The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, explores the themes of love, wealth, class, and idealism in pursuit of the American dream. The novel presents love as a concept that is closely associated with wealth and class. The characters within the novel are seen to act out of desire, love, and sexual longings. However, the connections and relationships arising from these motivations are neither stable nor last for long ( Fitzgerald, 2007) . One would interpret this to mean that these are destructive forces and that the characters use them as fashioned weapons to gain an upper hand in terms of wealth and class. Gatsby is driven by the possessive love he feels for Daisy Buchanan and makes efforts to recreate the kind of love they shared some five years ago ( Bunce, 2015) . However, due to his wealth, Daisy refuses to renounce her marriage, resulting into a crushed Gatsby.
The Road Less Traveled , a novel by M. Scott Peck defines the concept of self-love as the will than an individual has to extend himself with the aim to nurture his own spiritual growth. This idea love is a teleological definition because the behavior (self-love) is defined according to the goal that it seeks to accomplish (nurturing of spiritual self). The importance of this definition was crucial since the author realized that many people were confused as to what the concept of self-love meant. Love is presented as a circular and evolutionary process through which one attains a higher sense of being, whether the act of love is extended towards personal spiritual growth or the growth of others ( Scott, 1978).
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Research Question: How is the notion of self-love tied to the romantic love than one feels towards others and what are the results of prioritizing self-love?
According to Scott in The Road Less Travelled, self-love is intricately tied to love for others. This is based on the premises that because I am human and you are human, and I love humans, then the conclusion is that I must love you as much as I love myself because we are both humans. Scott posits that it is impossible to love others unless we do love ourselves in the same vein in which we cannot forsake our spiritual; growth and enlightenment in favor of the growth and enlightenment of others. To this end, ultimately, self-love and love for others are indistinguishable.
Love is also presented as an effort that people strive towards with exertion, and that is why people often go the extra mile in the name of love, again, whether for themselves or for others. The ultimate display of love is seen in action, where love is distinguished between the desire to do something in the name of love and actually doing something. Loving oneself and then loving others is an action that cannot compare with mere feelings of love, which have been considered to be fleeting ( Scott, 1978) ( Scott, 1978) . The characters in The Great Gatsby could not engage in normal loving relationships because most had not mastered the art of self-love and nurtured themselves first, an action that would have inspired a love for their partners by acting in their best interests. This is because love is an intention or desire that is transformed into action. Essentially, the act of loving is a choice that one must make through exertion because intentions are not enough.
References
Bunce, S. (2015). Love and Money: An Analysis of The Great Gatsby. Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow Volume 15: 6 June 2015 ISSN 1930-2940 , 164.
Fitzgerald, F. S. (2007). The Great Gatsby . Broadview Press. Scott Peck, M. (1978). The Road Less Travelled. New York: Simon and Shuster .
