Analysis of What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
In his short story Raymond Carver describes the love stories of four friends: Mel, a 45-year old cardiologist, Teresa or Terri, his wife, Nick and his wife, Laura, a legal secretary. The story is told by Nick. One evening friends gather around a bottle of gin. They drink and talk about love. All of them believe that they know everything about love. Terri starts and talks about her ex-boyfriend, Ed, who beat her. Teresa wants to prove that abuse was made only because of love. Later, when Terri left his boyfriend to date with Mel, he committed a suicide. This action was another proof of love for Teresa. Mel and Terri argued about this. Nick and Laura say that they know everything about love. Yet, they remain silent. Mel tells a story about an elderly couple he once treated. They survived into a dreadful accident but were badly injured. Spouses suffered because they could not see each other. For them love meant a visual contact first of all. Mel believes that he knows what love means to him but he has the most practical view on this issue. He knows he loved his ex-wife, he loves Teresa and he would love another woman if something would happen to his current lover. Friends dry the bottle of gin but cannot decide what to do next.
The story’s main theme is love. Everyone has its own understanding of it but nobody can explain it in details. Love is more than words can describe. For Teresa love is related to abuse, whether in application to her or to the one who loves her. The theme of home violence is very disputable in the modern world and Carver turns to it showing that in many minds love cannot be divided from hate and abuse. Mel, Terri’s husband is practical and love means respect and physical manifestations. His business-like approach is highlighted by his language: he uses describes injured couple in details. Nevertheless, author shows the inadequacy of language with this fact. The couple, which seems happy, cannot say anything about the feeling. However, author also shows that in his own view love is not eternal because he points out that Nick and Laura are together 18 months only.
The alcohol friends are drinking all the time only highlights the inadequacy of language. Furthermore, the sun, which is high, when the friends start talking, is a symbol of loss, loss of clearness and happiness. At the beginning, the kitchen is bright and the dialogue is lively but at the end friends are upset.
