Forty Rules of Love - Essay Example

The novel ‘Forty Rules of Love’ by Elif Shafak dwells a lot on relationships and love. It shows how relationships can be developed by love and also how they can be destroyed by it. The first relationship involves Ella and David. They had been in marriage for twenty years. According to the author, Ella married David at a tender age because of love. As the years progressed, their love began to diminish as other factors started to influence their marriage. Ella was burdened with the responsibilities of a common housewife. She went to the point of suspending her career as childbearing and care took a toll on her. David made the marriage more difficult because of cheating on her. He established illicit relationships with her mistresses. This does not auger well with Ella who files a divorce suit to terminate their marriage. The scenario illustrates how a relationship can be suppressed when love starts to dwindle (Shafak, 2010).

The second relationship in the book involves Ella’s daughter Jeannette and Scott. Theirs is a clear manifestation of how love can be expressed in a relationship. The young couple had dated for only eight months. They argue that the love they feel for one another is enough for them to formalize their relationship. Their love enables their relationship to transcend the barriers of race. Jeannette is a Jew whereas Scott is not. Jeannette is not deterred by her mother’s efforts of dissuading her from the relationship (Shafak, 2010).

In my view, the relationship between Jeannette and Scott is the best example of love. They are able to see beyond their races. It shows that love surpasses all barriers known by human beings.