SEARCHING THE OTHER HALF: THE CONCEPT OF SOULMATE IN PAULO COELHO’S BRIDA

Abstract

The concept of Soulmates is a concept widely discussed both in real life and literature. The idea of Soulmate says that Soulmates are two individuals who are bound to each other by an unknown force. These individuals gravitate towards one another and their paths continue to cross until they are one. Many fictional works have incorporated the concept of Soulmates in their plots, Brida, the novel under discussion being one of them. The theory of Soulmate also entwines with it the ideas of reincarnation and the multiple ways by which one can recognize the other half. The present paper explores the concept of Soulmate as presented in Paulo Coelhos’s novel Brida. The novel under consideration reveals many ideas about the existence of Soulmates along with ways by which we can get to know the presence of the Soulmate.  The book argues that the quest for love and search for perfect partner is really a quest for wholeness. Ideas of reincarnation, magic and witchcraft have also been used in the novel to substantiate the existence of Soulmates in the world and to prove that Soulmate is in reality the other half of a man or woman.