Barthe's "A Lover's Discourse (Fragments)"

This is a fascinating read.  The "fragmented" text is presented as a dictionary style format defining and analysing topics found in the realm of love, supported by quotes and references from works of great literature (many of which we have read or will read in this program). 

Strangely enough, the first few chapters? Definitions? Episodes? look like the beginning stages of my own essay writing style.. chunks of literature arranged in a flowing / logical fashion, waiting for me to fill in my analysis. But Barthe simply references these works as an access point to speak of his own internal turmoil. I can picture him pouring out his self analysis note-cards and then arranging them and sourcing references for them just to find some understanding of his own intense, jumbled emotional state.  But maybe I'm projecting.

Each topic draws us closer into Barthe's head and heart as he opens up about his experiences in a manner approaching true stream of consciousness.  One of the most telling aspects of the narrative is the title/epigraph to each section; at times they're straight forward: eg the heading "The Heart" is subtitled "coeur / heart" (52), whereas other sections are more nuanced (see "Agony" subtitled angoisse/anxiety" (29), or "Domenei" (courtly love) subtitled "dependency" (82)).

One must not neglect however, his analysis of the texts.  Particularly relevant right now is Barthe's analysis of Werther - I specifically appreciate his conclusion that Charlotte was just one in a string of  objects in Werther's need to love, and the only reason she became his final grand lover was due to the fact that he killed himself before he could move on and transfer his overwhelming affection to another woman (102).

Works Cited:

Barthes, Roland. A Lover's Discourse: Fragments. Trans. Richard Howard. New York: Hill and Wang, 2010. Print.