“Passion can shape our ideas and affect our behaviors”
Passion is something we all experience on a daily basis, it can be something as small as a passion for the food you are eating, or the movie you are watching to something of greater force, for example a passion towards the independence of young women as we see in the movie ‘Mona Lisa Smile’. Passion can be a central force that affects every aspect of your life; this is shown through Callisto’s grandmother in the book ‘Borrowed Light’. It can also be something used to explain human behaviors and relationships in further understanding. Callisto uses her passion for the universe to categorise people on the book ‘Borrowed Light’. Passion can affect our behaviors and hence our relationships. In the book ‘Borrowed Light’ Callisto’s grandmother, Ruth had a strong passion of the mystery’s of the universe “I was born with eyes for the skies” explains Ruth on page 46. This passion is central and evident within her everyday life. This passion is a backdrop for everything she does, it is reflected in her career at the university and even after her retirement as she continues to attend the annual space seminar where she is highly respected. This passion also affected her home life and relationships with her family. Callisto’s mother Caroline claimed, “she spent more time looking at the stars than at me”, Caroline felt her mother neglected her never receiving her full attention. Ruth was so caught up in her work she forgot to show loving behavior and care towards her daughter.

Passion can shape the way we look at the world. In the book ‘Borrowed light’ Callisto categorizes everyone into ‘moons’ or ‘stars’, stars being those who are confident and out-going therefore giving off their own light and moons being those who just reflect the light given from the stars. She uses this to explain the behavior of those around her and acts in the way she thinks ‘moons should’, she sucks up to people looking for their acceptance, “They sense my eagerness to please”. It is her passion, which clouds her judgment and does not allow her act as herself. Callisto’s relationship with Tim was an example of this; Callisto saw Tim to be a big bright star and always did everything in her power to please him. During their sexual intercourse it was not the love or passion for him which she felt but just the sense of him ‘wanting’ her and being focused on nothing but her. Callisto’s passion is strongly reflected in her behaviors and ideas; she acts in a certain way and does not step out of line, as she is too afraid of what the ‘stars’ will think. Her ideas of human interaction have been strong shaped by her passion for the universe.

In the movie Mona Lisa Smile, Katherine Watson is a teacher with a passion for the independence and intellectual capabilities of young women, she inspires her students to think for themselves and not fall to societies expectations. Her passion for independence completed shaped her views of housewives, she believes they are waste of a women’s potential conforming only to their husbands wishes, what she does not see is the happiness in and fulfillment of raising a family. In the scene where Katherine visits Joan after discovering she turned down Yale her views on the matter were very clear. Although she wanted the best for Joan she was very disappointed and believed Joan was capable