Introduction Love and passion have a lot in common; however, there is a thin line separating the two and this distinction only comes out through the actions taken by the involved parties. There has always been a conflict between love and passion because many people do not love; they are only passionate and as the confusion sets in, people become lost and finally despair for they do not get what they expect. The raging conflict between love and passion comes out clearly in Shakespeare’s play; Othello and Yasunari Kawabata’s book; Snow Country. While in these two works there are people who are truly in love, others are just passionate even though they assume or pretend to be in love. This paper explores four characters viz. Othello and Desdemona from Othello, Shinamura, and Komako from Snow Country. Why do these people make decisions that they make? Love vs. Passion In Othello, Othello is passionate about Desdemona whilst she is in love with him. Shakespeare richly explores the conflict between love and passion. As aforementioned, it is hard to differentiate between love and passion as they all come in the name of love. Othello confesses his love for Desdemona while his actions negate these claims. He says, “…I love the gentle Desdemona” (Shakespeare 29). This is only lip service and as the old adage goes, actions are stronger than words; Othello’s actions speak loudly against his words. By virtue of its selfish nature, passion tramples over love and the two cannot coexist. Love is long bearing, patient, and understanding among other virtues. On the other hand, passion mimics love for some time and eventually resorts to its self-seeking nature. After confessing his love for Desdemona, ironically, Othello goes on to kill her. Othello simply married Desdemona to achieve his own good; love seeks for the common good of everyone, not an individual. Othello is passionate with marrying Desdemona because for one; he would brag it to his friends, and satisfy his ego. If only he truly loved Desdemona, he would not even thought of killing her. To show how far love is from Othello, he uses unfounded hearsays to accuse his wife and takes no time to investigate the matter. He hurriedly concludes that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio simply because Lago thinks so. He justifies his claims by saying, “She turned to folly, and she was a whore” (Shakespeare 480). Love is not jealous and it does not accuse the loved especially in absence of substantial evidence. Moreover, even if the loved is surely in the wrong, love brings forgiveness through mutual understanding; it does not bear finger pointing and death. Due to lack of love, inflamed with passion, Othello kills Desdemona. On the other side, Desdemona loves Othello and this is why she marries him and sticks with him even after her father tries to terminate the marriage by contesting it before the Dukes. The conflict between love and passion continues to be manifested in Kawabata’s book, Snow Country. As Shinamura gets to know Komako well, it is evident that he cannot love. He is only passionate, passionate about his personal desires. As the story opens up, the reader learns that Shinamura is a “bored individual who lives a life of idleness” (Kawabata 8). Actually, the reason why he comes to Snow Country is to kill this boredom and rediscover his ‘self.’ Therefore, it follows that he only accepts Komako as a ‘tool’ of satisfaction, not as a loving partner