In “Twelfth Night” by William Shakespeare and “Enduring Love” by Ian McEwan, the quest for love is presented within the main characters. Their attempts to pursue a relationship could be considered romantic and passionate; however, one could also argue that these pursuits border on obsession. In the case of “Twelfth Night,” one could argue that the obsession is simply a continuation of the infatuation; something that expresses deep love and true emotion. However, in "Enduring Love", the reader is introduced to obsessive love early on, with the idea of ​​romantic love being ignored by the reader due to the unreliable narrator. There are arguments suggesting that the pursuit of romantic love and obsession are both similar and distinct concepts. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In “Twelfth Night,” Orsino’s pursuit of Olivia is arguably more romantic than obsessive. His pursuit of romantic love is seen as innocent and harmless, indicating that there is a clear distinction between pursuit and obsession. When Curio asks, “Are you going to hunt my lord?” The heart. Orsino responds by saying, "Well, that's what I do, the noblest thing I have." The image of Orsino hunting deer juxtaposed with the image of Olivia implies that Orsino is attempting to portray a sense of masculinity and power by referencing the slaughter of animals, which was a characteristic of love courtesy commonly practiced. As this form of pursuit was so prevalent in Shakespeare's time, it could be argued that Orsino was in no way obsessive at this point. The play on words in "The Stag" implies that Orsino is also attempting to bring comedy to the situation, which the audience watching the play would have found more humorous than obsessive. The concept of courtly love often implies that men must earn a woman's love, which is clearly seen in Orsino's romantic quest for Olivia as she "until seven years of heat, never will not see its reality in plain sight. Similarly, in "Enduring Love", it could be argued that at times Jed Parry attempts to pursue Joe romantically, with little evidence of obsession. In his first letter to Joe, Jed begins by saying: " I feel happiness running through me like an electric current." Later he said: "So I got it. You touched them in a certain way, in a pattern that evoked a simple message. I would miss it, Joe!” Jed using stereotypical and conventional love letter language such as abstract nouns, similes, and metaphorical language to convey his adoration for Joe implies that Jed's quest for love is innocent. The chapter being in the form of a love letter has implications that Jed is aware that his love for Joe is not reciprocated and therefore must resort to long-distance communication. direct in "Did you really think I'd miss it, Joe!" denotes how personal and deeply rooted this romantic quest is. As "Enduring Love" is a postmodern novel with a meta-narrative, the reader is aware of the extent of Jed's obsession, therefore is unable to see the romantic and innocent nature of the letter. The reader's perception of Jed is seen as negative from the beginning of the novel, as the narrator not only tells the story in hindsight, but also with the idea that it is a narrative in mind. a fine line between pursuit and obsession, and this obsessive love can be seen in both texts. In “The TwelfthNight,” the drastic measures taken by Viola to get closer to Orsino could be seen as an example of obsessive love. When Orsino asks Viola to charm Olivia on his behalf, Viola says, "I will do my best to woo your lady." (Aside) And yet, a tumultuous fight! Whoever I court, I myself will be his wife. The use of aside to express Viola's inner thoughts symbolizes how deceptive she is willing to be in order to pursue a romantic relationship with Orsino. The rhyming couplet of "conflict" and "wife" reflects the ending of a love sonnet, symbolizing how Viola's obsessive pursuit of Orsino is based on romantic infatuation. The extent to which Viola is willing to change her identity to meet the expectations of a man she has just met demonstrates her obsession with Orsino. The notion of obsession is also explored in “Enduring Love”, since Jed suffers from Clerambault syndrome. In a letter to Joe, Jed says: “Joe, Joe, Joe…I admit, I covered five sheets of paper with your name. » “Confess” has religious implications, with connotations of sin and bad deeds. This religious imagery juxtaposed alongside "I covered five sheets of paper with your name" implies that although Jed believes his quest for romantic love with Joe is attainable, it is immoral. It could be argued that in Jed's case, due to his condition, the pursuit of romantic love cannot occur without obsession being involved. Religious overtones can be found during the balloon crash when Jed asks Joe to pray with him. “Parry wasn’t giving up. He was still on his knees” could be seen as foreshadowing the nature of his romantic quest for Joe. Jed does not let go of the ball, a symbol of chaos, reflecting his inability to let go of his obsession with Joe. This image being so early in the book implies that Jed's pursuit of Joe was in fact always obsessive. In “Twelfth Night,” it can be suggested that Orsino has an obsession with the idea of ​​love, which is much greater than his obsession. with the woman he is trying to pursue. When telling Viola what message to convey to Olivia, he says "Oh, then unveil the passion of my love, surprise her with the speech of my dear faith." Orsino's repetition of the personal pronoun "my", as well as his use of empty adjectives such as "faith" and "passion" imply that he is more concerned with making himself look good than trying to engage with Olivia . It could be suggested that Orsino's constant search for love caused him to become obsessed with himself, as well as form an obsession with love itself. This is reflected when he says: “Go ahead of me to gentle flower beds. Love thinks of a rich life when covered with arbors. The rhyme of “flowers” ​​and “arbors,” which reflects a love sonnet, has implications of love and passion. However, "the thoughts of love are rich" implies that he is not thinking about Olivia, but simply about love as a whole. In contrast, in "Enduring Love", Jed's obsession is purely based on an individual; however, he attempts to conceal his true quest. Although Jed's true goal is to pursue Joe romantically, he uses his faith to conceal the true intention of his obsession. In one letter, Jed said: “To bring you to God, through love. Are you going to fight like crazy because you are far from your own feelings? But I know that Christ is in you. On some level, you know it too. The use of religious lexicons such as "Christ" and "God" indicates the extent to which Jed is obsessed not only with Joe, but also with religion. He is so involved in both concepts that he thinks it allows him ».