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Analysis Of The Book ' The Four Loves ' Essay

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Many cruel things in the world are done in the name of “love.” But in what face of love are these acts fulfilled through? Is it through friendship? Or mere affection? Perhaps lust? Or, though unlikely, unconditional love? The nature of love is a prominent theme in Till We Have Faces. Every relationship in this book is unique -- there are no two alike. In every relationship, there is a “love” factor. Unfortunately, in English, there are no words to distinguish different types of the love being felt. One can love creatures, reading, and family members, but those are all entirely separate interpretations of the word “love.” That being said, Lewis saw the same inconsistencies and decided to dissect the meaning of love in his book The Four Loves. He connected many of findings to the characters throughout Till We Have Faces who portray elements of the four different loves: Storge, Philia, Eros, and Agape. Each of these loves plays a crucial part in the plot of the story. Storge, Greek for affection, is a love in which physical features don’t play a part in its existence. An example would be a love for a family member or close friend. (Four Loves 31-32) In Till We Have Faces, Orual -- the narrator and heroine of the novel -- is loved by Psyche, her younger sister; the Fox, a Greek slave and father figure, also loves Orual even though she is “ugly.” (Faces 11) Fox, Orual, and Psyche have a very special bond and the Fox is like a “true grandfather” (Faces 21) to

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