Themes
If love was a choice, who would ever choose such exquisite pain?
— Tuptim · Anna and the King
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
This is a rhetorical question with a sad answer: nobody would pick love if it were optional, because it hurts so beautifully. 'Exquisite pain' holds two opposites together, suggesting love is both delicate and wounding, and that we don't get to decide whether it happens.
Context reviewed