In a struggle of survival in this big vast world full of physical and emotional needs and an unwavering desire of belongingness to someone and something, the love and chivalry are expressed through a simple yet effective gesture of romance. Romance has been around since the age of mythology as goddess Laksmi gently massages the feet of Lord Vishnu to keep Lord Vishnu away from misfortune(Alakshmi) and watch the entire universe playing around them from the comfort of their own living space "Baikuntha" in a gesture of ever so sweet and everlasting romance. Could it be equivalent to what we have right now as we stay in the comfort of our house with our significant other as we watch Netflix cuddled up? Could it be the ancient time Netflix and chill?
Romance as you know has evolved from those godly eras to the time of Shakespeare who has shown romance in his great book of Romeo and Juliet as Juliet arrives in the balcony to have a romantic conversation with his lover Romeo across the street. The gesture of romance has never been so grand.
In the '90s with the ascend of romantic soap opera and movies, the gesture of romance has changed very much and the romance has been taken up to the levels such as busting music outside of the lovers' house or the announcement of love during a game of rugby. This grand gesture of romance has left the current generation wondering if the romance is dead now. The reminiscent of such impressions is still lingering and people have high expectations regarding how they want their romance to be. The minor gesture of romance is left unseen and they are disappointed to not receive an actual grand gesture.
But the thing is romance is more than about the grand gesture, the expensive ferry date, the vacation around the world. It is an expression of love and it can be as small as showing to your partner's house with a bag of chip saying lets Netflix and chill. The expectation of having a man like Christian Grey from "Fifty Shades of Grey" sweeping you up on your feet, taking on this grand tour on a private jet is purely superficial and deviates from the actual meaning of romance. Romance should be subjective as well as symbolic. Romance is the symbol of your love and the show-off is not part of love.
Romance is maximum when the effort is at a minimum. The little fighting off between an old couple is a more symbolic form of their love than an expensive date could ever be. A woman working in a field with her spade blushes continuously as his husband whistles at her is as romantic as romance could be. A husband coming home after a hard day at work and a wife pours her some wine as she plays his favorite song. Romance is very much alive here. The difference in significance of the magnitude of grandness is irrelevant as romance is spiritual and the superficiality doesn't account for romance.
