The True Nature Of Love In The Chaser By John Collier

There are several themes that can be found revolving around “The Chaser” by John Collier. For example one of the themes for the story is the revelation about the true love of nature, and another theory is that Alan, the main character of the story, is motivated for the search to fill his self-centered love. One of the themes that I find most prevalent in the multitude of interpretations, is the fact that, love is supposedly won through hardships, and not bought cheaply. Readers are given plethora amount of choices to interpret the story’s theme, here are some of the ways the readers can interpret John Collier’s story.

The true nature of love, can be interpreted as a temporary illusion us humans believe love to be. When Alan buys the “love potion” he finds himself excited for the first time. How exciting would it be for Diana, Alan’s love interest, to be devoted to his being and only his alone. This provides a conundrum. If we were to force a person to act a certain way, we essentially destroy the personality that had made the

receiver, of your affections, a special individual. The old man in the story forebodes this predicament and offers a “life-cleaner”, which is essentially a poison. "It is not as dear," said the old man, "as the glove-cleaner, or life-cleaner, as I sometimes call it. No. That is five thousand dollars, never a penny less. One has to be older than you are, to indulge in that sort of thing. One has to save up for it." Essentially love, the way readers would like to think of it, is abhorrent when the person who had received the “love potion” is borderline obsessive.
The message in John Collier’s “The Chaser” is painstaking clear, when the old man is offering the “love potion”. Alan who would be “her sole interest in life” expresses his interest delightfully, "I can hardly imagine Diana like that!" Alan is motivated with self-interest: perhaps, he is under the delusion that Diana means everything to him. In truth, Alan may have wanted someone to appreciate him, just as he appreciates himself. The old man drops several inconspicuous hints to what will happen. “She will [want to be everything to you], when she has taken this. She will care intensely.” Alan’s verbal responses of joy, gives the impression to the readers that Alan is a person who is obsessed with someone loving him. In the end the story shows a man who is willing to obtain love through deceit and trickery. His self-love is consequently so self-centered, that Alan is willing to deprive a person’s individuality for his self-interests.
Love is a reward to those who earn it, through hard work or naturally.

Love is an intangible element, yet in “The Chaser” love can be bought for a dollar. "Oh, that," said the old man, opening the drawer in the kitchen table, and taking out a tiny, rather dirty-looking phial. "That is just a dollar." Yet, the old man refers to the “love-potion” as something that is insignificant, the readers can also infer that the “love potion” is insignificant by the “dirty-looking phial” it comes in. This significant information, displays love can be bought cheaply, but the readers can also infer that the love you receive from the “love-potion” is something people wouldn’t want, due to the customers returning and buying the “life-cleaner” when they are tired of the love they receive from the potion. In the end, this dark theme helps us realized that love is something recieved naturally and not something that can be received from a third-party

item.
Certainly there are many more ideas and theories to cover concerning the theme, but in the end the theme of John Collier’s “The Chaser” is something to remember. The general theme for “The Chaser” consists with the illusion that love is temporary if not received in a natural manner. His theme could also represent human greed and hubris.