The Protagonist in the book The History of Love , Leo Gursky, is an old man who very much has gave up on life. Throughout the book, he continually goes back and forth in his lifetime to relive and show the readers that he is not a lifeless soul and family does matter to him. With the many traumatic experiences, Leo discovers life, love and death that mold him into a better man at the end. Before his life went spiraling downhill, Leo used to co-own a successful business with his friend, which was the highlight of his life.
After he sold the business, the loneliness and isolation started to deteriorate him. In the beginning of the book, the bitterness of the protagonist comes out in the first sentence. “When they write my obituary. Tomorrow. Or the next day. I will say, LEO GURSKY IS SURVIVED BY AN APARTMENT FULL OF SHIT. Tam surprised i haven’t been”(2). This is an important quote because just as the story begins, the author already reveals what kind of tone and perspective the book will be.
It already gives you a tunnel vision of who Leo Gursky and sets the platform for the character to develop and sets a clear path for the reader to acknowledge where the perspective is coming from just by reading the first sentence of the book “I drank some down and then remembered my plant. I’ve had it for almost ten years. It’s barely alive, but it is alive. More brown than green, there are parts that haven’t watered but still it lives, leaning always to the left… I poured the rest of my water into its pot.
What does it mean, anyway, to flourish? ” (19). This quote is a metaphor for Leo’s living situation. He perfectly describes and summarizes his life. This is connected to identity, because Leo is able to represent or see his life through a plant. The plant is old, rugged, lifeless and barely alive (just like him). This reveals that the character has nothing to live for, since he already lost many years by doing nothing, he doesn’t see any reason for him to live. Just like the plant, he is barely living and wouldn’t care if he were to die.
As we’ve established so far, Leo is living his last years on earth attempting to be be less angry with the time he’s got. Half way through the story, Leo is changing his personality to better himself and not be difficult with everyone. The conversation Leo and Bruno are having really reflects how much Leo has changed his outlook and perspective on life throughout the book. Bruno? Yes? Isn’t it good to be alive? No thank you, I don’t want to buy anything. I’m not trying to sell you anything! It’s Leo. Listen. I was sitting here drinking a coffee in Starbucks and suddenly it hit me.
Who hit you? Ach, listen! It hit me how good it is to be alive. Alive! And I wanted to tell you. Do you understand what I’m saying? I’m saying life is a thing of beauty, Bruno. A thing of beauty and a joy forever. There was a pause. Sure, whatever you say Leo. Life is a beauty. And a joy forever, I said. All right, Bruno said. And a joy. I waited. Forever I was about to hang up when Bruno said, Leo? Yes? Did you mean human life? I worked on my coffee for half an hour, making the most of it. The girl closed her notebook and got up to leave. (77)
This is an important conversation between Leo and Bruno, because Leo wants to live life to the fullest and regrets that it took him this long to realize it. “Suddenly I felt the need to beg God to spare me as long as possible… I was terrified that I or one of my parents were going to die… The fear of death haunted me for a year… I was left with a sadness that couldn’t be rubbed off” (125). This is when Leo was young and encountered death first hand, when his dad left him with the cold dead body of his aunt. Leo imagines what life would have been if his parents were to die.
At a young age Leo was forced to think about death, while he was staring at it. He imagined and rethought t thoughts of his parents dying and how much it would shatter his world. This is one of the major events in the book that affect how Leo will live the rest of his life. It’s really important to realize how much Leo’s loves his family and doesn’t want them to be taken away from him. This tragic event shaped Leo to grow up and mature at a young and it came to death. This change in leo is connected with the topic of death because Leo knows that death is inevitable, and he can’t outrun it.
With the amount of crap Leo, gives himself, Leo would have been an amazing father to Isaac. With the death of his son, Leo is able to achieve the goal of fatherhood in a sense. “Many times i’d imagined where Isaac lived. I’d found it on a map. Once i even called up information: If i wanted to get from manhattan to my son, i asked, how do i go? I’d pictured it all down to the last detail. Happy days! I’d come bearing a gift, A pot of jam, perhaps… Maybe we’d toss a ball around on the lawn” (162). The truth is revealed. The unsatisfying life Leo has lead so far turned out to be one of his best.
He now realized after many years of criticizing his quality of life, Leo is satisfied with the taught of even having a son. By knowing he has a son, Leo lived everyday imagining what life could have been if he had a relationship with his son, which was a motivation for his to wake up every day. “I touched his things and that. At the end, all that’s left of you are positions, Perhaps that’s why I’ve never been able to throw anything away. Perhaps that’s why i horded the world with the hope that when i die, the sum total of my things would suggest a life larger than the one i lived”(165).
Reconnection after death. Leo more than ever feels so close to his son, while touching his belongings. He makes an observation on the same traits they both share, which is hoarding. Leo also feels sad by the fact, when he dies the only thing that will be left of him will be his worthless things that are stacked in his apartment. This quote is significant to Leo, because it makes him reflect on the similar life his son had lead. Overcoming many obstacles, Leo Gursky changed as a character by how much appreciation he has over his life.
He learns that death is inevitable by watching the many people he love die. Even though Leo didn’t have a typical relationship with his son, Leo was able to connect with his son on a different level. Things such as the love of literature, being unkempt, and love of learning bond the two more than anything. The author is conveying that maternal Love is love and just because a parent is not involved with the child’s life doesn’t mean they’re a deadbeat mom or dad. There is a backstory to everything, hence no one should judge a situation without knowing the whole story.
