Persuasive/Argumentative Essay

   In recent years, romantic novels have grown in popularity – helping to spark a new wave of romantic movies and literature. Some of the most popular ones being The Notebook, Romeo and Juliet, and Titanic. Many of us remember these movies capturing an entertaining story of a “once in a lifetime” love, something we all desire to have. In recent discussions of romantic novels, a controversial issue has been whether these depictions can affect a person’s outlook on love. On one side of the argument, some say that it can affect someone’s perception of love because a person could be led to believe they are in love when in fact it’s fabricated by a fantasy. However, on the other hand, others argue that a person could still fall “hopelessly” in love with another regardless of whether they read novels – therefore they are still experiencing love and affection for them. My view is that one can only fall in love with another person because they are led to believe in the depictions of love in novels. Many are led to believe that love is shown through heroism, finding the “special one”, and lastly that love is sequential but this idea only hurts relationships. 

     Women in the 19th-century soldiers were often celebrated for their contribution to the war and this was also shown through literature. Men were always seen as the heroes in stories and women were the damsels in distress. The appearance of Burman with his war medals was brought to the attention of Marya. According to the text, “But all of them had to withdraw when the wounded Colonel Burman of the Hussars, with the order of St George in his buttonhole and with an “interesting pallor” as the young ladies of the locality put it, appeared at the minor-house..she singled him for special attention” (28). Burman stood out to the women because he was seen as a hero who won in battle. This made him special to Marya since her idea of a good love story starts with a hero. According to Pechorin “Her daughter listened with curiosity. In her imagination, you became the hero of a novel in the latest fashion” (93). This shows how Princess Mary compares Pechorin to her hero like the ones she has read. It deepens her interest in him because she applies her ideas to him. She builds him up as her hero in her story. Pechorin maneuvered the social conventions to save her from the situation by telling the drunken man that she is dancing with him. He knows what was going to happen if she refused then she would risk social suicide and if she accepted the dance she was going to humiliate herself in front of everyone. Pechorin realized that the only way for her to refuse a dance request is if she was dancing with another person. This changed her views on him because at first, she disliked him but now she views him as her savior. Mary is grateful that he was there to save her from the situation.

      Princess Mary and Marya are intrigued by the idea of finding someone who is “special” and stands out from the rest. Pechorin states “Women love only those whom they don’t know” (9). Mary fell in love with Pechorin because he stood out since he was new and she had not seen him before. She was usually surrounded by many suitors looking to marry her, but she grew interested in Pechorin because he was constantly avoiding her – only doing things to deliberately connect himself with her in some way. Pushkin states, “She was considered a wealthy match and many intended her for themselves or their sons. Marya Gavrilovna was brought up on French novels, and consequently was in love” (20). This meant, Marya grew up reading about romance and love becoming infatuated with the idea of it. The betrayal of romance in these french novels is displayed as something similar to Marya’s relationship and love for Vladimir. She chose him because the other suitors weren’t as interesting since they were perfect choices for her, but Vladimir was poor and had no rank. Therefore, she would make up a forbidden love story of her own. Both of these characters implement the protagonist found in these novels because they always fall in love with a person who stands out. 

      In the romantic novels that are idolized by Princess Mary and Marya love is shown to be sequential but they soon realize that real love is not comparable to that. According to the text, “So why was it that, as yet, she had not seen him at her feet and heard him declare his love? What was holding him back? Timidly, inseparable from true love, or the flirtatious of a cunning philanderer?… She prepared the most surprising denouncement and impatiently awaited the moment of romantic declaration” (29). Marya had started questioning what she was doing wrong and why he hasn’t yet fallen in love with her. This may have confused Marya because romance plays out differently in romantic novels – it brings out the idea of “love at first sight” in both partners. She was waiting for him to say that he is in love with her so she would marry him. This is seen as her getting impatient and waiting for the situation to turn into what she was hoping for. The text states, “You are silent? she went on. Perhaps you wish me to be the first to say that I love you. I was silent. Do you wish it? she went on, quickly running toward me. In the determination of her gaze and voice, therefore was something frightening” (132). Princess Mary was getting upset at Pechorin for not professing his love for her. It fuels her anger because of the way Pechorin stays silent which contributes to her dissatisfaction. As the story progressed, both female characters desperately longed and waited for a romantic story of their own, they never really got one.

     Others will argue that a person could fall “hopelessly” in love with someone else regardless of whether they read novels because they are still experiencing love and affection for the other person – as in the cases of Princess Mary and Marya. However, closely examining this piece as a reader, it should be argued that both cases are not examples of genuine relationships. Marya’s love for Vladimir was not genuine because she used him to portray the ideal forbidden love romance story like the ones in her french novels. When Vladimir stated, “Since we cannot live without each other and the will of our hard-hearted parents is barring out happiness, then why can we not ignore it” (21). It allowed for Marya’s imagination about love to tie in with their relationship. It was built on her fantasy she was longing to have and, in a way, this relationship was her idea of love, but not genuine love. Pechorin wrote, “I will tell you the whole truth, “I replied to the young princess, “I won’t justify, nor will I explain my actions. I don’t love you…Her lips paled slightly… Leave me alone, she said, only distinguished. I shrugged my shoulders, turned, and walked off” (140). He made her believe that he loved her even if he’s never admitted it. This means that a person could fall in love even if the feelings aren’t mutual. For instance, Mary is heartbroken over the fact that she fell in love but Pechorin doesn’t love her back. She was led to believe in a type of love that she had visualized in their relationships from the novels and it caused the relationship to fail. 

     In conclusion, when people try to emulate romance from books and movies they get an unachievable, unattainable love and relationship because they will end up trying hard to find something in the relationship that won’t exactly be there. The person won’t get the type of love that they want and the media, in this case, the romantic novels, set an unrealistic standard for what love is. The relationship that is being portrayed is nothing compared to how real-life relationships work. It’s not accurate in its depiction of how a relationship can become complicated – in the movies or books there’s always a resolution to the conflict and the couple always gets their “happy ending”. It does affect a relationship and a person because it makes them associate love with characteristics set by the media, which can cause the relationship not to work out.