What's in a name?

I actually went off on a tangent in my last post. I was going to comment on the interesting structure of the novel Adam and Eve, but became excited with the thought of having Rebreanu and Lewis dialog. I'm afraid I may not have set it up as well as I would have liked, but c'est la vie.

To provide a little structure for the novel, here is a brief description of the seven lives:
1. Mahavira & Navamalika: ancient Indian "untouchable" shepherd falls in love with the king's betrothed (virgin); the two share a brief embrace after which man is captured, tortured, skinned alive, and eventually killed.
2. Unamonu & Isit: Egyptian county governor falls in love with Pharaoh's mistress (mother of three); the two exchange but a few glances, words, and brief hand touches after which Unamonu searches in vain to meet and deliver her from Pharaoh's "house of love"--he is stopped by an arrow in his neck.
3. Gungunum & Hamma: Young Babylonian scribe sees a girl from afar and is haunted by her in his dreams. He never meets her again, for she was taken captive, deflowered, and imprisoned in the House of Women and he was killed in a raid by the enemy-king.
4. Axius & Servilia: Roman cavalier lives contentedly with his wife and children until he meets his wife's maidservant and is nonsensically attracted to her. He runs away on a year-long tour to forget the slave but is haunted by her image and voice, especially in Egypt (deja-vu?). Upon return, he arouses his wife's suspicions, who promptly kills the woman; the man, deciding life is no longer worth living, commits suicide.
5. Adeodatus & Maria: a German medieval monk suffers from a severe obsession with the Virgin Mary, lives his life in dedication to her, and dies at old age only to discover that his entire system of beliefs was false, and he should have pursued love instead of faith.
6. Gaston & Yvonne: a French provincial doctor lives his life according to his atheist revolutionary ideals, yet seems to be missing an important piece of his life. Chancing upon the trial of several monks and nuns, he discovers the woman of his destiny who is condemned to death. The man rushes to save her from condemnation, yet is himself condemned to the guillotine to die several moments after her.
7. Toma Nonvac & Ileana: a Romanian philosophy professor believes he has discovered the meaning of life but cannot settle on a wife. At age 40, he lays eyes on a young wife and the two begin a 7-week passionate love affair, conceiving a child. The jealous suspecting husband uncovers their secret and shoots the man point-blank. Before dying, the man briefly reviews his seven lives.

All these stories have a basic plot in common. The man (always male pov) lives an average life, minding his own business, not quite fulfilled but not knowing he's missing anything until a chance encounter with a woman, who happens to be his soulmate. She is most often the object of many male gazes and, more often than not, the smile on her lips freezes when he eyes lock with the man's. They both feel like they've met before but can't place when, where, or how, and from that moment on, their very existence hinges on their coming together. Every second apart is torture and the man wilts when he is away from her. However, their [re]union is hindered by numerous obstacles (social classes, prior relational commitments, job demands, etc), and the man dies in an attempt to save the woman from her captors. (Of course, there are some variations to this plot, especially in Adeodatus & Maria's story, but it holds true for the most part.)

Trivia: If you ever wonder how long something lasted or how many items in a unit, guess "7" and you'll be right 99.9% of the time.