![]() It will be enjoyed and understood by two groups of readers: those who have been in love (or think they have, which is the same thing), and those who have never been in love (or think they have not, which is the same thing). This book revives - beyond the psychological or clinical enterprises which have characterised such researches in our culture - the notion of the amorous subject. It is a language of solitude, of mythology, of what Barthes calls an image repertoire. This book revives - beyond the psychological or clinical enterprises which have characterised such researches in our culture - the notion of the amorous sub The language we use when we are in love is not a language we speak, for it is addressed to ourselves and to our imaginary beloved. Some of the most notable figures in a lover’s mind are “adorable,” “waiting,” “festivity,” and “suicide.The language we use when we are in love is not a language we speak, for it is addressed to ourselves and to our imaginary beloved. Each figure comes with a short definition that’s packed with emotion, wit, and deeper meaning. They range from feelings of excitement, adoration, and arousal to feelings of neglect, loss, and anxiety. A Lover’s Discourse is essentially a stream of Barthes’s consciousness, split up into organized and neat categories and compartments. He calls on the work of great philosophers and weaves in references to Plato, Freud, and Goethe’s Werther to establish an idea of love outside of his own theorizations. References are also crucial to the novel’s success, as the quotes and theories Barthes integrates from other sources validate his discourse. He writes, “there are no first figures, no last figures,” suggesting that every fragment is equally important and plays a different role in a lover’s mind. ![]() Barthes discusses how prioritization of emotions and experiences changes in every situation, due to external circumstances all relationships are different in their order, although the figures are typically all present. ![]() Order is vital to this novel because there is no order at all when it comes to love. A Lover’s Discourse is broken down into 80 fragments, or what Barthes calls “figures,” defined as “gestures of the lover at work.” He also highlights the importance of two other structural components: order and references. The simple compartmental structure is key to this novel, as broken down by Barthes in the introductory section. The piece is an image-repertoire it is an outpouring of realities that take control of one’s mind when one is deep in love. Instead, he refers to the lovers he mentions anonymously, by using names like “X.” Despite being rooted in Barthes’s personal experiences, the novel generally addresses the mind of any individual, whether they are falling head over heels or they’re lost in heartbreak. ![]() ![]() Barthes utilizes first-person narrative throughout the novel, making the piece autobiographical. By combining theory, linguistics, philosophy, literature, and experiences, Barthes’s novel explores the trials and tribulations of what being in love does to your mind. Translated from French for its publication in 1977, the whimsical piece has become a literary classic in a genre all of its own. Roland Barthes’s thought-provoking novel A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments is as romantic as the language it was written in. ![]()
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