Think of Dante and his Divine Comedy and what drove him to make such a piece of art – it was his unrequited love for Beatrice. This led him to – for all intents and purposes – become a stalker. That is what most stalkers are, people who have this innate desire to be with someone, even if it’s from afar. They watch, keep their distance, and even sometimes insert themselves into the lives of their victim, both mentally and physically. However, while not all situations revolving in unrequited love result in stalking, half the time they do. This is exactly what happens in the Spanish film Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes). Cesar, the main character, suffers so incredibly by his inability to return the love of his stalker Nuria. She haunts him, even when she is not there. That is the impossibility of unrequited love. Cesar may not have felt anything for Nuria, but throughout the film, she continues to impact him, whether by reminding him of his constant fear of loneliness, his inability to take full control over his life or of her, his fear of homeliness and his fear of commitment. Nuria has impacted him incredibly and the film reveals that her unrequited love, the result of her stalking, left a mark, both physical and emotional. This is why the idea of unrequited love is impossible, because even when she is dead, she is still there affecting Cesar throughout the film, indirectly controlling his life. Continue reading “The Impossibility of Unrequited Love and the Effect of the Stalker – An Essay”