By Lida Prypchan
He whom passion has never touched can never comprehend it. (Dante)
One should bid farewell to love when passion has died. Passion is the driving force behind attraction, nearness and mutual sharing, and without it those special looks cannot be shared. In general passionate relationships are rare, because so much emotion in a person’s life can somehow eventually become disruptive. This must be the reason why we find so many couples clinging to convention and a staid yet serene way of life.
Passion doesn’t refer just to the emotional level, but to all other levels too – passion for art, passion for work. This reminds me of the belief that a person disappointed in love will make up for it in work. In this regard, we mustn’t forget Freud’s theory about Leonardo de Vinci, which claims that since Leonardo didn’t give free rein to his sexuality, he accumulated an inner energy which he used to create his paintings and scientific inventions. However, I am of the opinion that one works better when emotionally satisfied. The reason for this is that everything is dependent upon a person’s state of mind. Solitude many times can be a friend, but one needs human companionship – to hold a conversation, to give of oneself, to caress and be caressed. If this aspect of life is satisfied, there is an increase in vitality because of new desires – desires to produce desires to alleviate one’s anxieties.
The above title, The Prince Who Died of Love, refers to the life of Prince Juan, the brother of Juana la Loca, or “Joan the Mad,” who married the Archduchess Margarita. It happened during a period of conservatism. When she arrived, the order had already been given by the prince’s mother that they were not as much as to touch hands in greeting. The prohibition was so effective that when they finally came together after their marriage, it was with such desire and persistence that doctors concluded the prince’s health was endangered. The only cure they could recommend was a temporary separation for the unrestrained couple. Juan’s mother disagreed, saying, “Man should not separate what God has joined.” Worn out by the physical excesses of love, the prince died a few months later. Of course this was not the cause of his death, since instinct is dulled from its own overindulgence before any harm can result.
This incident left its mark on Don Fernando, his father, who always recommended moderation to newly married couples so they would not suffer the same fate as his son.
The life and death of Juan never became a legend because no one believes that an enthusiastically satisfied love can result in death.
One should bid farewell to love when passion has died. But one must also bid farewell when passion can lead to death – because there are passions that kill. Be that as it may, all of this sheds light upon why the course of passion is so brief: because it leads to extremes.
