A Lover's Discourse, at its 1978 publication, was revolutionary:
Roland Barthes made unprecedented use of the tools of structuralism to
explore the whimsical phenomenon of love. Rich with references ranging
from Goethe's Werther to Winnicott, from Plato to Proust, from
Baudelaire to Schubert, A Lover's Discourse artfully draws a portrait
in which every reader will find echoes of themselves.