“Rock meeting rock can know love better
Than eyes that stare or lips that touch
All that we know in love is bitter,
And it is not much.”

“Annihilation” by Conrad Aiken

Conrad Aiken states that people do not understand the essence of love. They only know and practice its physical aspect and bitterness. They believe love is supposed to satisfy one’s emotional needs, self-interests, and desires to help. If one of these aspects is not satisfied, bitterness arises. People are unable to understand and appreciate each other. They want instant gratification from love. They expect to see immediate results, such as gestures or quick responses, from their actions. However, Aiken states that true love is hard to comprehend. Simply, love is understanding. One’s willingness to accept, understand, and appreciate another creates love. Love allows people to grow as individuals. A lover should not interfere with the growth of the beloved. As disagreements and conflicts arise in relationships, the lover has a duty to accept and understand the beloved’s faults and problems. Love is altruism. In the first line of “Annihilation,” Aiken states that rocks know more about love than humans. Love can be found within nature. Rocks do not complain about their surroundings as they coexist with nature peacefully. The ability to coexist originates from love. Most people do not understand or practice Conrad Aiken’s view of love. People want to love and be loved in return. However, love does not have to be mutual. With love, all things can heal. Love, altruism, and understanding are intertwined. Love and its consequences are discussed in Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It and Carson McCullers’s The Ballad of the Sad Café.

A River Runs Through It, by Norman Maclean, is a short novel that defines love. The plot revolves around the relationship between two brothers, Norman and Paul Maclean. In the novel, Paul has tragic flaws. He has a strong hubris and quick temper. He drinks a lot of alcohol and gets into fights. Paul is unable to have any stability in his life. He moves from one woman to another for comfort. Also, Paul is in debt as he gambles and gets into car crashes. The author compares Paul’s lifestyle to a bear running up a mountain. Norman states that “The bear leaves the earth like a bolt of lightning retrieving itself and making its thunder backwards” (Maclean 61). Paul destroys everything in his path like the bear. His future, goals, and morals are ruined by his tragic flaws. His actions affect everyone around him. Norman wants to heal Paul. To see him change, Norman offers money, advice, and conversations to Paul. However, Paul is too stubborn to accept his help. Norman tells his father that his “trouble is I don’t know him. In fact, one of my troubles is that I don’t even know whether he needs help” (89). Norman fails to help Paul because Norman does not understand his brother. Paul does not need money and advice. To change, Paul needs love. Norman’s father realizes this and states that love is the act of “giving part of yourself to somebody who comes to accept it willing and needs it badly” (89). Love is selfless and it can heal everything. Tragically, Norman realizes this fact after Paul’s death. The author states that “all good things - trout as well as eternal salvation - come by grace” (5). All good things, including change and healing, come from grace. Grace, selfless and underserved favor, can only come from love. Without grace, one cannot love without complete understanding. The author acknowledges that love is like a river. He asserts that “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. [...] Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs “ (113). Love connects words, people, memories, and feelings together. Like a river, love gives life and shelter to those who ask for it. Love preserves everything. Whenever Paul fished by the river, he was redeemed from his sins and past. Like a river, love can change people too.

Carson McCullers advocates Aiken’s beliefs on love in The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. Amelia, the protagonist, owns a liquor store. A lonely woman, she is cross-eyed. She is cold and cruel to her customers until she falls in love with Cousin Lymon. As Amelia is a giant and Cousin Lymon is a hunchback, McCullers states that love is blind. McCullers does not explain Amelia’s attraction because love is uncontrolled. Through love, Amelia finds redemption as she changes completely. Her love becomes unconditional and self-sacrificing. She demonstrates this as she gives everything, such as her kidney stones, snuffbox, and her father’s bed, to Cousin Lymon. She becomes a sweeter, gentler, and kinder person. She tends to the poor and treats the sick. Loving Cousin Lymon, she gives him everything he needs to grow. She crucified her old way of life for Cousin Lymon. Even the townspeople gain redemption. The “richest, greediest old rascal will behave themselves” (McCullers 213) around Amelia and Cousin Lymon. However, Amelia soon begins to feel the bitterness described from “Annihilation.” She is frustrated that Cousin Lymon does not return her love. McCullers state that in these situations, “the lover is forever trying to strip bare his beloved” (216). Love is an experience between the “lover and the beloved” (216). As the lover, Amelia tries to gain all of Cousin Lymon’s attention. She wants to feel loved. However, her cravings for any possible relations tire him. The beloved is uncomfortable as he cannot reciprocate her love. Amelia houses an intense love within herself. The lover suffers loneliness because “love is a solitary thing” (216). McCullers acknowledges that love has disredemptive qualities. This is a fact that most people do not know about. Conrad Aiken states that people know about the physical pleasures and bitterness that arise from love. They do not know that love can give and destroy life. By the end of the novel, Cousin Lymon betrays Amelia’s love. While Amelia is fighting the antagonist, Marvin Macey, Cousin Lymon attacks Amelia. Thus, Amelia loses the fight and Cousin Lymon runs away with Marvin Macey, his love. This betrayal destroys Amelia’s life and purpose. As she loses a special thing in her life, her life falls apart. She stops tending the sick and she does not treat her customers fairly. She returns to her old way of life. One day, love can be found. The next day, it can be gone. Aiken states that “All that we know in love is bitter.” Through her loss, Amelia suffers the ultimate consequence: bitterness. She returns to her old way of life. Her “gray eyes - slowly day by day they were more crossed” (252) as Amelia’s life is consumed by grief, bitterness, and loneliness.

A River Runs Through It and The Ballad of the Sad Cafe explain the power of love. With love, anything is possible. Redemption can be found in love. Paul Maclean finds redemption through his love for fly fishing. His love for nature cleanses his sins. When love is lost, disredemption is achieved. After Marvin Macey defeats Amelia, the whole town begins to deteriorate. As “Nothing moves” every “soul rots with boredom” (McCullers 251-252). The townspeople, knowing they aren’t worth much, have to live with deep bitter feelings. Conrad Aiken states that there are more to love “Than eyes that stare or lips that touch.” Love is self-sacrificing and selfless as it the act “giving part of yourself to somebody who comes to accept it willing and needs it badly” (89). Conrad Aiken declare that love can be found in nature. Like the sun, love gives life. Love is always graceful to those who accept it.