A Response To "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love"

"What We Talk About When We Talk about Love" is one of Carver's short stories that deals with the topic of love. It is about two couples sitting around in a kitchen drinking alcohol and talking about love. The first couple has been married for some time and their views on love differ a bit from those of the other couple, who are newlyweds. The four characters in the story have all been married and divorced before. They all realize that love can hurt just as much as it can make a person feel good.

Throughout the story there are six different kinds of love mentioned. The first, and the most important of these, is spiritual love. This is the love that a person has with their God. One of the characters in the story, Mel, lived in a seminary for five years. This is how spiritual love enters the story. Spiritual love is so special because this love is everlasting. There is no sin a person can commit that will make God stop loving them. His love is everlasting and completely faithful. The next type of love is obsessive/abusive. This type exists in Mel's wife, Terri. In her first marriage she was abused both physically and emotionally. But, she refused to think that her husband did not love her. He had a different way of showing it, but there was still love there. The next type of love is puppy love. This is demonstrated by the newlywed couple, Nick and Laura. They are still in the "gaga" stage for each other. They are always affectionate and "loveydovey" because everything they are experiencing together is new. The fourth kind of love is friendship love. They are all together and enjoy being in each other's presence and they call this love. The fifth type of love is parental love. This is what Mel shows toward his children. He wants to call them because he misses them. Finally, the sixth type of love mentioned in the poem is true love. True love is demonstrated by a story that Mel tells