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Amy Foster - The Mythology Of Love

    In "Amy Foster", Joseph Conrad has written a great story that
shows the different types of love felt between Amy and Yanko as
described by Joseph Campbell in his essay on "The Mythology of Love".
The relationship of Yanko and Amy is dynamic and changes as the story
progresses. At first, Amy feels compassion for Yanko; she does not see
the differences between him and the English people as the others of
Brenzett do. However, later in the story, compassion turns to passion.
Amy's son is then born; distinctions appear and she is either no
longer able to love Yanko or she loves Yanko to such an extent that
she finds she is incapable of joining Yanko on an earthly plane as
Joseph Campbell describes (page 159). Whatever the reasons may be,
Amy refuses to aid Yanko in his time of need, resulting in Yanko's
death. There is a great change of heart from Amy's first compassion
for Yanko to her nonchalance of his death. However, the results may
have only been a product of the different levels of love felt by Amy
for Yanko. The general population of Brenzett treats Yanko an escaped
lunatic when he is first spotted in the seaside town. He is whipped,
stoned and beaten by many of the residents. In addition, he was
captured and caged like a wild animal. He is described as a "drunk",
"tramp", and "creature". He is very different from the usual
Englishman and is treated as such. He is segregated and is forced to
work for Mr. Swaffer. However, one person sees through the
differences. Amy, perhaps because of her stupidity or an ability to
feel for Yanko, does not see a wild foreigner that screams at night
and dances strangely. She saw only the similarities, the oneness of
two human beings, and not the separateness. This is the basis of
compassion, as Campbell shows. Thus, Amy is able to be "selfless,
boundless, without ego". This compassion shown for Yanko expresses the
affection felt by Amy for the foreigner and is received by...