Maeterlinck’s Monna Vanna, set in Italy during the Renaissance, has a timeless theme:  Romantic love ennobles the human soul.  One rises in love.  But how can one recognize true love? What price is worth paying for it? What risk is worth taking for it? This talk will consider the play’s special qualities, salient virtues, and significant history, including its role in Ayn Rand’s life and work.