Compare and contrast - Essay Example

In literature though, this freedom may sometimes come in the form of death or detachment (Romeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde, etc.). Romantic love then deviates from its stereotypical conception and takes on a more macabre form, thus shattering its image of being a “means of salvation” (Langlan and Davidson 2). However, there is still the issue of the value of “the couple” as the primary unit of romantic/intimate relationship. In both “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin and “Fugitive Pieces” by Anne Michaels, human relationships are explored deeply and not just in a romantic sense.

The romantic relationship however of the main characters seem to be the fulcrum around which the story turns. Both authors also seem to have a taste for tragic endings as both works failed to achieve a “happily ever after” conclusion. Although yes, in “Fugitive Pieces” Jakob was able to embrace his traumatic past with the help of his love interest, he still was not spared from meeting a tragic demise. It is then only fitting to ask, whether in this modern day and age do people really equate the notion of romantic love with tragedy?

In “the Awakening” the relationship of the female protagonist Edna with her husband, Léonce and with her newly acquired friend, Robert is established to be one of the main points in the book. Upon closer look it is quite evident that both husband and wife do not regard each other in a romantic way at all. Their relationship is one that is not based on romance, perhaps once when they were newly married or were only starting to go out. However, although their relationship is not what you’d call romantic, the author has described a certain kind of intimacy unique only to couples.

That is, Edna and Léonce’s movements seem to indicate how comfortable they are with each other; how they have built a sense of trust around each other that they feel synchronized or tuned into the other’s movements. The way “she silently