Restoring Hope

It is a sad trend that I have noticed growing in the world of relationships. Women have begun to lose faith in the goodness of men which seems to come from the lack of Chivalry in this world. My own relationships have certainly been affected by this. All too often in today's society a man will forget to hold the door open for a lady or neglect proper manners and common decency. It is sad, even though it is true, that the most common stereotype of men is that they think with their genitals and not with their heads or hearts. In Sonnet 32 Elizabeth Barrett Browning is writing of having lost that faith in the goodness of men and having it restored by Robert Browning. She believed that he was just like other men who's love would fade as time goes on, comparing the relationship to the sun setting and the moon rising. Then he proves her wrong by metaphorically playing sweet music on the "defaced" instruments of her heart. Sadly I have some experience here. My girlfriend's last couple of relationships were poor at best and the guys she dated treated her horribly. She had lost faith that guys can still be courteous and Chivalrous in this world, and then she started talking to me. I don't mean this to sound like me tooting my own horn or anything but she continues to tell me that I saved her. That she never thought guys like me could exist in the world anymore. That is such a sad thing to think about. That it is hard for people to believe that people can be good.