Theory of LOVELESS

Theory of LOVELESS

LOVELESS is a short poem often shown as a thick book. Also there is long play of LOVELESS and plenty of quotes that never appear in the poem. One theory is that the book LOVELESS is a poetry collection named after the book's most popular poem. The play is most probably an expanded story written around the plot featured in the poem. The mysterious quotes are probably quotes from the play and not the actual poem. Another theory is that the book is divided into acts as the poem is, and the poem act corresponding to that act is either at the beginning or end of that act of the story, and the book's acts are where the story from the play is derived from.

The namesake of LOVELESS is often thought to be the prisoners lover who is left loveless when he never returns. Another theory says that the lover was not left loveless as the prisoner was made one with the world through his sacrifice, and that the actual namesake is the wanderer who never found love because he stuck to the quest. Alternately the namesake could be the hero friend, who, it is implied, also stuck to the quest and never found love, but there is little evidence of that being relevant.

Interpretation within the game

It is possible to ascribe the basics of the story to different characters within Crisis Core. Sephiroth is the hero, he is frequently hailed as a hero during the game and Genesis assumes that he takes this role. The wanderer is closer to Angeal, where as the prisoner can be interpreted as Zack, who falls in love with Aerith, a girl who is opposed to Shinra's plans with her and Shinra in general. Later in the game, Zack leaves Aerith to go to Nibelheim and the two never see each other again.

The following is an excerpt from Crisis Core Complete Guide, a game developer's insight on how to interpret LOVELESS from Genesis's point of view, translated by 

Genesis likened himself to 'the hero' from LOVELESS, and by fighting Zack attempted to 'reenact LOVELESS'. In doing so, he hoped to receive the 'Gift of the Goddess'.

By fighting Zack, Genesis regained his pride as a SOLDIER, and is freed from the fear of death or degradation. This is because, as he has the wish to fulfil his duty as a SOLDIER, he reached a state where he no longer worried about degradation or death. In other words, through his fight with Zack, Genesis realised that his role wasn't that of 'the hero' from LOVELESS, but by accepting the role of 'the prisoner' he received the 'Gift of the Goddess'.

Therefore, it would be his 'pride as a SOLDIER', the impetus for his shift of values, which was the 'Gift of the Goddess' to Genesis. 'Pride as SOLDIER' is a concept which symbolizes Angeal's will, so [I] concluded that Zack, who had inherited Angeal's will, was the 'Gift of the Goddess' for Genesis.

To digress a bit, but a line from LOVELESS ('one took flight', 'one became a prisoner', 'one became a hero'), based on the interpretation of Angeal being the one who took flight and Genesis as the prisoner, it links to the line Zack murmurs at the end: 'Do you think that I became a hero?'

Loveless

{ Prologue } (Interpreted)
When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end
The goddess descends from the sky
Wings of light and dark spread afar
She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting

Act I (Interpreted)
The infinite mystery
The gift of the goddess is what the three men seek
We are disquieted by our actions
But their fates are scattered by war

One becomes a hero, one wanders the land
And the last is taken prisoner

But the three are still bound by a solemn oath
To seek the answer, once again

Act II (Interpreted)
Though the prisoner escapes, he is gravely wounded
His life is saved, however
By a woman of the opposing nation

He begins a life of seclusion with her
Which seems to hold the promise of eternal bliss

But as happiness grows, so does guilt
Of not fulfilling the oath to his friends

Act III (Interpreted)
As the war sends the world hurtling towards destruction
The prisoner departs from his newfound love
And embarks on a new journey

He is guided by hope that the gift will bring bliss
And the oath he swore to his friends

Though no oath is shared between the lovers
In their hearts they know they will meet again

Act IV (Interpreted)
The prisoner meets the friend who wandered. The wanderer is dying and the world is ending. he is furious that the prisoner gave up on their quest to pursue love while he remains loveless. The wanderer knows that in order to end it one of them must die. And so he initiates a fight to the death. The prisoner is unable to kill his old friend, and allows himself to be killed.

Act V (Interpreted)
The prisoner's sacrifice was the gift of the goddess, and its realization saved the world. The prisoner never returned to his lover, rendering her LOVELESS, the namesake of the poem. She was not alone however for her lover died and saved the world, and she would have him as long as she lived in the world. And so the prisoner's sacrifice saved the world and his love.