Throughout The Tsar’s Bride, love was something seen as fluid and different to all who experienced it. For some, like Liubasha, it meant commitment above all else, but for others, like Grigory, it lead to betrayal.

Take Liubasha, for example. In the beginning of the film, she was shown to love Grigory with all her heart, and couldn’t bear to see him unhappy with her. After the dinner scene, she interrogated him to understand why he didn’t show her the love he once did. Upon finding out that he loved another woman, she lashed out at him and his lack of commitment towards their love. She cited how when he took her from her village, she was separated from her family and loved ones, but she never batted an eye because it meant that she would be with Grigory, her greatest love. Her commitment towards Grigory made her all the more frustrated when he wouldn’t love her in the same way.

Like Liubasha, Martha was committed to her love Ivan Lykov, since they knew each other from childhood. She even expressed that love to her friend, saying that she wanted him as a husband above all else, and was upset when the Tsar chose her as a wife.

To some characters, however, love is not that same binding force others feel it is. The main culprit in this regard is Grigory, who was in love with Liubasha, until another woman caught his eye. Instead of remaining committed to Liubasha, who, may I remind you he abducted, he asks a man to create a potion that would have Martha fall in love with him. In doing so, he abandons his relationship that started through conquest.

These differences in treatments towards loved ones are illustrative of how women were viewed at the time; not as people but as trophies to be pursued and won, while women were expected to fully throw themselves into their relationships. This is evident in the Tsar’s choosing of Martha as a bride. He simply had his men scout young women, lined them all up, and chose the one he wanted. He gave no thought of what she wanted; only what he could get from a woman. Likewise, Grigory clearly put little stock into commitment in a relationship, as he was on the lookout for a younger woman to chase after despite having abducted a woman previously.