S. L. Kishor's Appointment With Love

“Do you really love me?”

Released from war and arriving at a train station to meet the potential love of his life; Lieutenant Blandford is about to face one of the most challenging trials of temptation life has to offer. There has always been a moral debate on whether or not looks matter in relationships. In “Appointment With Love”, a short story written by S.L. Kishor, the author explores the theme of meaningful relationships by elaborating on the genuine interactions between Lieutenant Blandford and Hollis Meynell.

In the beginning of the story, Lieutenant Blandford falls for Hollis Meynell when he reads her notes in a book and thought that she, “[...] could see into a man's heart so tenderly” (Kishor 1). Touched by her notes, they begin writing to each other, and the start of a relationship blossoms between them, “[...] renew[ing] his strength and skill” while deployed (Kishor 1). Through helping him overcome tribulations during the war, he believes that the feelings he had developed for her was mutual. It is evident that Meynell also wanted what they had between them to develop into an authentic relationship when, “[...]

As he is human, he has flaws, evident when he lies about his age to Meynell, saying, “‘I’m thirty-two.’ [when] He was twenty-nine,” (Kishor 1). From this moment, he learns that Meynell stresses credibility over trivial matters. This is reinforced when she refuses to send him pictures of her. It is crucial that Kishor developed the character’s relationship this way because it displays how their interactions were authentic. Once at the train station, Blandford had a choice not to go up to “Hollis Meynell”. The fact that he did, despite how she looked, also says a lot about how much he valued their interactions. As a result of their meaningful, unbiased connection through letters beforehand, they were able to build a genuine