One of the fundamental tropes of the story of Christianity is that innocence once lost cannot be reclaimed: We are cast out of the garden forever, and if we enter a similarly Edenic paradise after our deaths, it is only because we have been forgiven, not because we have obtained that original state of grace from which all humans are fallen. But, of course, there are stories based in other traditions than Christian theology, and in these traditions it is possible - although usually very difficult - to regain a sense of lost innocence.
We can see these two different possible outcomes for individuals - and for humanity as a whole - if we contrast different types of Romances. If we look at a darkly Romantic story l
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