An essay on the two mysterious, elemental forces of human existence – love and death. Undying love and its perpetual adversary, death, are the themes of Patrick Süskind's provocative essay. Drawing on pertinent examples from philosophy and literature (from Plato to Kleist and Thomas Mann) as well as from modern life, Süskind's subtle yet amusing prose reveals the heavenly – but also hellish – force that is love. And he compares the destinies of Jesus and Orpheus, two men who tried to conquer death through love.