The primary conflict lies in this totalitarian society’s condemnation of love as a disease called amor deliria nervosa, for Lena must confront her own growing love for Alex in a world where romance is illegal and love itself is actively eradicated in every citizen. In America, love has been identified as a disease for the last 64 years, and the “cure” has been imposed on all citizens for the last 43 years. As outlined by The Book of Shhh, society’s single most authoritative text designed to perpetuate this propaganda, love is historically dangerous. In fact, the emotion is portrayed as being the cause of all society’s premodern and modern problems. According to the ruling government, all problematic human emotions are just symptoms of the larger disease of love, for it stands as the catalyst for war, the cause for destruction, and the inspiration for greed. This historical evidence of the disease is always linked back to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, in which humans are depicted as living in paradise until Eve is tempted by sinful emotion, resulting in their banishment from Eden (24, 234).

Thus, love is depicted as a weakness of the human mind and body that causes obsessive thoughts, paranoia, an inability to focus, and more.