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Presented in Hollywood films of the nineties in the 20th century, the story of the historical figure of Pocahontas has long captivated the imagination of modern people. Following the account of this heroine’s life, one could have the impression that love knows no boundaries, that religion, skin colour or origin are of no importance and the enamoured lovers will always end up on the wedding carpet. The truth, as is usually the case, turns out to be much more nuanced and far from the ideal conceived in Hollywood. The present article aims to outline the Pocahontas legend and the heroine’s relationships with John Smith and John Rolfe as well as the impact this story had on the relationship between white people and Indians in nineteenth‑century American novels by such writers as James Fenimore Cooper, Lydia Maria Child, and Catherine Maria Sedgwick. An analysis of these novels proves that their authors copied a certain pattern established in narratives about Pocahontas. It thus reinforces, in the conceptual sphere, the conviction that concluding long‑term mixed marriages was impossible, although the reality was not so unequivocal.
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The poetry of great Walt Whitman is imbued with love – unconditional, possessiveand overwhelming – love for life. Admiration for life in its all, even the modest, forms and aspects is a dominant motif in Whitman’s poems. A way of perceiving nature, man and the Absolute in Whitman’s poetry depends on seeing all these as an integral, mutually connected, unity. Nature helps man to liberate himself, to be who he really is as which is hidden behind it. Unlike his predecessors and other poets of his time, Whitman appreciates the body on a par with the soul, emphasizing their unity, which leads to man’s self‑realization.Whitman sees the importance of focusing on the present, concentrating on a particular moment of life in order to achieve the ultimate awareness of living here and now. Whitman’s poetry is a paean in praise of life. It is pure love expressed with tenderness, delicacy, as well as courage, bravery even – in a revolutionary way. And thanks to this love for life – expressed directly, shamelessly or delicately and subtly, but always passionately – Whitman’s poetry is still so impressive, fresh and beautiful, so attractive and inspiring for a contemporary reader.’
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The authoress of this article has attempted to read the play by an Americanplaywright Eugene O’Neill in the light of the concept of love as proposed by Erich Frommin 1956. This German philosopher argued that the only way to escape loneliness, a feelingto which everybody is doomed, is to unite oneself with another person in love.In a popular publication, titled The Art of Loving, Fromm describes various forms of love;Desire Under the Elms – a play written more than three decades before Fromm’s publication– seems to illustrate these philosophical considerations. Such a view on O’Neill’s workallows to notice its human dimension, and perceive its protagonists as an embodimentof the universal human condition.
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The article aims at presenting three strategies the heroes of Jewish originapply to mixed marriages. In Tevye the Dairyman, Sholem Aleichem shows how the preceptof preserving ethnic separatism and the necessity of Judaism to survive during thediaspora dictated complete rejection of exogamy and excluded those who violated thisnorm from the Jewish community. For the heroine of Anzia Yezierska’s novel Salome ofthe Tenements, marriage to a rich goy was supposed to be an open sesame to the betterprivileged America; however, it turned out to be a painful object lesson in cultural andlinguistic differences. And finally, the contemporary protagonists of Philip Roth’s novelThe Counterlife struggle with the issue of their own identity – the character of shiksa constitutes a specific catalyst for the questions of the nature of Jewishness in Roth’s book.
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This article outlines the concept of brotherly love in Jerome David Salinger’sThe Catcher in the Rye, one of the most censored novels in the United States. Although primarily the book presents such issues as alienation, seclusion, and rebellion against theartificiality of the world of adults, what is particularly worth pointing out is the importanceof the relationship between Holden, the main protagonist, and his younger siblings:his sister Phoebe and his brother Allie. Although love is not explicitly expressed in thenovel, it is apparent in Holden’s attitude to his siblings and in his memories and descriptionsof Phoebe and Allie.
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In this article, an attempt has been made to show Anaïs Nin’s understandingof love and the philosophy of “new erotica” and “new woman” resulting from it in thelight of selected works by the writer: The House of Incest, Spy in the House of Love, Seduction of the Minotaur, and Diaries. This philosophy – developed in the diaries and then transposed into fiction presented in the form of continuous novel – refers to the life of Nin and her vision of a “new woman,” in which the writer then attires the heroines of her novelsand makes them wear it as their own. The multifaceted nature of a woman, manifested inher various roles, both creative and destructive, is expressed in her dreams, in her lusts,in a pattern that is unique to every woman. Exploring herself through sexuality becomesa source of knowledge for Nin about herself and about women in general.
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This article constitutes a comparative analysis of Louise Erdrich’s Love Medicine and Sandra Cisneros’ Caramelo with regard to the theme of family love used by the authoresses. In both works, the search for love in the family is related to the broader context of reconstructing ethnic community bonds and the analysis of metissage. What also seems important here is the motive of creating the identity in the ethnic and post‑ethnic perspective. Moreover, an attempt to reconstruct ethno‑history from the feminist perspective can serve as a common denominator of Love Medicine and Caramelo.
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Love stories often provide the thread for the literary works of American female writers of Indian origin. Also, the topic of food is important in such texts: the representations of food, related rituals (preparation, consumption) play a significant role in the literature of the diasporas, because they are a way of emphasising cultural distinction and building the identity of a specific group (Mannur). The purpose of the article is to discuss the ways of representing love with the use of food‑related motifs in three works by Indo‑Americanfemale writers: a novel by Bharati Mukherjee Jasmine (1989), in Mistress of Spices (1997) by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, and in Jhumpa Lahiri’s A Temporary Matter from the collection titled Interpreter of Maladies (1999). Based on the presented analyses, it is possible to conclude that for female writers from the first generation of immigrants, the topic of love is partly intertwined with the confrontation of distinct, diverse cultures. Cuisine‑relatedmotifs in the novels of Mukherjee and Divakaruni highlight culture differences and help explore identity issues. Jhumpa Lahiri is a representative of the second generation of immigrants; her story presents the topic of love told with the help of food‑related elements and disconnected from the ethnic background and shows the universal human experience. Food is a metaphor of love presented as an attitude based on involvement, and does not convey additional meanings.
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The purpose of the article is to show how the protagonists of the stories representatives of ethnic minorities, who find it difficult to adapt to living in the United States and often experience nostalgia – subconsciously wish to return to their ancestor’s homeland. Adultery, entering into close, intimate contact with prostitutes of the same descent as their customers, or forbidden love to a person or people who happen to belong to the same ethnic group – all this becomes an expression of a strong need to return home. Searching for fulfilment in extramarital affairs and deep fascination with Polish women of dubious reputation are also presented in the selected stories by Anthony Bukoski and Stuart Dybek, two contemporary American writers of Polish descent.
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Drama is not a favourite genre among American critics and it has been so for decades. Misogyny (or what might appear similar to it) has also grown out of fashion, hopefully for good. The combination of the two makes it all the more difficult for an author to “fare well” among the critics. My paper tries to highlight the fact that Sam Shepard, although often perceived as a misogynist for the treatment of his female characters both by his “men” and himself is not (as much) “guilty as charged”. The point I am trying to make is that the playwright did not (always) ignore his female characters and leave them voiceless because it pleased him to do so. He did it because what he understood best about the human condition was male anxiety and neurosis. A Lie of the Mind is his, albeit failed, attempt at understanding the female side and even incorporating it. What the play offers as a conclusion is that love seems to be a mission impossible for the strong and the healthy. It tries to persuade the reader (and this attitude can be found explicit frequently in his plays) that love is a(n) (unnutural) condition, an illness of a sort. Love is a survival mode for the weak. The strong do not need it. On this not very encouraging a note does the play end as well as all Shepard’s further attempts at dealing with women characters in a way different from his usual.
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Although the album entitled The Pale Emperor is intended primarily asMarilyn Manson’s commentary on the repayment of broadly understood debts, it can beobserved that some of the lyrics from this album refer to the rockman’s views on love.The purpose of the text is to flesh out of these views from the chosen lyrics and to make anattempt at their interpretation from the perspective of Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy,from which the musician draws while building his understanding of the world. An attemptis made to demonstrate that these views make up the image of love, which is a catalystof will to power for Manson.
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