Love in Literature and Film: Peck's 'Road' & 'About a Boy'

This essay delves into the multifaceted concept of love, primarily focusing on M. Scott Peck's perspective as presented in his novel 'The Road Less Travelled' and contrasting it with the portrayal of love in the film 'About a Boy'. The essay begins by exploring Peck's definition of love, emphasizing self-discipline, spirituality, and the importance of action over feeling. It highlights Peck's emphasis on selflessness, self-actualization, and the need to love oneself before loving others. The essay then analyzes the film 'About a Boy', examining different forms of love presented, including selfish pursuits and the development of affection. The core argument revolves around the comparison between Peck's spiritual and selfless view of love and the film's depiction of various relationships, particularly the evolving relationship between Will and Marcus. The essay concludes by highlighting rhetorical questions about the nature of love and the human obsession with romantic love, emphasizing the importance of selflessness and the potential for love to foster personal growth and fulfillment, as demonstrated by the film's characters and Peck's philosophy.

Running head: CONCEPT OF LOVE
CONCEPT OF LOVE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CONCEPT OF LOVE
Introduction
The conception about love is something which is extremely subjective hence there is no
fixed and single method of either expressing or extending it to the other persons. The act of
loving is also not as easy as it is assumed to be in common parlance, as it transcends all
boundaries, attachments and even the realization of the self. The sentiment of love is wild and
uncontrollable, and that is expressed in form of passion. The precondition for it has to surpass the
propensity to possess, as love cannot thrive in conditions which necessitate constrictions and
attachments that restrict the free nature of love. This is what one can derive out of the various
literary pieces which deal with love (LAM).
In this particular essay the aim is to locate how M Scott Peck has provided an explanation
of love in his novel ‘The Road Less Travelled’ and that shall be related to the expression of love
found in the film ‘About a Boy’. In the following sections the discussion shall be focusing upon
this thesis statement of relating the concepts of love as explained in the mentioned novel and
film.
Concept of Love as discussed in ‘The Road Less Travelled’ by M Scott Peck
The novel ‘The Road Less Travelled’ one can find a combination of scientism and
religiosity to formulate a conception of what spirituality accounts for. Owing to that factor the
three elements in the novel self discipline, love and spirituality are inter-related to each other,
which exemplifies grace. For the present purpose the concept of love shall be the matter of
concern (Scott Peck).

2CONCEPT OF LOVE
With regard to love, Peck had said that one must be openminded enough to accept the
fact that reality can be different from the per perception nurtured by an individual. That mindset
to accept the change is vital and the fact that situations shall not always be the way one imagines
is vital for love to prosper in the world. Drawing upon this vital premise, Peck had said that love
is an action more than being a feeling, hence it is important to indulge in the action of loving
more than expecting to cherish the feeling of love. Sigmund Freud’s ideas on psychology and
sexuality has generated a lot of influence in the formation of idea of love as conveyed by Peck in
his novel ‘The Road Less Travelled’ (Scott Peck).
With regard to love, Peck had said that the definition of it has to be delineated from the
act or even the thought of possession. In order to love one has to be selfless and the most
important factor which leads to the fulfillment of love is paying attention to the person one loves.
That is in itself a virtue and cannot be realized until and unless one attains self actualization. In
this regard this particular quote from the novel must be mentioned of, “Until you value yourself,
you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it (Scott
Peck).” This particular quotation is significant in deriving an understanding of Peck’s concept of
love as it shows that one has to first love oneself before loving others (Scott Peck).
“Genuine love is volitional rather than emotional. The person who truely loves does so
because of a decision to love (Scott Peck).” This particular quotation from the novel is an
appropriation of what definition Peck has attached to love. It implies that the human obsession
with falling in love is flawed. Peck thus says that one must invest more in the act of loving rather
than expecting for some magic charm to make one fall in love. The understanding of love which
Peck provides thus can be deduced as having an undertone of spirituality and progressive
detachment, in the fulfillment of which lies the fulfillment of love to find an expression.

3CONCEPT OF LOVE
Relation between the Concept of Love as shown in ‘The Road Less Travelled’ and
‘About a Boy’
Synoptic view of the film ‘About a Boy’
The film starred by Hugh Grant who had played the role of Will in the film is a comedy
drama which revolves around the life of Will, the protagonist of the film, who is in his late
thirties and in a quest for a woman who could become his beloved one. Will led a happy go
lucky life on the royalty left by his deceased father in the city of London, without much
responsibility apart from keeping himself happy by fulfilling his physical needs and desires.
Frustration and a sense of lacking had set in him when he realized that he had to lead a family
life like his peers or else he shall be a misfit in their company. Hence he had decided to date
single mothers from whom he only derived physical pleasures and broke up with them the
moment they pressed for commitment from him. However he was too snug in his bachelor life
and the fear of responsibility of commitment weighed his desire to find a partner down
(""ABOUT A BOY Oder: Der Tag Der Toten Ente" | Trailer Deutsch German & Kritik Review
[HD]").
Coincidentally he comes across a 12 year old boy by the name Marcus Brewer who
changed his life forever. Marcus was a son to a single mother named Fiona. He led a miserable
life, unlike other children of his age he was unfortunate to have chronic depression as his
companion. He had to deal with a mother wrought with severe mental problems and Marcus
went out of his way to help his mother out even if that meant that he had to compromise with
himself. On coming across Marcus, Will realized that Marcus was in need of help and the
guidance of an adult. Seeing the predicament of Marcus, Will had decided to devote his life to
make the child experience childhood and in the process, Marcus had indirectly become the agent

4CONCEPT OF LOVE
to make Will a matured man capable of taking up responsibility (""ABOUT A BOY Oder: Der
Tag Der Toten Ente" | Trailer Deutsch German & Kritik Review [HD]").
Concept of Love as expressed in the film ‘About a Boy’
Three aspects of love have been presented in the film. Firstly, it is the form of love which
Will cherished by indulging in selfish pursuits of life during his bachelor days. Secondly, it is the
love which finds expression by means of indulging in sexual pleasures. These are the selfish
aspects of love and they tend tocontradict the notion of love as shown by Peck in his novel.
Will’s obsession with self and finding happiness in the selfish pursuit of life goes fundamentally
against the concept of self actualization, which is essentially deep rooted in selflessness (Im).
The act of cherishing love by means of indulging in sexual liaisons by Will also contradicts the
spiritual notion of love as espoused by Peck in his novel. Love cannot be cherished until and
unless one can transcend above the parochialities of life and oneself. These are the two areas
whereby the notion of love provides an image opposite to the one provided by Peck (LAM).
The third aspect of love, that is affection of Will for Marcus is the only connection
between the novel and the film. The encounter of Will with Marcus and the sudden change in
the consciousness of Will who learns to take responsibility and in turn becomes an ideal adult is
the part of the film which can claim to have a degree of similarity with the concept of love as
espoused by Peck in the novel. Peck had said that that one must invest more in the act of loving
rather than expecting for some magic charm to make one fall in love (Im). This is true in the case
of Will developing a sense of affection towards. By means of being affectionate towards Marcus
and developing a sense of maturity, Will attains self actualization and transcends above the
bondages of self obsession, selfishness and carnal pleasures. His previous love affairs were
purely meant for his own benefit and his ;love for Marcus, which is best exemplified as affection

5CONCEPT OF LOVE
was for selfless reasons, without expecting return. That is the form of love which Peck wants his
readers to indulge in (Im).
Questions raised about love to be pondered about in the film ‘About a Boy’
Certain rhetorical questions which can emanate from viewing the film and must be
pondered over are here as follows. Love can be of different forms, yet human beings are
obsessed with love that is essentially romantic! Pondering over this question is important as this
one track approach towards love is the cause of human miseries (LAM).
That by loving others one can love oneself as well is hardly realized! This rhetorical
question must be pondered over as realizing that selflessness is equally necessary besides loving
oneself. The lack of which shall cause miseries (LAM).
Conclusion
Thus it becomes clear that love is a holy affair and is supposed to be a noble indulgence
for all who wishes to extent it to others and make their life beautiful. In the process, the one to
spread love shall benefit in great proportions.

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References
""ABOUT A BOY Oder: Der Tag Der Toten Ente" | Trailer Deutsch German & Kritik Review
[HD]." YouTube. N.p., 2019. Web. 2 Apr. 2019.
Im, Seung An. "The Life of Jashil Choi from the Perspective of M. Scott Peck." 영영영영영영 45
(2018): 39-105.
LAM, TERRY CHUN HUNG. "CHAPTER NINETEEN A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON
THE ISSUE OF “LOVE” IN THE PSYCHOLOGY OF M. SCOTT PECK: CAN THIS
BE APPLIED IN." Christian Mind in the Emerging World: Faith Integration in Asian
Contexts and Global Perspectives (2018): 419.
Scott Peck, Morgan. "The road less travelled." New York: Simon and Shuster (1978).