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From: John van Hezewyk
Date: 9/22/2003
Time: 1:06:32 AM
Remote Name: 67.243.53.15
Petrarch’s obsession with Laura was utterly irrational and hopeless. The subject of his unrequited love was a married noblewoman he saw once in a church. There was never a possibility that any relationship would develop, yet he loved her until the day she died. In Petrach’s mind, love did not have to be reciprocated to be real. Had he confessed his feelings to Laura at the church in Avignon, she likely would have rejected him instantly. Petrarch could have sought her out anytime in the twenty-one years he loved her, but never did. He had idealized Laura in his mind, elevating her to an immortal plane, and her rejection would rob him of that image. Petrarch loved Laura with every fiber of his soul, sinking his entire being into the idealized image of her—and why not? Love was the inspiration for his life’s work, and it endured for over two decades without hope. The conflict between rational and sensual love—between Petrarch and Castiglione—is a macrocosm of human nature. Love is always a battle between heart and mind, and highlights the enormous distance between emotion and reason. Love inevitably takes the side of brash, irrational emotion against cool, calm reason—thinking about or analyzing love destroys its optimistic idealism. Despite the absence of all hope, Petrarch loved Laura for years—blind optimism oblivious to reality, the pure victory of love over reason. We should all be so fortunate.