In each story we read, the male and female relationships are very unique in their own way. Even though they all have something in common they are very different from one another. The male and female relationships in these stories bring up many different questions. Like, how do people know if love is actually true? Is letting go sometimes the only way you can love a person? Can love be everlasting? Why do some couples treasure their relationship more than their companion? Someone who has experienced love can only answer these questions. The characters in these five stories think they are in love but sometimes the only way to know you in love is not to even question it.

In “The Lady, or the Tiger” by Frank Stockton, the relationship between the princess and her lover seems more like a fling, than actual true love. I believe that this true because the story discusses how the princess was “well satisfied with her lover”, but it doesn’t mean she was so satisfied that she would open up to her father, the king. The story also mentions that the princess had “a soul as fervent and imperious” as her father. This makes me think that the princess viewed a lot of the same things as her father. The princess didn’t try to run away with her lover, but allowed the event to actually take place. This makes me think she gave up too easily and that this was just a fling, instead of actual true love. I believe if it was really true she would have done anything in her power to save her lover. The story also mentions that “she hated the woman who blushed and trembled behind that silent door.” That statement also allows me to think that their relationship was just a fling. I believe this because I think if someone was truly in love with someone they would want their companion to be happy even if it meant being with another woman. I’m not saying that the princess did pick the tiger or the woman but her hate for the other woman leads me to think that she did choose the tiger. True love in this story I feel is not present. I really feel that the princess would have done a lot more to try and save their relationship if it was true love.

            In “The Chaser” by John Collier, the young man named Alan has an obsession of wanting love from a girl named Diana which makes this love far from pure. The story mentions him finding “the name he wanted written obscurely on one of the doors.” This shows obsession in that Alan was looking for this guy who he knew he would get help from with his situation with Diana. This shows that this love is not pure because he seeks help from someone who sells potions. He wouldn’t need a potion if this love was pure. The dialogue between the old man and Alan when they start discussing about the love potion also convinces me that this love towards Diana from Alan is not pure. He would stoop down so low to put a Diana on a love potion. Sometimes the best way to love a person is to let them go. Obviously Diana is not in love with Alan so he should just realize that it and move on. I understand that can be difficult but everyone must do difficult things in their life and there should be no exception for Alan. The part when the old man says, “She will be afraid of the pretty girls you may meet” and Alan’s response is that, “She will actually be jealous of me?” shows that this love is far from pure. Jealousy should not exist in a relationship. If actual true love exists between two people you wouldn’t be jealous. Alan once again is relying on this potion to make Diana be completely in love with him. But the irony in that statement is rather funny in that this is far from love. Alan thinks Diana will be in love with him but her heart really doesn’t love him because she is under the influence of a potion. One last statement also shows that this is an obsession and not pure which is when he tells the old man “how grateful he is”.  This statement shows that Alan is thankful for something that will change Diana. Nobody should want to change someone like that. Alan being grateful is just as bad as him going to the old man in the first place for the potion. I believe if Alan really loved Diana he would let her love him if she really felt that she did love him. I think his actions and dialogue show that he has more of an obsession than actual love for Diana. Once again, sometimes to love someone is to just let them go.

            In “A Haunted House” the ghostly couple has a love which is everlasting. When searching for their treasure they mention “Here we slept” and he adds, Kisses without number”. This shows to me that they had true love. Everything mentioned in the story about their love is positive. When the ghostly man says, “Again you have found me,” tell me that the womanly ghost was not going to give up until she had found him. The whole story discusses how this ghostly couple searches everywhere for their treasure. I think they are going into different places in the house that bring up memories about their love because they say throughout the story that the house “beats”. The very last line, “Oh, this is your buried treasure? The light in the heart”. That tells me they have gone completely through the house and they have remembered memories in that house. The fact that they never even question their love allows me to believe that their love is special from all the other characters from the other four stories. The dialogue of the ghosts tells me that they have a love that is everlasting.

            In “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck the love between Elisa and her husband Henry is a love that is unequal. This statement seems true because when the tinker comes to her she is actually attracted to him and his lifestyle. At one point in the story it says, “her hesitant fingers almost touched the cloth.” To me this shows that she was thinking that her life could be better than it actually is. Then later on in the story Elisa and Henry go out to eat. Before they go they get ready and Elisa comes out and Henry comments, “You look so nice!” and she replies back, “Nice You think I look nice? What do you mean by nice?” This dialogue between them shows that Henry is trying to love his wife and comment her but she is so unsatisfied that she cannot take a simple comment. Then right before dinner begins she starts to ask about the fights and she says, “I’ve read how they break noses, and blood runs down their chests. I’ve read how the fighting gloves get heavy and soggy with blood” and Henry replies “What’s the matter Elisa? I didn’t know you read things like that.” Those comments indicate that Elisa doesn’t fully open up to Henry and that she doesn’t take the initiative to even try to love him. The text from the story really makes me think that Elisa is unhappy and that she doesn’t really try. This love truly does seem unequal.

            In “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Katherine Anne Porter the love between George and Ellen is complex. For some unknown reason we know that Ellen gets jilted by George. Even though she seemed happy with John, she still had never forgotten George. This makes her love towards him complex. She obviously had never gotten over George because one part of the story while she is dying it states “All those letters—George’s letters and John’s letter and her letters to them both—lying around for the children to find made her uneasy.” This text shows that she has had those letters for quite sometime. If she was really over George she would have gotten rid of his letters along time ago. Even though she had probably suffered a lot over George the text leads me to think that she never really got over him and that she probably still loved him. One part in the story when Cornelia is wiping her face off with a washcloth names run through her mind. One of those names is George. George just seems to linger in her mind when she goes into unconsciousness. One last piece that shows this love is complex is when she is jilted a second time by God. The thought runs through her mind that once “again no bridegroom.” This statement shows that right before she died she thought of George and when he jilted her. Even though that was a painful time in her life she couldn’t quite thinking about George. So overall this love is complex. She had many wonderful years with John but George entered her mind which makes me think she never got completely over him.

                        In conclusion, these stories are classic examples of conflicts males and females have gone through over the years and even today. The one thing in common is that all the characters wanted love but defiantly went about it in different way which makes each story unique. The characters defiantly go through hardships in these stories because love is difficult.