A Romantic Love Letter written by Jack London (1876 – 1916) to Anna Strunsky
It is believed that this romantic love letter was written in Oakland, April 3, 1901
Dear Anna:
Did I say that the human might be filed in categories? Well, and if I did, let me qualify — not all humans. You elude me. I cannot place you, cannot grasp you. I may boast that of nine out of ten, under given circumstances, I can forecast their action; that of nine out of ten, by their word or action, I may feel the pulse of their hearts. But of the tenth I despair. It is beyond me. You are that tenth.
Were ever two souls, with dumb lips, more incongruously matched! We may feel in common — surely, we oftimes do — and when we do not feel in common, yet do we understand; and yet we have no common tongue. Spoken words do not come to us. We are unintelligible. God must laugh at the mummery.
The one gleam of sanity through it all is that we are both large temperamentally, large enough to often understand. True, we often understand but in vague glimmering ways, by dim perceptions, like ghosts, which, while we doubt, haunt us with their truth. And still, I, for one, dare not believe; for you are that tenth which I may not forecast.
Am I unintelligible now? I do not know. I imagine so. I cannot find the common tongue.
Large temperamentally — that is it. It is the one thing that brings us at all in touch. We have, flashed through us, you and I, each a bit of universal, and so we draw together. And yet we are so different.
I smile at you when you grow enthusiastic? It is a forgivable smile — nay, almost an envious smile. I have lived twenty-five years of repression. I learned not to be enthusiastic. It is a hard lesson to forget. I begin to forget, but it is so little. At the best, before I die, I cannot hope to forget all or most. I can exult, now that I am learning, in little things, in other things; but of my things, and secret things doubly mine, I cannot, I cannot. Do I make myself intelligible? Do you hear my voice? I fear not. There are poseurs. I am the most successful of them all.
Jack
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Jack London (1876 – 1916) was one of America’s most popular writers. He was also quite an adventurer taking on a number of unusual jobs to give him the right experience for yet another book. Shortly after his marriage he started an affair with the Russian born Anna Strunsky (Walling). She had been brought to San Francisco via Britain from Russia when only about nine years old but grew up to be a celebrity figure around the city. It is said that no-one who ever met Anna Strunsky would ever forget her. Unfortunately this affair broke up his marriage almost as soon as the honeymoon ended. Not the greatest idea for any newly wed husband, is it?
There are some good points about this love letter for example he talks about their closeness and understanding of each other which is what people in love actually feel. He also talked about the strong feelings and attraction they have for each other however I think he forgot to take off his “professional writers hat” when he was writing this love letter. He is not writing from his emotions freely but writing to stay on an intellectual level.
I would also suggest that when you are both genuinely close to each you should be able to write your love letter from the heart not from your head.
Jack London was a great writer of books some would even say he devoted his whole life to learning more and more about different things so he could write his next book. I believe he forgot about his emotional feelings when writing this love letter to Anna. I have read a number of his letters to her which all have the same fault. If you want to learn to write a love letter forget the intellect and need to impress with fancy words write a love letter that will speak to his or her heart not their head.
