The year is 1951. On a piece of paper, writer Ernest Hemmingway notes, "I can't say how every time I ever put my arms around you, I felt that I was home" and sends it to his fourth wife, Mary Welsh Hemingway.
John Keats wrote to Fanny that his love was selfish because he could not exist without her. Even Napoleon would inscribe to his wife Josephine, who brought upon a "burning and a glowing flame in (his) heart."
Before social media emerged in the picture, people experienced romance through words imprinted by heart and emotion. Letters from husband to wife, love affairs or a short-lived romance - capture love as a robust, magnetic structure, one strong enough to bring any being or power structure down.
Men known for their stoic masculinity in history, such as Hemmingway and Napoleon, are revealed as weak and powerless through their writings to their wives. It is perhaps for this very reason that many view letter writing as a historical relic of the past – a romantic gesture that has no place within a society of Tinder and Hinge profiles.
The year is 2024. Someone just received a "u up?" text at 1 am, and it gave their stomach butterflies. Though letter writing has evolved through the emergence of texting, the two do not share many similarities at their core. The ability to send a text at any given time has reduced the value of writing. Where letter writing takes time and thought, sending a text can be achieved within seconds. Perhaps that is why the act of writing love letters is becoming an unfortunate thing of the past.
Despite this, there is evidence that we still long for these simpler times. Shows such as Bridgeton and Anne with an E have gained popularity over the past few years. It could be to do with the romanticism of these eras in which love, and desire are influenced through words; love within history is portrayed as this spiritual and soulful element.
With letter writing fading out, it does make one wonder what the future generations will have to rely on to understand our concept of love in 2024. Will classrooms analyse the number of 'x's' left at the end of a message? Will scholars write essays on how sending TikToks symbolized friendship in the 21st century? The concept of love will always remain constant. Ultimately, how we value, express and shape how we feel, will and can never remain the same.