Love holds the power to influence the strongest of one’s opinions. Portia de Rossi states that her wife Ellen DeGeneres “has completely changed the way I look at life”. Love is a complex, profound emotion that affects most people in their day-to-day lives. It means having a heartfelt connection with another individual, this is expressed in The Bean Trees and several other articles regarding love. Love can cause a person to form new viewpoints which may push them to take risks that involve sacrifice. It can also bring them strength while pushing away their fears. Kingsolver portrays some of the effects of love in her enlightening novel, which touches the topic of love and risks being interrelated.
Loved ones may influence our perspectives, sometimes to such a degree that we find ourselves taking unexpected risks for them. Kingsolver displays this by building characters whose opinions change as they build new relationships. For instance, when Turtle’s aunt meets Taylor- a stranger who is on her way to a new life- she begs Taylor to “Take this baby” (Kingsolver 18) since the infant’s mother had died not too long ago. Turtle’s aunt plops Turtle into the car without an explanation even after Taylor politely declined her offer. Turtle’s aunt’s love and concern for her niece spurs her to take the risk of trusting a complete outsider (Taylor) just to keep a loved one safe. This proves that love can motivate one to take ludicrous risks for another person. As Taylor continues her odyssey with Turtle, she starts developing a strong friendship with her new roommate Lou Ann. On their way back from a group hiking trip, Taylor analyzes events from earlier that day, “Knowing that Turtle’s first uttered sound was a laugh brought me no end of relief. If I had dragged her halfway across the nation only to neglect and entirely botch her upbringing would she have laughed? … I suppose some of Lou Ann had rubbed off on me, for me to take this laugh as a sign” (Kingsolver 101). It is unlike Taylor, a headstrong character with a strong personality, to experience delight from such a small observation. On the other hand, Lou Ann was fond of interpreting little signs from the universe and Taylor has realized that she may have started to pick up this habit herself. The time that they spent together had strengthened their relationship, displaying that a loved one can influence the way we react to different situations. Another circumstance where a character from The Bean Trees takes an unexpected risk for their loved ones is when Taylor decides “to drive Estevan and Esperanza to a safe house in Oklahoma” (Kingsolver 192). Estevan and Esperanza were a well-liked couple who also happened to be illegal immigrants. Taylor still decided to help them out by taking them to Oklahoma, this was mainly because she had strong feelings for Estevan. The consequences if she got caught helping them were “five years in prison and a $2000 fine for each illegal person I [Taylor] was assisting” (Kingsolver 193), however, these repercussions were not enough to stop Taylor from assisting her companions. She fearlessly puts her life on the line for the people she loves. Walking on ice for someone you love is easy since you already want what’s best for them. Modifying perspectives and taking risks for a beloved, are two of the many outgrowths of love.
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Love also involves sacrifice and changes in priorities. An article called Mapping Maternal Instincts, written by Cynthia Epps talks about the steps a new mother takes to ensure that her baby is in a tranquil state. The writer brings recognition to the experiences of a girl named Mariam, who is going through her early stages of motherhood. Mariam describes the changes that she’s facing, “I lost my perspective on my day-to-day reality. I forgot telephone numbers, missed appointments, and skipped meals simply because I felt an urgency to be there for my baby”. Mariam no longer has time for her daily routines now that she has to put someone else’s needs before her own. Her baby influences her life and shifts her priorities from herself to the baby, bringing an overall change in her life. A mother’s love for her child leads her to sacrifice for them. Likewise, Cynthia draws attention to the idea that the mother may even share the pain of her little one. An example of this is when she states that a “newborn's cry can make you[a mother] feel so acutely uncomfortable. Some mothers of infants recount feeling as if an alarm is going off inside of them” (Epps). The amount of concern a mother has for her child can bring forth powerful emotions like stress and anxiety to the mother illustrating that love can affect your reactions to another person’s uneasiness. This connects to Taylor’s sensations when she sees Turtle in any form of distress, as she has now been introduced to the world of motherhood. To put it differently, love can change our routines and beliefs which may include sacrificing something important to us.
It is equally important to know that the development that originates from love is voluntary and may alter one’s opinions on themselves. This is supported by Dr. Erica B Slotter in one of her articles from Psychology Today. She elaborates about the adjustments one might make to impress another individual, “Essentially, if someone you were interested in was, say, very artistic and you were not, you would alter your views to paint yourself (pun totally intended) as more artistic in the interest of furthering the desired relationship” (Slotter). This doesn’t only apply to romantic relationships, essentially displayed by Kingsolver through Lou Ann and Taylor. People tend to change themselves to draw attention to a common interest that they have with another person, which is typically something one would do for someone they love. The person in this scenario is not being forced to change their opinion for their loved one but instead, is voluntarily doing so. Moreover, we transform ourselves in the hope that their love will be returned. Love can also have various impacts on the way we look at ourselves, “Our romantic desires can prompt us to alter how we define our identities in both positive and negative ways. Importantly, how we see ourselves to start with, via dispositional self-esteem, can influence whether these changes to our identities shift us in positive or negative directions” (Slotter). According to years of research, Dr. Slotter explains that love can affect our self-esteem and the way that we study or perceive ourselves. When you love someone, you are likely to gain their personality traits, usually the assertive ones that we like about them. Love can modify one’s self-perspective, for the better or worse. Love contributes a great amount to one’s mental health, but this can be controlled by us as we choose who to love.
Deborah Huebsch believes that love brings us the courage to face our fears and a sense of tranquility, which is illustrated in her article Love That Keeps Us Safe. When the writer has an unexpected encounter with a strange unknown man in her apartment at midnight, she begins to reassure herself with her love and faith in God, 'Because God is my Father and is everyone's Father, this man is my brother. And because we are brother and sister, he could not want to hurt me any more than I could want to hurt him' (Huebsch). The writer was afraid for her life but her love for God helps her overcome her suspicions and soothes her from the discomfort she initially felt. She believed that this man would not be of any harm to her and knew that God would shield her from any danger that is to occur. The man left her unharmed, which gave rise to her conclusion, that God’s “disarming, protecting love is always with each of us, able to lift fear as well as defuse harmful intentions” (Huebsch). Her love for God was not the only reason that she was saved, furthermore, it was God’s love for her that made God diffuse the stranger’s intentions (This may be a contradictory statement for some). The writer could have been injured or even killed, but love protected her from harm’s way while giving her courage and strength. This is similar to how Taylor relied on 1-800-THE-LORD to pull herself through harder times in her journey, additionally it motivated her and assured her that she has someone to rely on. Overall, love can bring us strength in times of weakness, it gives us hope and confidence to face the troubles of life.
Love has a huge impact on our lives, the people we love can control our thought processes. They can push us to our limits, so we must choose who we love wisely. Love enables us to care for another person to such an extent that we are willing to put their needs before our own. It makes sacrifices seem less of a burden, and instead, more of an opportunity to show affection. The people we love help us feel safe and comfortable, they evoke feelings of happiness and joy to overcome sorrows. The texts of The Bean Trees, Mapping Maternal Instincts, Love that keeps us safe, and Who you love changes who you are, really provide insight into the different outcomes of love. Loving a person can change anybody’s everyday mindset or perspective on life. A person is willing to take risks and make sacrifices for the people they love, regardless of whether or not their love is reciprocated.
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