The Hard Truth

by Benji Raymond

“In the game of seduction, there is only one rule: Never fall in love.”
(Cruel Intentions, 1999)

In the film ‘Alfie’, the leading character notices an enticing, beautiful sculpture. He sincerely and perhaps innocently believes that nothing on earth could compare to its beauty. On closer inspection, this seemingly flawless piece of art is unfortunately reduced to an ordinary unit of art. Alfie is forced to face the hard truth and sadly acknowledges that the “beautiful statue [was] damaged in a way that you can't see 'till you get close."

"If you believe in love at first sight, you never stop looking"
(Closer, 2004)

Attraction is an essential ingredient to every relationship but while being an ingredient; it is certainly not the whole pie. If the essence of a relationship is built solely upon the foundation of beauty and attraction, then once that specific aspect fades away (and it almost certainly will), then the foundation on which the relationship was built will also fall away.

Nevertheless, the issue with craving a super good looking partner is limited in scope because the impact of it far exceeds those that can be imagined. Some might conclude that these individuals will never quite find what they are looking for and whilst this is an issue, it is not the only concern. When an individual eventually does find what they are looking for, the test does not stop there. These individuals will never stop looking for something more and there will almost certainly be a more beautiful sculpture around the corner.

This is consistent with the above concept in that beauty often appears to be perfect but on closer inspection there almost always seems to be tiny fractures, fractures that become more significant as time moves on. The more often an individual experiences the art of beautiful sculptures, the more often an individual is forced to find faults with the current sculpture. Once the cracks in the current sculpture become more prominent, it is often time to move on… and the partner will not stick around.

A Long December