Writing to Remember: Love and Memory in A Origem dos Dias

From Miguel D'ante's A Origem dos Dias (in English, The Origin of Days), an italicized phrase prompted my reflection: "If she leaves, we will live together in the memory of time. I shall sit down to write for her the great works I have always dreamed of." (D'ante, M., 2024, p. 89) This citation captures something more profound than the words themselves; it shows that the idea of love can be sustained not just through physical presence, but also, even if only, through memory and writing. The narrator imagines a love that transcends distance or context — a love that stays in the mind of the one who is inspired by and writes about it. When we look closer at this passage, we see that even "if she leaves," the memory of "her" and him can still "live together." The condition is that he writes — that he dedicates to paper "the great works I have always dreamed of." And what are these great works? In one word: her. She is the inspiration, the subject, the reason for every word he sets down. Writing becomes an act of love and meaning - a way of honoring their shared past and keeping her alive through memory.

In summary, the act of writing is inseparable from the act of loving. To write is to remember — and to remember is to love beyond absence; it is to dignify our feelings and most memorable experiences in life.