what is love

"I caught her hand and held it. 'No, it's you. You touch my eyes and make me see.'

She blushed and pulled her hand back.

'The last time we were here,' I said, 'I told you I liked you. I should have trusted myself to say I love you.'

'Don't Charlie. Not yet.'

'Not yet?' I shouted. "That's what you said last time. Why not yet?'

'Shhhh...Wait a while, Charlie. Finish your studies. See where they lead you. You're changing too fast.'

'What does that have to do with it? My feeling for you won't change because I'm becoming intelligent. I'll only love you more.'

'But you're changing emotionally too. In a peculiar sense I'm the first woman you've ever been really aware of--in this way. Up to now I've been your teacher--someone you turn to for help and advice. You're bound to think you're in love with me. See other women. Give yourself more time.'"

it shouldn't be that hard to get that charlie's fallen for miss kinnian, and it's to the point where he can't go a moment without thinking about her. i can't really say for sure whether or not he's actually in love because i've never really experienced that myself, but there's definitely an indecision between a first crush and true love.

in my opinion, love doesn't have its rules. you don't have to live close together or have been together for a year. basically it doesn't matter what situation you're in; you can be in love anywhere and at any time. love isn't just black and white, and you can't truly define what defines it. it's just a feeling that you have to figure out for yourself. who knows, maybe charlie really could be in love.

on the other hand, though, alice is the first woman that charlie's really ever been able to get close to. he couldn't even get close to his mother or sister. alice was the first person that accepted him for everything he was and supported him with his decisions. as charlie started to get smarter, he began to notice their bond more and more and could have read it as something bigger than he thought.

the underlying question here is: does intellectual maturation come with an emotional maturation, or do emotions have to mature naturally over time?

in my opinion, emotions just have to mature naturally. charlie hasn't been able to experience much of the world yet, so he just relates only to what he sees so far instead. he could percieve a normal human intimacy as a greater feeling than it actually is. but then again, who knows; love is one thing you just have to define yourself.