The True Meaning of Love Revealed in Snow Falling on Cedars David Guterson's novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, deals with a number of important aspects of life, including some controversial topics such as racism and Japanese internment during America's involvement in World War II. It speaks to this reader on a more immediate and personal level, however, through the staging of the relationship between Ishmael and Hatsue, a relationship that Hatsue appears to be able to distance herself from, but which shapes how Ishmael tries to "live "his life. because he can't let go of the past, or a future that isn't there, and wasn't meant to be. Ishmael never recovers from the breakdown of his romantic relationship with Hatsue because of the type of relationship it was for him, and which it was not for Hatsue. During the internment, Hatsue realized that she "loved him and at the same time could not love him" (231). For Hatsue, the relationship was a friendship that turned into something it wasn't meant to; something she didn't expect, but she was allowed to continue because she couldn't decide if it was right or wrong. Ishmael, on the other hand, was in love. His was not passionate lust, or romantic love, but what true love is: an action, a decision, and yet something beyond his control. For Ishmael, friendship also became something unexpected, but for him it was a discovery that "[after all these years that we have been together, I find that you are a part of me. Without you, I have nothing." " (222). Ishmael's relationship with Hatsue was something he had to hold on to, because it was all he had. During the war, after Ishmael's return and during the trial of Kabuo, Hatsue's husband, Ishmael struggles with the his feelings, hi... .. middle of paper...... is not something that can be defined, controlled or conquered. Through Ishmael, Guterson reveals to his reader that it is possible to love someone without letting one's passions destroy life when that relationship is not meant to exist, and never will. There is a reason to hope for something greater, something more in life than a dream that will never come true Ishmael will never stop loving Hatsue because his love is true love, which, like God who is Love (1 John 4:7), never changes. Ishmael learns to see that loving Hatsue means moving on with his life and doing what Hatsue always knew, and what he now understands, are the great things he is destined to do in life. Work Cited: Guterson, David. Snow falls on cedars. New York: Vintage, 1995. New American Standard Bible. Reference ed. Chicago: Moody Press, 1975.