Is love a theme? Or is it a subject? I think love can function as both. How can love not be a theme? How can the basic underlying of all human existence not be a theme? Love is the subconscious and conscious culprit that explains many of the decisions we make on a daily basis. Love is the main theme in countless works of literature. This powerful force drives characters to accomplish incredible feats, overcome obstacles, or slay dragons to be with the ones they love. It is the unbreakable bond of love that is found in classic movies such as Shrek, The Little Mermaid, The Princess Diaries , and many more. These films teach us that true love is really out there, no matter what. In these occurrences, love functions as a theme.
With that being said, however, love can function as a subject and not a theme. Love can be the reason why the theme appears, but not the theme itself. Take the movie, Finding Nemo for example. Marlin, a clown fish, in the Great Barrier Reef loses his one and only son, Nemo, to some divers, who put Nemo in a fish tank. Marlin then sets out on an epic journey to find his son. Along the way me meets all sorts of sea life who become his friends and help him rescue his son. Love influenced Marlin to go to hell and back to find Nemo, but the real theme is to never give up and there are always unlikely candidates who will help you. In this instance, love is not a theme, but merely a catalyst for other themes to emerge.
While discussing our reactions to Ecclesiastes, I came to realize something powerful beyond the themes of Ecclesiastes itself. I discovered that even though we all read the same text, all of our reactions and interpretations are greatly varied. This is because we all have different experiences, different morals, different knowledge, and different ideologies. These differences all add up as we interpret the text in different ways based upon our way of thinking. Everything is relative to how we perceive it. I have heard this concept many times before but it is more relatable now that I have experienced it first hand and have been able to identify people's different frames of mind right away. Despite these differences, we are all able to relate back to the same section of Ecclesiastes we read. Crazy, isn't it? I am even impressed with the amount of introspection that has taken place due to Ecclesiastes. What a great text to begin the year with!
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