"It is not love that is blind, but jealousy"

Lawrence Durrell’s assertion, “It is not love that is blind, but jealousy,” turns a familiar saying on its head, inviting a deeper exploration into the nature of both emotions. Love is commonly depicted as a force that blinds people to the faults and imperfections of its object, often excusing irrational actions or steadfast loyalty despite flaws. In contrast, Durrell suggests that love, at its best, may actually see more truly and clearly, embracing another’s entirety, faults, virtues, and all.

Jealousy, however, distorts perception. When jealousy arises, it typically clouds the mind with suspicion, insecurity, and fear. Rather than fostering understanding or compassion, it often projects one’s own anxieties onto others, twisting reality to fit narratives of betrayal or inadequacy. A jealous person might see signs of unfaithfulness in the smallest gestures, or perceive rivalry where none exists. The emotion narrows one’s focus, eliminating context and doubt in favor of an all-consuming certainty that is often unfounded. It is in this sense that jealousy is truly blind: it prevents one from seeing people and situations as they are, casting everything through a greenish filter of distrust.

While love is sometimes naive, Durrell suggests it is not inherently so. Genuine love wants to know the beloved deeply, including their weaknesses, seeking out understanding and connection. It can inspire empathy and growth, opening the heart rather than closing it off. Jealousy, in contrast, is isolating and self-referential. It sees only its own pain and sense of threat, refusing to acknowledge the full humanity or intentions of others.

By challenging the notion that love is blind, Durrell draws attention to a more subtle truth: that it is the corrosive, suspicious nature of jealousy that truly obscures vision, undermining trust and connection where love might otherwise thrive and see clearly.