My Life with the Wave | Themes

My Life with the Wave Themes

Love

"My Life with the Wave" is the story of a love affair between a man and an ocean wave. Many qualities the narrator describes in the wave represent those of a woman in love, moved by turbulent passions and ever-changing moods. At first, the presence of the wave, like a new relationship, changes the narrator's life, bringing a rich emotional atmosphere of love, passion, affection, and excitement. But, when the wave begins to show a preference for the company of the fish, he becomes a jealous lover. After the wave almost drowns him, his love turns to "fear and hate." Although he begins to avoid the wave and seek company elsewhere, he remains trapped in the relationship. In the end, the love and passion between the man and the wave turns cold; returning home to find the wave frozen into a block of ice, he is "unmoved by her wearisome beauty." His final act toward the wave is one of cruelty, his love for her having chilled and hardened to ice, as he mercilessly destroys her, selling her to a waiter who chops her into tiny pieces. The relationship between the narrator and the wave has taken its course, from love and passion to hatred and cold-hearted spite.

While love is the predominant theme of "My Life with the Wave," the theme of death runs parallel throughout the story. Even at the height of love between the man and the wave, images of death lurk within the depths of the relationship. Love itself becomes equated with death, as the love of the wave has a "smothering" affect on the man. As the wave's presence in his life becomes more threatening, she is increasingly associated with images of death and destruction. When he tries to attack the fish, the wave responds by nearly drowning him until he is "at the point of death." Afterward, the wave is apologetic and "her voice was sweet and she spoke to me of the delicious death of the drowned." This phrasing presents the image of a love so all-encompassing that it threatens to destroy the individual in a "delicious death." Thus, the lure...
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