It’s unclear whether "love" is the right word to use in "Spring in Fialta." The story focuses on the adulterous "relationship" between two married people, so the feelings are a bit ambiguous. In this work, we see that love is never clear-cut, never easy, and always painful. Being happy, even with a marriage and family, is never enough, since there’s that persistent feeling of "what if?" that accompanies even the briefest of chance encounters.
Questions About Love
- Do we get a clear sense of Victor’s feelings for his wife and children? He calls them "an island of happiness always present in the clear north of [his] being, always floating beside [him], […] but yet keeping on the outside of [him] most of the time." What does this mean?
- You’ve heard our arguments in the character analyses, but what do you think? How does Nina feel about Victor? And what exactly does he feel for her?
- What is the nature of Nina’s relationship with her husband Ferdinand? Do they love each other? How do you know? Can we trust Victor’s depiction of their marriage?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Love is a destructive force in "Spring in Fialta."