Volume 19, 2007 - Brown University

104 Megan Cohen
becomes a driving force in the lives of the mortals, compelling them to fight for
their homeland.
Clearly, then, the various forms of love greatly influence the metamorphoses,
whether it is the more concrete kinds that change humans bodily into
animals or plants, or the more subtle types that alter human civilization or lead
to loss of life. It appears from the analysis of the role that love plays in these stories
that it is its absence or its incorrect, impure, or incomplete manifestation
that leads to the most gruesome or destructive changes. While this makes for the
most interesting story, it also becomes the form that is most commonly
expressed in the work. However, love can clearly be a positive, restorative, and
unifying force as well, provided that it is in its purest form. In these cases, the
transformations, whether bodily, spiritual, or fatal at the very least benefit the
lovers and help them achieve their desires, whereas with transformations stemming
from the improper expression of love, change is generally detrimental and
undesirable.
References
Ovid. 1955. Metamorphoses. Trans. Rolfe Humphries. Bloomington: Indiana University
Press.