Aristophanes Views On Love :: essays research papers

Aristophanes Views on LoveIn the Symposium, a most(prenominal) interesting view on love and soul mates are provided by one(a) of the characters, Aristophanes. In the speech of Aristophanes, he says that there is essentially a type of love that connects people. Aristophanes begins his description of love by present workforcet the tale of how love began. He presents the tale of three sexes male, female, and a faction of both. These three distinct sexes represented ones soul. These souls split in half, creating a mirror image of for each one one of them. Aristophanes describes love as the search for the other half of your soul in this quote When a mans natural spend a penny was split in two, each half went round looking for its other half. They put their arms some one another, and embraced each other, in their desire to grow together again. Aristophanes mind is the power of Eros and how not to abuse it. Aristophanes thinks that a humans love is clearly a lack a lack of ones other half- and having no meant to satisfy themselves they begin to die. Zeus, having failed to foresee this impediment repairs the damage by inventing sexual reproduction (191 b-c). Any embracements of men with men or of women with women would of course be sterile though the participants would at least(prenominal) have some satiety of their union and a relief, (191 c) and therefore would be able to carry on the work of the world. Sex, therefore, is at this stage a drive, and the object is defined provided as human. Sexual preferences are to turn out tho as the human gains experience, enabling them to discover what their sea captain form had been. Aristophanes has mildly insulted the previous speakers in two ways. By claiming that one of the original forms was androgynous, he has suggested that heterosexuality is at least as natural as male homosexuality as is being a lesbian. In contrast, Empedokles in fact did hold to a theory of sorts based on seaworthiness to the environ ment, the description at 191c strongly suggests that only heterosexual relationships yielding only a temporary satisfaction and relief, allowing the participants to go about their business. He does go on to suggest that those who are sections of androgynes are adulterers adulteresses (191 d-e), but this can only show the rather bizarre belief that sexual intercourse with a member of the same sex does not constitute adultery.