. If you really want something, roll up your
sleeves. Renzo tries everything to not lose the woman he loves. In love, you
have to work every day.
3. If he manipulates you, it is not love. The nun of Monza, who entered the
convent as an adolescent, enters into a relationship with Egidio, who
entangles her in lies, intimidation, and blackmail. Love - true love - is not
like this. The relationship between Gertrude and Egidio is a toxic one, and
you must not let something like this happen to you.
4. Fear must not make you conspire against the love of others. Don
Abbondio, terrorized by Don Rodrigo's bravos, immediately agrees to
obstruct the marriage between Renzo and Lucia in order to not face
retaliation. The man's omertà makes him as much a victim as an executioner.
If you don't rebel against injustice out of fear, you automatically become its
accomplice.
5. Love is the strongest and most authentic emotion in the world. Manzoni
builds a grandiose epic around chaste, pure, and virtuous love while still
maintaining realism.
6. Even those who are quiet and introverted know how to love . Not all
people in life are extroverted and capable of shouting their love to the world -
there are also those who love in silence but still love. Lucia immediately
demonstrates that she does not have Renzo's charismatic character, but she
loves him and remains faithful to him throughout all his vicissitudes.
7. In love and in life, we all have a chance for redemption . The Unnamed is
a bloodthirsty man who has committed unspeakable acts, including
kidnapping Lucia at the request of Don Rodrigo. However, he asks for
forgiveness and achieves inner peace by helping Lucia. If you have done
wrong, you can still put things right, and, if your lover is the one who has
disappointed you, give him the chance to prove that he deserves your
forgiveness.
8. For those you love, you do things that would be impossible to do for
yourself. The mother of little Cecilia delivers to the monks the body of the
little girl who has died of the plague. That scene contains all the love possible
- that of a mother for her daughter - and teaches us that you are ready to do
anything for those you love.
9. Being engaged is hard work, but necessary. Only thanks to this period can
a solid and certain foundation be created, on which a family can then be built.
Everyday experiences show that there are no idyllic marriages because,
inevitably, difficulties arise for all couples. The difference is, however, made
up of the spouses who already have some sort of training behind them, and
those who do not have this "training", who are governed - even in marriage -
by a fundamentally selfish law. These couples break up at the first difficulty.
10. Sometimes, a happy ending is possible in love . No matter the
vicissitudes and distance and suffering, sometimes true love has a happy
ending.
“One of the greatest comforts of this life is friendship; and one of the
comforts of friendship is that of having someone we can trust with a secret.
But friendship does not pair us off into couples, as marriage does; each of
us generally has more than one friend to his name, and so a chain is
formed, of which no man can see the end.”
- The Betrothed, Alessandro Manzoni -
“THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV”
“Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his
own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or
around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no
respect he ceases to love.”
- Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov -
T he Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky is one of the most

appreciated novels of the nineteenth century and can still capture the
attention of many readers. Through his work, Dostoevsky tells us about
the Russia of his time, which is still backward and illiterate but eager to fight to
assert its dominion over some European areas. It is a country dominated by the
Tsars, eager for revolution and especially eager for the birth of the new working
class.
This, however, is only the background of an intricate family affair that begins
with the delineation of the nucleus composed by the father, Fedor Pavlovic, his
wife, Adelaide Ivanovna Miusov, and her son, Dmitrij. Dmitrij, however, does
not remain an only child since the father remarries another woman and seems to
have an affair with a third, who gives him his fourth child.
Therefore, there are four Karamazov brothers: Dmitrij, the violent and
passionate firstborn, the cynical Ivan, the apollonian Aleksej, and Smerdjakov,
the illegitimate and sick son.
Given the number of characters and the length of the story, “The Brothers
Karamazov” is not an easy novel to read and appreciate. Yet, it contains many
reflections on religion, relationships, death, and other things that the author's
contemporaries did not understand. The modern reader, with hindsight, can see
the figure of Dostoevsky as a kind of visionary. The author seems to insert
elements of deep hatred, well hidden among the disordered relationships of the
brothers with their father, that would predict what later turned out to be the Red
Terror.
In short, “The Brothers Karamazov” is a novel to be read calmly and
consciously, which is capable of changing the way the reader explores his inner
self and the depths of humankind in general.
FASCINATING FACTS
Like many other huge novels of the time, “The Brothers Karamazov” was
published in installments between 1879 and 1880.
The initial structure of the work included a long initial part devoted to
Aleksej. However, the author later decided to have him appear only after the
whole story of the firstborn and the father's second marriage.
Freud could not help but be interested in the relationship that Dostoevsky
stages between the firstborn and the father. The psychoanalyst dedicated an
essay to him called “Dostoevsky and Patricide”, in which he outlines the
author's figure as a criminal with a destructive force.
Dostoevsky had a special relationship with his father, who had forced him to
follow the study of engineering. Like the family's progenitor in “The
Brothers Karamazov”, he had come into possession of some lands that cost
him his life because his own serfs killed him. Since his death, the author
began to suffer from epilepsy.

1. Man is afraid of the judgment of his neighbor. This is evident in
Pavlovic's behavior after the eldest son claims the family's property. His fear
is of being ridiculed but, because of the behavior aimed at mitigating the
shame he feels, he lets the starets humiliate him even more. Not only does
Pavlovic experience this feeling of shame, but so do all the other characters
in the story, regardless of the character or events they experience.
2. The inordinate pursuit of pleasure leads to failure. The brothers' father is
described as a character full of vices, always looking for frivolous
relationships and money. It is these two elements that generate the conflicts
with the children and the eventual patricide.
3. The brothers, although divided by feelings of hatred, form a unit. All
together, the Karamazov brothers form a human being endowed with
destructive passions, reason, morality, and mental illness. Somehow, this
unity demonstrates their culpability for their father's death, which was
absolutely avoidable, but wanted by them.
4. Their relationship with their father influences their way of viewing humanity.
This is demonstrated by the indifferent relationship Ivan has with Pavlovic,
which is also reflected in the rest of humankind.
5. Having understanding towards the other is a virtuous behavior . It is no
accident that Dostoevsky wanted to devote much more space to Aleksej.
This, in fact, combined with his tolerance and goodness, helps him open the
souls of his neighbors and grasp the most disturbed, but also positive, aspects
of people. What distinguishes Aleksej from his brothers is his closeness to
God which, according to the author's vision, is what allows the people of the
world to love each other.
6. The ability to love, therefore, comes from faith. In a dialogue about
metaphysics, Aleksej and Ivan are compared. One is at peace because the
gaze of God follows him. The other, being an atheist, is tormented by the
impossibility of loving.
7. There are different types of love: the biological one forced by nature, the
romantic and destructive one, the religious and merciful one, the intellectual
one, and the demonic one. Each of the main characters fills one of these
stereotypes.
8. A lack of love leads to the loss of reason. In this sense, the figure of Ivan is
the most insane one since he is unable to appreciate the love of God and his
father, which leads him to commit patricide.
9. Human beings long to be loved. Whether with a woman, a family member,
or God, the novel's love relationships drive the story. The desire to feel loved
drives all the characters in the novel as this is what drives each of us.
“I love mankind, he said, "but I find to my amazement that the more I love
mankind as a whole, the less I love man in particular.”
- Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov -
“THE ILIAD”
“…There is the heat of Love, the pulsing rush of Longing, the lover’s whisper,
irresistible—magic to make the sanest man go mad.”
- Homer, The Iliad -
T he epic poem is traditionally attributed to Homer. The story, set during

the Trojan War, recounts the final days of the conflict. It is a staple of
Western literature consisting of 24 books. We have all studied it in
school, analyzed its passages, and memorized the epic scenes and lines.
Yet, the Iliad is a book that should be reread at some point in life with the eyes
of a person who doesn't have to expect a question about it and can finally enjoy
the verses for what they are. If you are looking for something that could surprise
and amaze you, the Iliad is the right choice. Endowed with intricate beauty,
purity, and honesty, it is extraordinary for its connection to modernity.
After all, the Iliad and other epic poems, such as the Odyssey , represent the
basis on which Western literature is founded. Not only philosophy, but values,
morals... everything comes from there. Values that remain intact even after
centuries, millenniums, and technological progress. The events and choices
described in these poems still demonstrate a solid moral charge today.
Rereading the Iliad is a valuable practice for anyone, suitable for those who want
to immerse themselves in a grand and timeless story that founded everything we
know about love, passion, wars, conflicts, values, friendship, and more; for those
who love literature; for those who want to rediscover an immeasurable classic.
FASCINATING FACTS
The Iliad should cover a span of ten years, but Homer actually only recounts
the last 51 days.
In fact, the events told to stop at the death of Hector, the fall of the city by
Odysseus' stratagem have been narrated in other poems, such as the Little
Iliad .
Homer probably did not exist for real. In ancient times, many believed that
the Iliad and Odyssey were not written by the same person, and the existence
of Homer himself was questioned. Today, what matters is the treasure left
behind by the works.
The Iliad is written in hexameters and is composed in a sort of lingua franca ,
in which different Greek dialects are mixed.
ABOUT THE STORY

Before the beginning of everything, you need to know the background. It all
begins in Olympus, where the goddess of discord, Eris, uninvited to the wedding
of the warrior Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis, triggers the dispute because of
a golden apple. Eris drops the apple with the words "to the most beautiful"
written on it on the table, because of which Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera begin
to argue. Paris, a handsome Trojan warrior, is chosen by Zeus to determine who,
among the goddesses, is the most beautiful. The young man chooses Aphrodite
because she promises him in return the love of Helen, the wife of Menelaus, an
influential Greek leader. The Iliad tells the story of the fall of Troy and the war
between the Achaeans and Trojans — a war that lasted ten years.
To wash away the shame of losing his wife, King Menelaus called his brother
Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and brought together all the kings of the Greek
city-states, including the famous Achilles, his cousin Ajax, and Odysseus who
together leave, bound by an ancient promise, to Troy to regain Helen and make
war on all the Trojans besieging them outside the walls. Among the besieged
citizens stands Hector, the eternal rival of Achilles. He is a great leader and the
one who keeps the city of Troy intact and safe as long as he lives. In 25,000
verses, Homer encloses one of the most important texts of the world and forges
one of the most important epic poems combining love and war, struggle and
passions, dreams of glory, and daily life.

1. The everydayness of love and home is enough . Love is when you realize
that you would rather be doing nothing with the person you love than doing
anything without them.
2. Even heroes suffer. Achilles, when he loses Briseis, suffers tremendously.
And he cries. Never be afraid to live and express your pain.
3. Love is always and, in any case, love . It blossoms between people, not the
sexes. Several historical reconstructions tell us that Patroclus was the lover of
Achilles. Love in Greece was different, free, and deep-felt.
4. Love is universal, even the Gods love . In the Iliad , the Gods are present
and show passions very similar to ours, including love.
5. Family: where all life begins and love never ends. The last meeting
between Hector and Andromache is, in fact, one of the most studied and
known passages of the Iliad . That passage expresses all the concern of a
mother and wife who loves her man, and all the tenderness of a husband who
loves his woman and of a father who says goodbye to his son for the last
time.
6. Every love has something epic about it. Every love story has its moments
of epicness. It is up to us to recognize, create, and live them.
7. Beauty can become a condemnation. Ask Elena, considered the most
beautiful in the world. She is a tragic character, forced by the goddess
Aphrodite to be the wife of Paris. No accusation can be held against her,
given her blameless beauty, even if she is often blamed for the war that
bloodied Troy. She is not a happy woman; she despises Paris and is disliked
by many Trojans: only Hector is kind to her, and on the occasion of the hero's
death, Helen will feel a sincere sorrow.
8. Revenge leads you to perform desperate tasks. Achilles, although
forewarned that if he still fights in the end, will be killed, accepts that his fate
is fulfilled. He asks his mother, Thetis, for new weapons. She makes them
forged by the Gods and goes down in battle to avenge Patroclus.
9. Love is fundamental in everyone's life. It is not a coincidence that Homer,
on the shield of the warrior par excellence, Achilles, makes Hephaestus of
the scenes of everyday life, the first of which is a wedding.
“Any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're
doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here
again.”
“Like the generations of leaves, the lives of mortal men. Now the wind scatters
the old leaves across the earth, now the living timber bursts with the new buds
and spring comes round again. And so with men: as one generation comes to
life, another dies away.”
“Be strong, saith my heart; I am a soldier;

I have seen worse sights than this.”
“THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST”
“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”

- Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest -
H onesty and lies are two sides of a coin that are crucial in life. The
moment you lie or the moment you declare the truth, the course of
things changes, different paths are generated, opposite fates.
The point is that if you choose the path of lying, no one will ever be able to say
that they really know who you are. Maybe everyone loves you, just as everyone
loves Ernesto, but no one will ever really know you. Lie and truth trigger a chain
of hilarious and compelling misunderstandings within this Oscar Wilde comedy.
A brilliant play by a brilliant writer who entertains and makes you ponder. And
it's not such an easy and obvious one. Knowing how to make people think while
entertaining them is only possible when you are able to do it well, in an over-the-
top, researched, and subtle way. Wilde knows how to be reverent, lively,
cheerful, and fresh even after hundreds of years. A true immortal classic.
This "frivolous comedy for serious people" is the best example of how Wilde,
through the use of a caustic and brilliant irony, reveals the false consciousness of
a society that puts money and a very rigid division into classes at the center of its
morals. And if you might even be tempted to read The Importance of Being
Earnest as coded writing that winks at the homosexual environment of the time
and its subtexts and sub-subtexts, you will realize very soon that, far more
ingeniously, Wilde invents a new language that even lays the foundations of
queer humor.
ABOUT THE STORY

The play is set within English society, with protagonists Jack Worthing,
Algernon Moncrieff, and their two suitors, Cecily and Gwendolen, within this
relationship.
The protagonist of the play, Jack Worthing, pretends to have a brother named
Ernest to escape the peasant routine and lead a dissolute life in London with his
friend Algernon. Jack falls in love with his cousin Gwendolyn, who is fascinated
by his name. Similarly, his friend begins a correspondence with the protagonist's
niece, introducing himself with the same name. As you can well imagine, this
will result in a story of misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and exchanges of
persons, typical of the classic comedy.
FASCINATING FACTS
This is Oscar Wilde's most famous play.
The title of the farcical comedy plays on the assonance between the name
Ernest and the adjective earnest.
The play was closed after 86 performances because of Wilde's arrest for
homosexuality.
Numerous film adaptations of the play have been made, the last and most
famous of which stars Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Judy Dench, and Reese
Witherspoon.
In 1952, director Anthony Asquith brought the play into a film with colors.
Asquith was the son of the minister who sent Oscar Wilde to prison for
indecency as a homosexual.

1. Lying never leads to anything good. Both Jack Worthing and Algernon
Moncrieff lie to women they want to conquer. This is not the way you want
your relationship to start.
2. ...However, love knows how to forgive . Despite the lies,
misunderstandings, and ensuing drama, true love can triumph over adversity.
3. Get to know the one you love . The whole play is based on
misunderstandings and on the wordplay between the assonance of the name
the protagonist gave himself and the word earnest. The name doesn't matter;
respect the character, values, and feelings of the person you love.
4. To see whether or not a person is beautiful inside, go beyond the
appearance . Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff are two frivolous and
easygoing dandies. However, beyond their immoral air, they show hearts of
gold. Learn to discover and get to know those you love.
5. Love can be serious and frivolous at the same time. Oscar Wilde said that
The Importance of Being Earnest was "a frivolous comedy for serious
people." Love is just that — an extremely serious emotion where a little
frivolity sometimes doesn't hurt.
6. Don't marry if not for love . Wilde, in this comedy, opposes and mocks
arranged marriages, rightfully so, because whom you have to love and with
whom you want to spend your life should be up to you.
7. Those who criticize your love and life probably see in you what can
never be for them. Lady Bracknell is a strict woman, and her respectability
hides a lot of hypocrisy and unhappiness. Let go of sterile criticism. Only the
love of the people you love really matters.
8. In love and life, you can confide in your friends . Cecily and Gwendolen,
only through their friendship, confiding in each other, discover the lies that
the suitors have told them. In love and in life, having a friend to confide in
makes all the difference when you have a problem.
“I really don't see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be in

love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal. Why, one may be
accepted. One usually is, I believe. Then the excitement is all over. The very
essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get married, I'll certainly try to
forget the fact.”
- Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest -
“THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY”
“It has made me better loving you... it has made me wiser, and easier, and
brighter. I used to want a great many things before, and to be angry that I did
not have them. Theoretically, I was satisfied. I flattered myself that I had limited
my wants. But I was subject to irritation; I used to have morbid sterile hateful
fits of hunger, of desire. Now I really am satisfied, because I can’t think of
anything better. It’s just as when one has been trying to spell out a book in the
twilight, and suddenly the lamp comes in. I had been putting out my eyes over
the book of life, and finding nothing to reward me for my pains; but now that I
can read it properly I see that it’s a delightful story.”
- Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady -
P ublished in 1881, The Portrait of a Lady is a classic in the true sense of

the word and Henry James' most famous work.
Behind an elegant use of language and thought unfolds a story based on
the female condition, told through the life of a woman called Isabel Archer, who
lives in a constant dilemma. She herself remains a dilemma for the writer and the
reader, an enigma to be discovered.
Henry James created a plot where the protagonist has room to experiment and
live her decisions. The novel is also considered a coming-of-age story because it
places before Isabel a series of choices that she has to make while accepting the
consequences.
Although she moves from the small town of Albany to the beautiful and chaotic
England, she remains a spectator of the life in which she is unable to take part.
From her detached position, Isabel observes the world in front of her with her
eyes covered by a veil of uncertainty that leaves her paralyzed.
Isabel leaves the scene aged in spirit much more than in body, burdened by the
weight of disillusionment, of sacrifice in front of which burn, slowly, the dreams
of the past.
This is a work that, with the supreme elegance of its style, allows itself to be
discovered and loved without needing any introduction. In the book, the
atmosphere is tinged with restrained emotions, the dialogues are rarefied and
dense, time seems to dilate to make what happens always seem to be on the point
of beginning, even though it never begins.
The Portrait of a Lady is a beautiful story written and sewn around a figure,
Isabel Archer, to whom no one can ever - yesterday, today and tomorrow -
remain indifferent: whether you love her for her vague illusions of youth, you
hate her for her senseless aimlessness, or you feel pity for her bitter fate contrary
to her delicate dream of a young woman, not yet a lady.
FASCINATING FACTS
The book was inspired by a woman actually known to the author, Caroline
Fitzgerald. The writer revealed this in a letter to Edith Wharton.
There was a movie adaptation made from The Portrait of a Lady starring John
Malkovich, Nicole Kidman, and Christian Bale.
The book was written during the author’s stay in the city of Venice. The
European city inspired the atmosphere of the book where the youthful
innocence of America is lost in the unscrupulousness of a European culture.
Some critics claim that the author may have suffered from dyslexia.
ABOUT THE STORY

Isabel Archer is a young and beautiful American girl who, together with her
aunt, undertakes a trip to Europe in an attempt to escape the monotony of
provincial life. In England, the first stop in the journey is at a sumptuous country
estate where she meets her cousin Ralph, the man who, more than anyone else,
loves her with a sad and sincere love, romantically hidden behind a conscious
silence.
Strong in her convictions and her vision of the world, Isabel finds herself
involved in many events. Having acquired a substantial inheritance, the girl is
finally ready to discover the world. Unfortunately, she falls victim to the
deceptions of Madame Merle, an adventurer who at first shows her friendship,
and her lover Gilbert Osmond. The latter, a kind of dandy and aesthete, selfish
and manipulative, manages to marry Isabel out of interest, attracted by the idea
of having her rich inheritance in his possession. After having fascinated and
circumscribed her, he makes married life impossible, preventing her from
realizing her dreams. In her acceptance of being with a man she despises, Isabel
demonstrates a firmness unusual in the women portrayed by the fiction of the
time. But she is nevertheless resigned to being a woman and a wife faithful to
the customs of the time without considering the possibility of getting rid of an
unhappy marriage.
LOVE LESSONS
1. Getting to know each other is a gradual process. Isabel Archer makes a
spur-of-the-moment gesture when she marries the enamored and out-of-
control Gilber Osmond. There is no set time to get to know your partner. But
remember that it's nonetheless a gradual journey made up of time and
sacrifice.
2. You deserve love. Ralph Touchett thinks he is not worthy of love because of
his poor health and therefore does not declare himself. The fear of not being
deserving combined with the habit of judging ourselves harshly leads us to
feel inadequate. The first step to take is to learn to love ourselves.
3. If you're in a toxic relationship and a window opens up: seize it . There
are not many Caspar Goodwoods in the world and if you find one, don't let
him get away.
4. You are not made to suffer, but to love and be loved . Whatever mistakes
you have made, it is still right to free yourself from the chains of guilt and
return to life.
5. An unhappy marriage weighs on your life, fills you with disillusionment,
and can destroy your dreams . Isabel knows this and will have to live with
it, but you can make a different choice for your life.
6. Learn to recognize and push fake people away. You will meet several
mean people like Madame Merle who will pretend to want what is best for
you while plotting behind your back. Learn to recognize such deceptive
people and make sure they do not influence you. The signs? Fake
compliments, badmouthing, always having a ready answer, and preaching
well but doing poorly.
7. Don't pretend to feel love. It's not worth it . Social mores are not more
important than your happiness. Pretending to have feelings is the cruelest
thing you can do for yourself and the other person.
8. Those who love you can recognize your pain . Those who care about your
happiness can realize when you're not happy, even when you try to hide it.
9. Make sure a relationship betters you . Don't let a relationship bring out a
worse version of you. Authentic love makes you better. Always.
“And remember this, that if you've been hated, you've also been loved.”
“Things are always different than what they might be...If you wait for them to
change, you will never do anything.”
“If one is strong, one loves the more strongly.”

“THE TALE OF GENJI”
“Real things in the darkness seem no realer than dreams.”

- Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji -
F or fans of classic literature, the “Genji Monogatari" is a must-have work

of rare beauty that absolutely must be in every self-respecting bookstore.
This classic has been read, studied, appreciated, revisited, and transformed
over the centuries at the heart of the Japanese canon.
It is also one of the classics of women's literature because, in Japan, the Heian
era literature was entirely in the hands of women. Thus, it is written in Kana, a
phonetic writing, and not in kanji, generally used by men. The court ladies
received a refined education that they transmitted in works of great literary
refinement and elegance.
It is a sublime story, rich in detail and extremely modern. Love is always the
focus of every joy and every pain and, over the centuries, neither men nor
women have changed at all. They are always asking the same big questions and
trying to understand the meaning of everything. This is why stories are told and
novels are written, to make sense of the things in life. It is a practice that we
have been carrying on for countless years and that we will continue to repeat,
enraptured by the beauty of storytelling.
ABOUT THE STORY

The novel follows the story of Prince Genji, son of the Emperor and one of his
concubines. Each sequence narrated in the novel revolves around the love life of
the protagonist and all his relationships. Although he comes to know many
women in search of true love, the prince cannot help but show deference and
respect to them, not abandoning any of them to their fate. Among all of them,
Fujitsubo, one of his father's concubines, stands out. She is the only woman with
whom he truly falls in love and in whom he sees the sweetness of his mother.
This incredible work by Murasaki Shikibu reads almost like a poem. It is not
only the tale of a prince and his loves, but it is also an overview of an incredible
era that we can see through the pen of this writer who lived a thousand years
ago. In this beautiful tale written by a woman, expressed with poetry, are the
feelings that linger in our lives, the spasmodic search for something that can
make us complete the way only love can.
FASCINATING FACTS
The modern language has changed so much that the work is practically
unreadable without proper study even for a Japanese person.
The story was translated into modern Japanese by the poet Akiko Yosano.
It is considered, even today, to have been the first novel in the world.
It was written entirely in Kana, the Japanese phonetic script, because at that
time kanji were used only by men.
In Japan, the work is so famous that they made an animated adaptation for
television. The original story directly inspired 3 manga and countless plays.
Several of the most important writers have praised its structure and poetry,
trying to translate it into modern Japanese.
In Kyoto, a museum is entirely dedicated to “The Tale of Genji”, where life in
the Heian era is shown through period costumes, projections, and images.
This ancient text can also be classified as a psychological novel.

1. In love, we sometimes make gestures that hurt us. To protect those we
love, we are willing to make gestures that will be misunderstood and hurt
ourselves first.
2. Don't shift the love you feel for someone onto another person. The prince
marries Murasaki, the young niece of the woman he loves. Although he
knows how to love her, she will never be the one he really wants. Don't make
the same mistake, because you will risk hurting yourself even more.
3. There is nothing more tragic than a love that cannot be. Prince Genji is
very much in love with Fujitsubo, and it is reciprocated by the beautiful girl,
but they both know that their love can only live on stolen moments. There is
nothing more painful than a love that cannot be expressed.
4. Don't idealize love . Genji spends his life searching for the ideal woman to
make up for the terrible loss of his mother's love. Don't look for the perfect
love or the perfect person because, quite simply, they don't exist. The beauty
of falling in love is precisely its imperfection - it is the other person's flaws
that will make us love them even more.
5. In life, love is a force more powerful than others . Genji is a powerful man
- he will always be more powerful throughout history. Still, no political or
economic condition alone can give happiness if there is no love in your life.
6. Love is also suffering . If, at this moment, you are going through a difficult
period, know that love is also suffering. The important thing is that you are
not alone in this adventure.
7. Cheating in a relationship can be fatal . Even though Genji could not stay
with Fujitsubo, he should not have betrayed her and he experiences the
consequences with exile. When you are in a relationship, fidelity is essential.
Don't let your partner cheat on you, and be true to the promise you made to
each other.
8. Jealousy is a demon. The Rokujō Lady in Japanese culture is the emblem of
jealousy. She becomes obsessed with Genji; however, he goes out with other
women, which infuriates her. Strong negative feelings turn people into
demons. Do not let it suppress you as it can become a torment that can
destroy a relationship.
9. You can't fill the void of a love affair with physical adventures . Prince
Genji throws himself into continuous relationships to escape the love he feels
for Fujitsubo, but it is impossible to forget love like that.
10. Marrying out of duty is never the right thing . The prince marries
Princess Aoi, his best friend's sister, in his first marriage, yet neither she nor
he benefit from this union. If you wish to marry, always do it out of love.
“There are as many sorts of women as there are women.”

- Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji -
6 TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS FROM “ULYSSES”
“Love loves to love love.”

- James Joyce, Ulysses -
J oyce's Ulysses , despite its title that inevitably refers to Homer and the
journey of the protagonist, is not an epic poem but a modern training novel
with features stolen, parodied, and subverted from the classic epic.
It does not have a courtly linguistic register aimed at exalting the hero, his deeds,
and the support of the divinities. Still, it is parodistic and characterized by that
famous narrative contrivance that is the stream of consciousness, which allows
the author to express deeper and uncontrolled thoughts. The story does not
include years of heroic events, but only one day; that of June 16, 1904, when the
author's wife declared herself in love.
In Joyce's Ulysses , nothing particular seems to happen. There are no battles,
clashes, action, nor conflicts. And perhaps it is precisely this that makes it a
work of genius: the story revolves around Leopold and his wife Molly, and
Dedalus and their day studded with meetings. Yet, the story proceeds while
keeping the reader's attention on itself.
Joyce plays excellently with words, and with such a vast vocabulary, manages to
evoke all the images described by the author. The reader perceives the descent
into the Dublin of Ulysses, and follows closely all of Joyce's digressions that turn
out to be the real action of the whole novel. Therefore, the characters' thoughts
are the engine of the entire story, and the work cannot give up. Not only that: the
words chase each other with much musicality, as in a true epic poem in metric.
FASCINATING FACTS
The conservative principles of Ireland have considerably slowed down the
publication of the work at the time. It seems that even in other countries, such
as France, many respectable people were outraged by such a nonconformist
work and even organized demonstrations in which volumes of Joyce's works
were burned at stake.
June 16, of which Joyce speaks, is Bloomsday. It has been an annual
gathering since 2004, during which everyone eats together on Dublin's main
street. Then, excerpts from the famous Irish writer's works are read.
It seems that in the great work, which includes more than 265,000 words, the
writer features 30,000 different words, making the novel incredibly rich in
synonyms and terms.
ABOUT THE STORY

The day of an ordinary man is transformed into a journey toward interiority,
made of anguish, betrayals, starting with that of his wife and failures. However,
these elements are part of life, and one must be creative and able to adapt.
Leopold is like this: a man with a flat life, tolerant and dignified. Although he is
afflicted by life, he does not give up. He wakes up in the morning, lives his
Odyssey, and in the evening, returns to Ithaca. On the other hand, Dedalus is an
eclectic artist in search of freedom of thought and who does not accept the
chains of society. His interiority is different but just as vast as Leopold's. The
female figure of the story is Molly, Joyce's Penelope, a mysterious, seductive,
Dionysian woman with strong emotions, who has several relationships.
But it does not only explores human anxieties and failures. Joyce also adds
humor and sensuality, scenes bordering on the erotic that made the publication
of the work problematic. For this reason, despite its length, many readers have
recognized the genius of James Joyce and his Ulysses . Love and relationships,
eros, and desire are all present in Ulysses. The author then advances a special
focus on female sexuality, which he witnesses and never intervenes in.

1. Love is important. Yet, throughout the book, characters struggle with issues
related to this emotion. In Ulysses , as brilliant as the young artist is, he still
finds himself unable to love, perhaps held back by the need to understand
love in an intellectual sense. Leopold Bloom knows the importance of love,
but in the novel, we discover how great the risk is that love will fall into
sentimentality or easy infatuation.
2. Love, despite betrayals and obstacles, may not run out. Molly is a bit like
Penelope in the midst of the Proci, weaving the web while waiting for
Odysseus to return home. She is the one who makes the final decision to
return at the moment of Leopold's love proposal at the Pillars of Hercules
(another clear reference to the Odyssey ).
3. Maternal love is the purest love of all. The love of a mother is strong,
natural, inexplicable to the human being. It is the only true thing in life.
4. Love for one's neighbor is what allows one to emerge unscathed from
conflicts. Although Leopold is afflicted and wronged by others, he never
gives up and continues to show respect for his fellow men.
5. Sex is important, although it is not entirely known why. The plot of
Ulysses hinges on the fact that Leopold Bloom's wife is having an affair, and
on this particular day, June 16, Bloom knows she is going to sleep with
Blazes Boylan. Sexuality, particularly in its relationship to love, is a huge
issue that the text addresses. The question is: if you love someone, why is sex
so significant? The answer is sex is important, but we don't fully know why.
We learn more about the character's sexual appetites, foibles, and neuroses
throughout the volume than we could ever want to know. At the same time as
sex is revealed to be a problem, part of the book's advice is that sex is
something natural. It is not bad and does not need to be hidden. According to
Ulysses , even though it complicates our lives, sex is something to be
celebrated rather than something to be ashamed of.
6. Love dominates human beings’ lives, along with the death drive .
Humans are always searching for love, also understood as an answer to
loneliness and the inexorable end of our lives.
“VANITY FAIR”
“Never lose a chance of saying a kind word.”

- William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair -
I n Vanity Fair , Thakeray stages a representation in which all the puppets, as

he defines them, do nothing but show off, criticize, and ridicule humankind's
faults. No one is safe from judgment—not men or women, not even
children, are not exempt from the greed and hypocrisy on display. Everything, in
a sense, revolves around money. It is the only way to get into society, and it is
also like a seed that gives birth to evil, stimulating the bad and bringing ruin to
the good.
Becky Sharp and Emmy Sedley are just two of the figures who stand out in this
small specimen of English aristocracy. Everything in this fresco constantly
reminds readers of how serious everything is at the same time that it is not at all
important at the end of the day. In a world made up of appearances, love and war
are equal.
Nevertheless, even in a world whose rules are impossible, inappropriate
characters are always fascinating, and this great colorful circus of characters is
carefully constructed to engage and entertain. A social critique that caused a
scandal at the time of its publication, it now remains a fine portrait with which to
enjoy and relive the era’s society life with all of its merits and flaws. Vanity Fair
is a brilliant fresco of the English aristocracy's life that has become an absolute
masterpiece of literature. In this work, it becomes increasingly clear that those
who persevere in showing off are actually concealing their shortcomings, and the
more they expose themselves, the more obvious their desire to censor the truth
becomes.
ABOUT THE STORY

The novel's protagonist is the English society of 1800 as seen through the eyes of
two young women, Rebecca (Becky) Sharp and Amelia (Emmy) Sedley. The
first is intelligent, opportunist, and unscrupulous, while the second is naive,
loving, and kind. Becky is the ultimate anti-heroine. She is a beautiful, smart,
and talented young woman, but she is also a skilled manipulator and appears
amoral and without conscience.
The two women will alternate vices and virtues by getting married and living a
multifaceted but indeed not idyllic conjugal reality. With this novel, the author
shows how vacuous human existence can be, as the characters often pursue vain
and useless ideals, shunning, in different ways, what is really important and
meaningful.
FASCINATING FACTS
The novel was initially published in monthly installments between 1847 and
1848 and was only later published in a single edition.
The work's subtitle, A Novel Without a Hero, emphasizes how flawed all the
characters are, as is the whole of human reality.
The title comes from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress , where the pilgrim
stops along the way at an endless fair in a town called Vanity.
The author himself invented the word “snob” and first put it into writing in
Vanity Fair .
Critics greeted the work in enthusiastic tones, and Charlotte Brontë noted that
she particularly liked the illustrations.

1. Marry for love. Love is not a hunt for the richest partner. All of Rebecca's
actions revolved around finding a man rich enough to allow her to live a life
of ease and greatness. If only she had married for love, she would have been
infinitely happier and less lonely.
2. In love, being faithful is primary . Rebecca repeatedly cheats on Rawdon
Crawley. In love, it is essential to build a relationship based on trust and
loyalty.
3. Do not idealize your partner . Amelia does not have a critical view of the
man she loves, and neither does Rebecca when she is later lulled into a dream
of love. To love is to be able to recognize and embrace the merits and flaws
of the person you love.
4. In love, be brave . Amelia is a quiet and submissive girl with a fragile
character. She conforms and never tries to assert her uniqueness and her
thinking. In love, show spirit and personality to consolidate your relationship.
5. Appreciate those who love you . Remember not to take for granted the
people in your life who show you their love.
6. If you find that you are living a relationship that is a lie, end it . This is
precisely what Rawdon Crawley does when he discovers his wife's intricate
web of lies, even if it doesn't bring him happiness.
7. Those who betray your trust don't deserve you . George Osborne,
Amelia's husband, was willing to run away with Rebecca and betray a
woman who truly loved him from the bottom of her heart. Don't give credit
to those who don't respect you and betray your trust.
8. A relationship involves conviction and commitment . George’s father
convinced him not to marry Amelia; then, William Dobbin convinced him to
marry her. But, after he did, he got tired of it a few days later. Marriage is not
a pastime, and it should not be undertaken without a desire to commit.
9. You have the right to be happy . After the death of George, a man who did
not deserve her, Amelia lived for years obsessing over his memory. Grieving
a loss is understandable, but there comes a time to move on and take care of
your happiness.
10. In a relationship, it's better to find out the uncomfortable truths .
Rebecca opened Amelia's eyes by showing her the note George left her
before he died. If everything had been revealed from the beginning,
everything would have been different for Amelia.
11. If you love someone, declare yourself . Wiliam Dobbin sacrifices
himself for the good of his best friend and the woman he loves, pushing them
to get married, but sometimes if you love someone and you have the chance,
you should not wait to show your feelings. Life is too short.
12. Having suffered for love does not entitle you to hurt, manipulate, or
tease the next person who wants to love you. Nor does it entitle others to
do the same to you. Do not let the scars of love make you a worse person.
13. If you've been disappointed or rejected in love, don't foreclose the
possibility of experiencing feelings again. Becky, following the sad end of a
relationship, will never be honest with a man again. You should learn to be
more careful but never close the doors to love and the possibility of loving
and being loved.
“WAR AND PEACE”
“The strongest of all warriors are these two: Time and Patience.”
- Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace -
A book of history and a multivocal novel, but also a love story and a
lengthy confession, War and Peace is a big book that we are all aware
of, with its mammoth bulk of thousands of pages. Yet, it is not because
of its length that this book contains all of human knowledge. It is, instead,
because of Lev Tolstoy's extraordinary ability to narrate life with life itself.
The novel includes loves, illusions and disappointments, expectations and
defeats, and betrayals and separations in nineteenth-century Russian society and
features real characters, such as Napoleon, and invented characters, such as
Nicolaj and Natasha. Tolstoy gives an authentic account of the facts of war and
military tactics. In War and Peace , depictions of war include failed military
strategies, incompetent commanders, frightened soldiers, the dead, the wounded,
and copious amounts of blood. This imagery is contrasted with peace, which is
made by man's willingness to end suffering through the recognition of his own
limitations. Tolstoy proves that he deeply understands the souls of those who
live in such uncertain times, those in which moral decisions matter more than
anything else. His novel shows that it is essential to delineate the boundary
between good and evil, war and peace.
The book's length has always been a deterrent for many who dread approaching
such a vast work. However, after finishing War and Peace , one feels that those
pages were barely enough to tell the story. The accurate description of detail
never wanes; it is genuine and authentic, alive and pulsating. At times, Tolstoy
takes over the narrative by giving glimpses of the philosophy of history and
opinions on the meaning of life. His descriptions help contextualize the
philosophy behind the story. This generates a powerfully challenging novel that
fully repays readers’ efforts, including carrying around a book of such size and
weight, and that every true lover of literature must absolutely have in their
arsenal of reading.
FASCINATING FACTS
War and Peace is not the longest novel in the world's literary landscape, but it
is undoubtedly the richest and densest.
Tolstoy's attention to detail led to the censorship of some rather racy scenes
from Pierre and Helene's wedding night.
Some significant passages in the novel, including some dialogue, were
originally written in French, as was customary for the nineteenth century's
aristocracy.
Leone Ginzburg's introduction to War and Peace is one of the most
comprehensive and famous introductions to the work.
ABOUT THE STORY

The story follows the Napoleonic campaign in Russia in 1812, while the
manuscript was written in 1863. Tolstoy meant to write an epic of the man of his
time, as in the great Homeric creations. The protagonists are the families of the
Russian aristocracy, including the Bolkonsky and the Rostov families. The ideas
of the French Revolution penetrated into Russia during these years. The focus is
on the war of the three emperors, the battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon's invasion of
Russia, the abandonment and burning of Moscow, and the French's precipitous
retreat.
These events intersect with those of the two families, Bolkonsky and Rostov,
who are consumed by earthly events and seek salvation in their sense of justice
and peace. The big story and small stories are woven expertly together. The
invented characters seem to be the most real and realistic ones, while the real
historical characters simply play the part that was already written for them.
Without the author's interruptions and intrusions, War and Peace would not have
the same moral character and would not be as successful. In a nutshell, these
interruptions are necessary to understand Tolstoy’s philosophy of history: the
characters who have decision-making power over events are slaves to historical
laws, and man can do nothing against the course of events, but he can rise
morally over them.

1. Great love stories are never without their pitfalls. Pierre and Natasha are
prime examples of this.
2. You write your own destiny. History is not already mapped out; you can
find your own way and your own love.
3. Facing a duel out of jealousy is never a good choice.
4. Sooner or later, the time will come for each of us to fall in love. Just be
patient.
5. It doesn't matter if your long-term relationship ends . There is always a
chance to fall in love again and get back in the game.
6. The path to the relationship that makes you happy inevitably goes
through other relationships that may have ended badly.
7. You can find love even in difficult times, such as times of war.
8. Love can be a comfort to those who experience terrible times of anguish
and pain.
9. It is not easy to live in harmony with what is right in a world that
remains imperfect by nature.
10. True love conquers all, and our first love is not always our true love.
Most of us have to make a few mistakes to appreciate what we end up with.
This was true for Pierre and Natásha. Pierre married the cold but beautiful
Hélène because of social pressure. Natásha fell in love with Boris, then
Andrey, and then Anatole before realizing that she had always loved Pierre.
11. "Seize the moments of happiness, love, and be loved! That is the only
reality in the world; all else is folly." First and foremost, War and Peace is
a celebration of life. It is portrayed in all its aspects: happiness and sadness,
love and hate. This is life. Remember to welcome and treasure every moment
of joy and love and to be grateful for them.
“The whole world is divided for me into two parts: one is she, and there is all
happiness, hope, light; the other is where she is not, and there is dejection and
darkness...”
- Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace -
THOUGHTS & NOTES
__________________________________________________________________
GOLDEN CLASSICS
- To know us a little more -
Environmental awareness is important to us.
This book is printed-on-demand to reduce excess production. The ink is
chlorine-free, and the acid-free interior paper stock is provided by a supplier
certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
We chose to print in black and white on cream-colored paper made with 30%
post-consumer recycled material.
We believe you appreciate and share our choices.
Thank you so much for choosing us!
We trust that you, together with us, will continue to revise your daily practices to
make sure we are doing our part to protect the environment.
- Your satisfaction matters to us! -

Did you like this book? Did you find it interesting and useful?
We are always looking for ways to improve.
We would love to hear your feedback, and we would be deeply grateful if you
could take a couple of minutes to write a quick review.
You would help us improve and make known the value we provide.
Thank you!
- Greetings -
May all these shared contents brighten your life, day after day.
Share this book. Make it a gift for loved ones.
Be a sparkling creature for you and for all who cross your path.
From all those who united in the creation of this collection:

THANK YOU.
GOLDEN CLASSICS

Love Languages From Classics All About Love From 90 Must Read Novels and +200 Quotes For Your Daily Inspiration and Wisdom by Golden Classics (Classics, Golden)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Love Languages From Classics All About Love From 90 Must Read Novels and +200 Quotes For Your Daily Inspiration and Wisdom by Golden Classics (Classics, Golden)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

LOVE LANGUAGES

All about love from 90 must read novels and

First edition: April 2021.

Published by GOLDEN CLASSICS

VOLUME 2 – Passion Love

31. 06 timeless love lessons from A FAREWELL TO ARMS

79. 10 timeless love lessons from SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

A classic is like a diamond. It is forever.

Your daily inspiration & wisdom:

ABOUT THE STORY

TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

“I think... if it is true that

Your daily inspiration & wisdom:

W hen one thinks of Shakespearean dramas, one conjures mental images

ABOUT THE STORY

“Give me my robe, put on my crown; I have Immortal longings in me”

Your daily inspiration & wisdom:

ABOUT THE STORY

TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

“To go wrong in one's own way is better than to go right in someone

Your daily inspiration & wisdom:

ABOUT THE STORY

TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

Your daily inspiration & wisdom:

ABOUT THE STORY

TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

“Solitude produces originality, bold & astonishing beauty, poetry. But

Your daily inspiration & wisdom:

W e are talking about the irreducible Alonso Quijano, the protagonist of

ABOUT THE STORY

TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

Your daily inspiration and wisdom:

G oethe writes a novel that is an orchestra playing a beautiful symphony.

ABOUT THE STORY

15 TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

Your daily inspiration & wisdom:

I n life, you have to have courage. It is essential to throw yourself headlong

ABOUT THE STORY

TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

“Who are you then?"

“Whatever is the lot of humankind

Your daily inspiration & wisdom:

ABOUT THE STORY

TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

Your daily inspiration & wisdom:

H amlet is an elusive, enigmatic, and intense book. Among Shakespeare's

TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

Your daily inspiration & wisdom:

ABOUT THE STORY

TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

Your daily inspiration & wisdom:

TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

Your daily inspiration & wisdom:

T he tragedy of Macbeth is among Shakespeare’s darkest and bloodiest. It

ABOUT THE STORY

14 TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

“What's done cannot be undone.”

Your daily inspiration & wisdom:

M adame Bovary is a novel of scandal based on adultery, lies, and a

ABOUT THE STORY

TIMELESS LOVE LESSONS

Your daily inspiration & wisdom: