The Heart Wants What It Wants

The American Dictionary says that this phrase means “our emotions and desires can be unpredictable and not always governed by logic or reason.” Supposedly, it was used by Emily Dickinson in a letter to Mary Bowles in the spring of 1862 upon the death of Mary’s husband, Samuel Bowles, the editor and publisher of the Springfield Republican newspaper. The poet was suggesting that the heart has its own logic aside from societal expectations.

Not everyone agrees about this catchy phrase’s origin. It seems that Woody Allen popularized it in 1992 when he married Soon-Yi Previn, Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter. Of course, the fact that it was over thirty years ago, makes us question which one succeeded, the heart or the head. Although it is usually used to explain romantic love, it can be applied to many other situations.

We have all heard about a Mediterranean diet being good for the heart: lots of fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, fish and poultry, all cooked with olive oil. When my family arrived to the United States in the sixties, my mother was appalled when she couldn’t find olive oil readily: “How could she live in a country without olive oil?” Luckily it is ubiquitous now, although Trumps’ tariffs are going to hurt our wallets and our hearts. I have already promised my daughters that we won’t regress to Wesson oil.

It is not surprising that many Spanish proverbs about the heart differ greatly from Dickinson’s version. Take for example: “A barriga llena, corazón contento.” (With a full tummy, a happy heart). I wonder if I now have an American or a Mediterranean heart. How many times have I broken my diet with a few extra chocolates instead of a piece of fruit?

Valentine hearts are also keen on chocolates, whether they are good for the heart or not. No question about aerobic exercise, though, just look at the symbol for the health app on your Apple phone and watch. I click on this little heart continuously. I am obsessed with how many steps I take a day. Especially now that I have a new knee, I’ll walk anywhere to catch up with last year’s numbers.

Hearts are everywhere: playing cards, songs, poetry, home décor… My favorite heart sits on a shelf of my library. I found it on a trip to Cinque Terre in Italy. Lucca, Giacomo Puccini’s birth place, was not in the itinerary, but I made sure to organize a side trip on our day off. I wanted to see his home, his museum, the little plazas where he walked. And to think that I didn’t use to like opera! I remember the first one I saw with Peter, La bohème, at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. I was crying for Mimi and Rodolfo and their sad love story. Now I go to the opera whenever I can, and if I can’t make it to the live production, I see it on the Met HD telecasts. Thanks, Peter, for opening my ears and my heart to opera.

National Public Radio dedicated an entire week in October 2015 of “This American Life” to Emily Dickinson’s phrase, The Heart Wants What It Wants, presenting “stories from people who take that notion to extremes, and are unapologetic about it.” Also, I just found out that Selena Gomez wrote a song with the same title. I listen to its lyrics and watch the video and love it! It appeals to my romantic nature, particularly since right now I’m going through a sentimental roller-coaster myself. I only wish I had a map to guide me on the highway of love. You know how much I love maps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This entry was posted on Monday, August 18th, 2025 at 12:47 pm by conchaalborg and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.