They say love is love, but what if your life becomes unhappy because of love? what if love made you criticize half the city? that's what makes it so complex, to what extent love should come first. Throughout the novel we see how loving the wrong man and making the wrong decisions led to her death, she had the opportunity to be happy but she chose the other path. Love can give life or take it, listening to your heart is good but mind and heart work better together and if she chose the good and noble man Eliza will have her family and live long enough to see them grow. What Webster is trying to express in the story is that holding on to the wrong person or situation will end badly. Love is important but not more than dignity, these two morals are connected: Don't love someone more than you love yourself. There is a saying We accept the love we think we deserve and Eliza did, all she wanted was to be love thinking that being the second option will make it one day