Daphnis and Chloe

In the introduction to Greek Fiction, Helen Morales introduces us to a concept that, in my own original reading of Daphnis and Chloe, I had not understood or deemed as less noteworthy. She points out that the style of the "novel", if I may use her own word, suggests an education on love, an attemt to define it for those who have never known the embrace of love or to awaken memories within those who have already tasted its nectar.

Perhaps it is not coicedence, then, that Daphnis and Chloe do not understand their attraction to one another and cannto express their affections beyond the shared kisses and embraces that lack the pure intimacy they so desire to both convey to the other and feel for themselves. They know that they are in love bur are incapable of expressing themselves, lacking the knowledge of the world that would allow them to move beyond simple contact. It is interesting to note that the two lovers, if they can truly be called that at this point of the story, take their cues from the animals around them. Often animals are seen as the most innocent of creatures, and it is the the time that Daphnis and Chloe spend with these creatures that makes them so ignorant of their own society and customs, that leaves them with a lack of understanding with regards to their feelings. Yet, the goats and sheep, almost in counterpoint to the innocence of the two humans' own innocence, exist with an internal knowledge and understanding of what to do and when to do it. They do not need a secret tutor leading them off into the woods for private instruction.

This leads us, then to a predicament, for we can see that Daphnis and Chloe are drawn together by some passion that they cannot comprehend, some natural desire that pushes them together. yet, this same deep-seated attraction seems to be parallel to, if not slightly overshadowed by a logical portion of the mind that needs both instruction and understanding in order to fully grasp the notions of the more primitive brain.

Longus, it would seem then, sought to show his audience that love is something both primeval and logical, based within the deepest roots of desire while still pertaining to the brain and all its powers of understanding. It is this that he is, perhaps, referring to when he states that he hopes the story will "bring back memories for those who have know love, and... give instruction to those who have not..." (Morales 137). Thus we can see passion burning away the cobwebs of a love grown cold and dark while those who are yet uninformed can begin to see the first blueprints of a design that is at once simple and immensely complicated.