The Forty Rules of Love

The Prologue opens by introducing Ella Rubinstein, a wife and mother whose life seems void of passion. Ella believes that love is secondary to things like security and is instead something that really only exists in romantic movies or books. In spite of this, the Prologue begins with a twist: Ella has filed for divorce after 20 years of marriage to her husband, David, because she has fallen in love with a mysterious someone else who lives on a different continent and whose life is entirely different than Ella’s.

The previous Prologue section revealed events that will happen (Ella does not file for divorce until the Fall of 2008); this Prologue section, and the rest of the narrative, explains the events that led up to the divorce. Ella reveals that David has been unfaithful throughout the marriage. Changes are abounding in Ella’s life; at a lunch, her daughter announces that she is engaged. This announcement makes Ella think about her disappointments in love. Interrupting them is a call from Ella’s boss, who encourages her to start reading Sweet Blasphemy, the first novel she’s been assigned. It’s about