Perfect
Love Cannot Exist Because People Are Not Perfect
Upon
analyzing the quote “There is no such thing as Perfect Love” my first thought
was to disagree with it. The idea of “perfect love” is sometimes shown in
fiction as something that is without any flaws and is without any conflicts.
Basically, the definition according to Merriam Webster is: being entirely
without fault or defect; flawless. (merriam-webster.com). In fiction, novels, movies, plays, etc. perfect
love may be portrayed externally to the viewer as something flawless and almost
heaven-like. However, this is an unrealistic portrayal. I believe perfect love
is not possible because there will always be some struggle and conflict. Humans
are not imperfect and are not without flaws, therefore, the love in a relationship,
although powerful and strong it cannot be truly perfect.
There
is a movie directed by Norman Jewison, and written by John Patrick Shanley called
Moonstruck. This movie has an excellent scene where Nicholas Cage, playing
Ronnie, and Cher, playing Loretta have an exchange about love. Ronnie states “Loretta
I love you. Not like they told you love is, and I didn’t know this either, but
love don’t make things nice – it ruins everything. It breaks your heart. It
makes things a mess. We aren’t here to make things perfect. The snowflakes are
perfect. The stars are perfect. Not us!” (Moonstruck, 1987)
This is a very powerful scene in the screenplay/movie that relates to my argument about people not being perfect. Ronnie is trying to convince Loretta that nothing about love is perfect. She wanted to live her life with her fiancé, who is Ronnie’s brother, because she believed that this arrangement would be a perfect love and situation for her. Nicholas Cage’s character is challenging the fantasy of perfection. He is argument is very passionate, and he strongly emphasizes that love is complicated and emotional. And this is due-to-the-fact that people are imperfect. He also says “…we ruin ourselves, break our hearts, love the wrong people, and die.” (Moonstruck 1987) He finishes with that to drive home his point to Loretta.
In
the novel, The Notebook, Noah states “I am nothing special, for this, I am
sure. I am a common man with common thoughts.” (Sparks 1) Noah proclaiming this
plain statement is very telling and powerful. Noah admits that he is regular.
And, a regular person is imperfect and flawed. If that is so, this supports the
fact that there can be no perfection in love. Noah had to endure conflicts, he
has made and still makes sacrifices, and more in the name of love. And although
his heart and love is true towards Allie, their love is still imperfect.
In
The Notebook, there is another quote. “The heart never forgets but sometimes
life’s ghosts get in the way.” Noah
feels that his love between Allie and he was always true. At the same time,
however, he admits that his love is true and powerful and endures despite the
imperfections and trials that life throws at them. There are many hardships in
life that test relationships. People argue, feelings get hurt, people can get
sick, and people can forget.
In both The Notebook and Moonstruck, the themes are very clear. Love is never really perfect. It is something powerful though. Noah and Allie’s love and devotion for each other works even through separation, hardship and illness. In Moonstruck, Ronnie’s speech makes us realize that people, unlike stars or snowflakes are imperfect and that love is very messy. The couples in these works show us that love can be very difficult but that it can also be resilient and have a lot of depth. Having perfect love might be something that cannot be achieved but the experience of love helps to give life meaning and leaves the memory of it in our hearts.
Works
Cited
Sparks, Nicholas. The
Notebook.
Moonstruck.
Directed by Norman Jewison, written by John Patrick Shanley. Performance by
Nicolas Cage and Cher, 1987.
“Perfect.”
Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perfect
Accessed 16 Mar. 2026
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