The Theme of Love

In this essay I will be analyzing the theme of love in the film “One Day” and a few short stories such as The Blue Film, An English Unofficial Rose and The Legacy. The purpose of this is to explore how love is represented in each of these romantic tales.

One Day tells the story of Emma and Dexter who meet upon their graduation from university. The one day they spent together after their graduation is the day they fell in love; however, Dexter was young and surely he did not want to commit to anyone. After that day, the pair could not stop thinking about one another and found themselves reuniting on the same day each year. It takes them nearly twenty years of a continued friendship to realize they are meant for each other. After they get married things don't last very long. Emma dies in an accident, leaving Dexter alone, depressed and in a very dark place. Without Emma’s love Dexter finds himself lost and lonely. When they’re together you can see that they are good for each, they bring out each other's good side. Near the end you have Ian talking to Dexter and he says she made you decent and in return you made her happy. At the end of the day, things don't always end up the way you want them to and life is surely not a fairy tale.

The Blue Film is about an old couple that aren’t very fond of each other. In regards to his wife, Mr. Carter says that there is no company more cheerless than that of a woman who is not desired. Therefore we can see that the love that once was there is no longer or maybe he never loved her, and instead just settled for her. When Mrs. Carter asked Mr. Carter why he acted in the film with the young woman he said it was the only way he can help her and that he loved her. So he did not love his wife, and the one woman he loved was actually the prostitute. At the end of the story Mr. Carter felt that “he had betrayed that night the only woman he loved” (Graham Greene, 355), Mr. Carter betrays a prostitute by sleeping with his wife. This...