For many of the characters in Dianne Warren's "A Reckless Moon", love did once exist. It existed during their height of beauty and youth. As these traits inevitably deteriorated, so did their confidence in everlasting passion. The main characters throughout Warren's stories are dynamic and complex, sharing one similarity: their lives, filled with voids, drive their longing for absent connections. The common sought-after connection is of romance. Remaining unfulfilled, the characters' despair creates the sad mood of the collection of stories about lost faith in love. This essay explores this theme through each character of the short stories reviewed and their experiences of regret, romance and naivete.
In "Moving Picture," there is a heartrending sense of regret. The main character, Gerri, and her boyfriend, Greg, share an understanding of their relationship: "[they] don't really believe in marriage" (206), but they are "like man and wife" (221). The belief that their love does not need to be proclaimed on paper is questioned after Greg gets in a motorcycle accident.
Love Truly Romance
Andreas Moe og trenkorpset besøker en seter (ca. ...![English: Poster for a circa 1896 American production of Georges Bizet's Carmen, starring Rosabel Morrison, and under the management of Edw. J. Abra[ha]m. Français : Affiche pour une mise en scène américaine de 1896 de la Carmen de Bizet, dirigée par Edw.](/uploads/7/75466/english-poster-circa-1896-american-production-georges-bizet.png)
English: Poster for a circa 1896 American producti...He experiences brain damage, creating a distance between him and Gerri. Gerri immediately loses her status at the hospital; she is not official family. His mother disregards her entirely; she is not his wife. Gerri and Greg's "understanding" means nothing when Greg returns home and "doesn't know how things are supposed to be" (223). He knows he loves her (223), but ironically, a document for immigration is able to falsely convince him otherwise - that he is "in love with someone else" (230).
In "Tuxedo" and "Hawk's Landing," the main characters give up on love because of their romantic pasts. Repetition is used in "Tuxedo" to emphasize the main character's gradual acceptance of her loneliness. The story begins with the same scene it ends with: a man inviting Claire "for a...