Comparing Gen And Carmen In Ann Patchett's Bel Canto

“That kiss was like a lake, deep and clear and they swam into it, forgetting” (306). This quote shows Gen and Carmen, one of the couples in the novel, having one of their last moments together in the cupboard. They don’t even want to talk but just kiss. In the novel Bel Canto, written by Ann Patchett, two different love stories emerge between Roxanne and Mr. Hosokawa and Gen and Carmen. These affairs are similar in which they were fueled by close quarters and the living situation they are in, but they are different in many different ways, one of the many being where and the way they show their affection. The way that both of these relationships started are practically the same. They see each other every day and slowly begin to fall in love with each other. “’You were right, what you thought about, her feelings for Mr. Hosokawa. She wants to be with him tonight’” (250). Carmen is talking to Gen about how Roxanne wanted to be with Mr. Hosokawa. Roxanne does not have to nerve to talk to him herself even though she wanted to spend the whole night with him. This shows how even after just a short amount of time of knowing someone and being in close quarters with them, you could easily begin having feelings for
Hosokawa. The love stories take a quick little turn. In the epilogue, it shows the scene of Roxanne and Gen getting married. Guess it was meant to be between them. “’I’m happy,’ Roxanne said, and then she looked at Gen and said it again. He kissed her” (316). A person who was reading this novel never would have expected Gen and Roxanne to end up getting together after all that Gen had said to Carmen about running away with each other and getting married. It was also the same with Roxanne and Mr. Hosokawa, they were madly in love and if it was true love a person could not get over their true love that easily. These love stories definitely were not true