"As
It Was in the Beginning", a story by E. Pauline Johnson tells the tale of
Esther, a Redskin Indian girl who was taken in and raised by a Church
missionary, Father Paul. Lawrence, her childhood companion and Father Paul's adopted
son, one day proposed to her. She was very happy, but only until she overheard
Father Paul's rejection of the idea, saying that her bloodline was of a poor
quality. Driven by disappointment, confusion, and anger, Esther killed Lawrence
and fled the house to her mother and father's settlement. This shows Esther’s
darker side of love which led her to do that what true love does not. Killing
is an unacceptable deed, especially if it is done in the name of love.
From
my point of view, Esther's killing Lawrence is a deed which cannot be agreed
with. Rather than love, her actions after she overheard Lawrence and Father
Paul's conversation are driven by anger and hatred. Morally, any kind of
intentional murder, for whatever reason, cannot be accepted. Over her betrayed feelings, Esther
should remember that she was always indebted to Father Paul and Lawrence who
took her in, gave her food, and taught her many things so that she could become
what she was. She should have contained her feelings and then try to talk with
Lawrence before leaving for home. Perhaps, her violent actions did reflect that
she was a "caged beast waiting to kill" as Father Paul described her.
If she did not react in that way, she might actually prove the description
wrong, convincing Father Paul that she was not a beast and so were her people.
Everyone
has a right to live and thus no one is allowed to take those rightful lives. For
Esther, "love" might be the reason to kill, but in her angered state
of mind, her love for Lawrence turned into extreme adoration that leads to
egoistic thoughts. She did not want Lawrence to be taken by another girl. She
wanted to hurt Father Paul by taking away his beloved one. All this cannot be
called "love"; they are simply egoistical thoughts based on excessive
possessiveness. True love values life and cherishes happiness, and so true love
can never drive anyone to kill.
Although
sacrificing oneself is usually held as a sign of deep love, suicide is not a
way to show love. For example, a single mother during a great famine might
desperately sacrifice herself, going to a dangerous work in the battlefield
with very little chance of surviving, just to feed her children decent food.
Then, she was killed in the process and her children never saw her again.
Another desperate mother might even decide to kill herself together with her
children to relieve herself from the ordeal called life. Some might call these
deeds "love", but I believe that they are not love at all. If the
mother sacrificed herself so the children can live, the children will live
without her mother, without her love when they needed it. When the other mother
committed suicide together with her children, I see that as the result of
hopelessness and a twisted way to look at death: as a way out of problem, which
it never is. A true loving mother will ideally keep on struggling so that
everyone can live past the ordeal times, because she realizes that being able
to live together is actually the biggest love a she can give to her children.
An inspirational form of love can be seen from Mother Teresa, a globally known
figure who devoted her life to the poor people. She gave them everything she
had: her strength, time, attention, and compassion, but without any intention
to sacrifice her own happiness. Although her material wealth is close to none,
much like those she loved, she had a principle that anyone that came to her
have to leave in a better state no matter what she can do for them. Until her
time of death because of leprosy, she had no intention to die because of her
helping people. She simply left because she had to, because the Lord was
calling for her. In the end, I believe that this is the true form of altruistic
love.
To
wrap it all up, I would like to point out that “love” itself is a very abstract
concept that might be different in definition from person to person. However, I
personally believe that “love” should be an ideal concept that contains all the
good, positive, and innocent things. Therefore killing, which is a grave sin by
itself, cannot in any way be related to the true love I believe in. In the end,
love is good and it should stay good so that people can love and know that they
are following the ideal path in their life.
