# Love and Obsession in The Nature of a Crime

> Theme guide for The Nature of a Crime by Joseph Conrad.

The narrator's intense, unfulfilled love for the woman he writes to drives the entire narrative, manifesting as obsession, longing, and a desire for union that transcends life itself.

## Where it surfaces

- [The Nature of a Crime](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_nature_of_a_crime_se/chapters/the-nature-of-a-crime): The narrator's love for Miss Averies is all-consuming, driving him to theft and thoughts of suicide, illustrating the destructive power of obsession.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_nature_of_a_crime_se/chapters/i): The narrator's confession reveals an all-consuming love that drives his actions and thoughts.
- [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_nature_of_a_crime_se/chapters/iii): The narrator's intense desire for his beloved drives him to the brink of death, framing love as an all-consuming force.
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_nature_of_a_crime_se/chapters/iv): The narrator's passion for his beloved is compared to the irrational love-philtre in Tristan and Isolde.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_nature_of_a_crime_se/themes/love_and_obsession
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_nature_of_a_crime_se/themes