February 14th, 1892
My Dear Refined Gentleman, An unorthodox first request; my own definition of love. I had thought it the fashion to be circumspect and never bring up any word beginning with L so early in a correspondence with a gentleman, no matter how unconventional the origin of that correspondence. Perhaps you intended this as the first test of the open-mindedness you seek? In any case, I shall humor you:
My dictionary (the Oxford English published 1890) offers no less than seven definitions of love, to which I respectfully refer and draw inspiration from in creating my own. 1: a peaceful resolution to a legal dispute. While I suppose peaceful resolutions are better than the alternative, I should hope this correspondence sparks no legal disputes of any variety. 2: the benevolence and affection of God towards an individual or towards creation. Now we shall see how open-minded you really are; I disregard this portion of the definition. It's not necessarily that I don't believe in God, but rather that I've seen very little evidence that He likes us, so when I craft my definition of love I think it best to leave Him out of it.
Which brings us to 3: strong predilection or fondness of something; devotion to something, and 4: an intense feeling of attachment felt by one person for another. Here I believe we are getting a little more to the point. I shall take fondness, devotion, and intense feeling for my own definition.
5: desire or lust. What should I say about this? Young women are not supposed to have opinions on such things, although...
6: a person who is beloved of another; an object of love. That seems a bit circuitous, doesn't it? I fail to see how it is particularly distinct from definitions 3 & 4. And finally, 7: In the capital sense, a personification of romantic or lustful affection; Eros, Cupid, etc. I think we may safely disregard this last usage for our purposes, unless you are seeking definitions of love in order to throw elaborate theme parties.
So working from the bones of fondness, devotion, and intense feeling, what should I add? I shall add that fondness should be warm but not blind; one ought to keep wits around and press for intellectual stimulation even at the risk of skipping several (perhaps well-due) compliments, but also never fearful to give compliments when the moment calls for it. Devotion should be total and complete in the moments when two lovers are together but not jealous at times when they're apart. Intensity of feeling — well, no, I leave that one on its own; it is sufficient.
Now that I have given you my offering I must entreat you for yours. How do you define love? On which particular points would you quarrel with mine?
My dictionary (the Oxford English published 1890) offers no less than seven definitions of love, to which I respectfully refer and draw inspiration from in creating my own. 1: a peaceful resolution to a legal dispute. While I suppose peaceful resolutions are better than the alternative, I should hope this correspondence sparks no legal disputes of any variety. 2: the benevolence and affection of God towards an individual or towards creation. Now we shall see how open-minded you really are; I disregard this portion of the definition. It's not necessarily that I don't believe in God, but rather that I've seen very little evidence that He likes us, so when I craft my definition of love I think it best to leave Him out of it.
Which brings us to 3: strong predilection or fondness of something; devotion to something, and 4: an intense feeling of attachment felt by one person for another. Here I believe we are getting a little more to the point. I shall take fondness, devotion, and intense feeling for my own definition.
5: desire or lust. What should I say about this? Young women are not supposed to have opinions on such things, although...
6: a person who is beloved of another; an object of love. That seems a bit circuitous, doesn't it? I fail to see how it is particularly distinct from definitions 3 & 4. And finally, 7: In the capital sense, a personification of romantic or lustful affection; Eros, Cupid, etc. I think we may safely disregard this last usage for our purposes, unless you are seeking definitions of love in order to throw elaborate theme parties.
So working from the bones of fondness, devotion, and intense feeling, what should I add? I shall add that fondness should be warm but not blind; one ought to keep wits around and press for intellectual stimulation even at the risk of skipping several (perhaps well-due) compliments, but also never fearful to give compliments when the moment calls for it. Devotion should be total and complete in the moments when two lovers are together but not jealous at times when they're apart. Intensity of feeling — well, no, I leave that one on its own; it is sufficient.
Now that I have given you my offering I must entreat you for yours. How do you define love? On which particular points would you quarrel with mine?
Sincerely,
A charming young lady to whom you might devote yourself
A charming young lady to whom you might devote yourself
Beautiful set by Kit!
