Eros: Repopulation and the Instinct of Self-Preservation

One of the criticisms about the repopulation discourse is that it’s exclusionary. Not everyone can nor wants to have children. This is a fair argument but what if we thought about this call for repopulation not just in terms of human bodies? In Wounded Heroes: Vulnerability as a Virtue in Ancient Greek Literature and Philosophy, Marina Berzins McCoy writes about Eros and its affinity for reproduction, but she argues that this applies to all aspects of creation. She writes, “Reproduction in not only a physical, but also intellectual and creative sense, is part of the human response to our own need and lack, as we strive for but cannot yet reach the eternal.” Perhaps this talk of repopulation extends beyond just the human factor, and touches on something about the continued production of culture, especially at a time where many of our monuments and places of worship are being destroyed as a result of the transfer of land. Arpine, 20, said that the lack of compassion from the rest of the world made her see how alone Armenians were, “it made me realize no one will be there for us but us and the only way to be able to stay away from extinction is to have a huge, powerful future generation that doesn’t allow the world to forget us.”

In The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis writes, “Eros wants the beloved” and it is “ready for every sacrifice except renunciation.” Perhaps the beloved in the case of Armenian youth is not so much one other as it is the nation and culture itself. “Repopulating makes up for the lost lives and ensures that no matter what hatred is thrown at our people, we will be able to overcome,” said Arpine.

The final piece in William Saroyan’s collection of short stories, Inhale & Exhale, is called “The Armenian and the Armenian.” In it he writes: “Go ahead, destroy this race.  Let us say that it is again 1915.  There is war in the world.  Destroy Armenia.  See if you can do it.  Send them from their homes into the desert.  Let them have neither bread nor water.  Burn their houses and their churches.  See if they will not live again.  See if they will not laugh again.  See if the race will not live again when two of them meet in a beer parlor, twenty years after, and laugh, and speak in their tongue.”

Although he never actually wrote “see if they will not create a new Armenia,” (this is a popular misquotation), in a way this is implied by Saroyan’s emphasis on the continued existence of the Armenian race. With this passage, I like to think Saroyan was invoking Eros as well.

In the face of annihilation, violence, and destruction; Armenian people strive to create the new on a foundation of the old. Standing on the pedestal of ancestral wisdom, our people keep going. This is the way that we know how to survive. Saroyan’s famous quote is prescient here. Armenians’ defense against destruction comes from their unions as well as their creative and productive ambitions. We know all too well the real fears of extermination, and through these seemingly youthful “jokes,” we see something very real for our communities: the belief that our ultimate victory lies in our continued existence.

Ani Tatintsyan, born in Goris, Armenia, is a Los Angeles-based writer and filmmaker. She is the author of two books of poetry, Letters to Strangers (2013) and Everything is Magic (2016). She holds a B.A. in Political Science and English Literature from the University of Southern California and a graduate degree in Aesthetics and Politics from California Institute of the Arts. She writes about politics, popular culture, and philosophy. You can follow her on Twitter.