To Love is to Suffer

In Deus Amanz, the actions of the King, the boy, and the princess portray the message of “to love is to suffer”. In the beginning, the King is faced with a dilemma of possibly losing his most beloved and treasured daughter to some man, so he creates a challenge: for anyone who seeks the princess’ hand in marriage, “he must carry her in his arms without resting” (Marie 37-38). This challenge posed to be impossible for many suitors of the princess, portraying the king’s insurmountable love for his daughter, as well as illustrating the message that one must go through great lengths to achieve love. The same message resonated with the boy as he struggled to gain the approval to marry the princess. For example, the he went through the trouble of retrieving a stamina potion to cheat his way through the challenge but ended up not using it and “reached the summit; exhausting himself [to death]” (Marie 203). In a similar way, the princess aided the boy to accomplish the task by starving herself to become easier to carry, but in the end, she dies due to the loss of her beloved. Thus, just as the king suffered from the possibility of losing his daughter, the boy and the princess suffered to accomplish the king’s task all for the sake of love.