Where does responsibility lie with individuals who are entrapped by the influence of love?

“Miss Flora retired to her chamber, indeed, not to employ herself in the manner she pretended, but to give a loose to passions more inordinate and outrageous, than it would naturally be believed could have taken possession of so young a heart.

But it is now high time to let the reader see into the secret springs, which set her wicked wit in motion, and induced her to act in the manner she had done.”

Miss Betsy Thoughtless p219

“Love, like the grape’s potent juice, but heightens Nature, and makes the conceal’d Sparks of Good, or Ill, blaze out, and show themselves to the wond’ring World! It gives an Energy to our Wishes, a Vigour to our Understanding, and adds to the Violence of our Desires, but alters not the Bent of them.”

Reflections on the Various Effects of Love p114

Love has corrupted the common sense and good intentions of mankind throughout history, but where does the responsibility of individuals who act under this passionate spell exist in literature? In Miss Betsy Thoughtless, the main character’s cohort, and roommate, betrays Betsy as a result of her broken heart. Flora’s actions were extraordinarily calculating and malicious, but occur while under the influence of an encompassing jealousy and shattered emotional state. In the second quote, a simile compares the potency of love to that of wine. Love, like alcohol, adds enthusiasm to ordinary feelings. Does this compulsory power sway mankind’s liability while under the control of love? Could those who act under these impulses be considered innocent due to temporary drunken passion? Or would they be held responsible for these malicious actions? In the case of Flora, she has many motivations for her spiteful actions. Betsy is often vain and imprudent about her suitors. Flora desires these men, but is neglected while the men chase after Betsy. Her constant heartbreak is easily empathized with by the reader, suggesting that perhaps Betsy deserves the distress that is caused by Flora’s plotting. Or could one argue that Betsy, herself, was acting as a girl under the influence of overwhelming love and attention? The obscure nature of responsibility in regard to actions of love is a complex topic of interest.