We’ve lost the art of letter writing and real yearning. Saying something to Siri while driving so it can send a text message for you. Using slang to convey your message with fewer words and letters. Sending someone a video you saw online. All these things are now considered ways of communicating with someone without being face-to-face. Before texting and social media, letters were used to communicate with others without being in the same space as them. So much more effort was put into talking to those you care about. The receiver would then take the time to read this letter, reflect, write back, and send another one back. What may now seem like an inconvenience can be a real act of love.
The Significance of Letter Writing
Writing letters in the past wasn’t a cheap endeavor. It was quite expensive so not everyone could communicate with whomever they wanted. If you could not afford it, your letter could go unsent and you would unintentionally be ghosting someone you cared for. Many people found loopholes around this so they could talk as much as possible over one singular letter. To do this they would do something known as crosswriting. This is where people would flip over the letter cross out what was written by the sender and the receiver would write over on top of the crossed-out writing. It sounds eco-friendly but it was just messy. The time, money, and effort spent can be a testament to the lengths loved ones went to be able to communicate with one another.
The Romance of Letter Writing
A devastating part of why letter writing can be so romantic is that loved ones often wrote letters often during wartime. People separated from their loved ones had nothing else to rely on during battle other than their loved ones’ letters. These letters are a nostalgic craft for them as they had nothing else to do but remember all the good times they had. This nostalgia translates so many emotions on paper, holding so much power in just a piece of paper.
Love Letters of The Great War is a prime example of this. The book is a collection of letters from various wars in history and perfectly captures the romance in love letters. Each letter could be the last one written, evident by how these people communicate to their loved ones. The terms of endearment, compliments, and yearning are all encompassed within the letters written and hold romance. Letters can be a source of comfort for both the party waiting at home and the one at war. Not only through their words but the physicality of holding something made by your significant other.
Should We Bring Back Letter Writing?
Social media has allowed for instant communication regardless of where you are in the world. This has taken away the yearning within relationships as couples rarely get to miss each other. Not only can we message each other instantly, we can see one another through video calls. This begs the question of do we ever really miss our loved ones as they did in the past. Or is it just as hard not seeing them face-to-face regardless of video calls and instant messaging? One might never know but when reading a letter from the past, you can feel the love pouring out of the pages as they long for their significant other. This may be said about texting in the future as historians study instant messaging but for now, it seems as though there is an art to letter writing that makes it more magical and wholesome.
With current events taking a toll on the world around us, we never really know when our time is up. Appreciate the little moments before they are gone. Tell your family you love them face-to-face or write a message to a loved one, put your thoughts from pen to paper, place it in a well-crafted envelope, seal it with wax, and send it off. What’s a little extra effort if it’ll make your loved one smile?
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