Synopsis: On Ferenginar Quark learns his mother has been having an affair with the Grand Nagus, while on Deep Space Nine Rom and Leeta are to be married.
This episode can be seen as an illustration of how deeply the Logos-driven rational conscious ego sometimes tries to suppress the Eros-driven irrational unconscious.
In “Ferengi Love Songs” Quark decides to visit his mother on Ferenginar after he learns that Rom is planning on marrying Leeta, the Bajoran Dabo girl he employs. On the planet, Quark learns that his mother is secretly seeing Grand Nagus Zek, but not so secretly that Brunt from the Ferengi Commerce Association does not know about it. Brunt enlists Quark’s aid in breaking the two up in exchange for a new business license. Meanwhile on Deep Space Nine, Leeta and Rom break up when she refuses to sign a Waiver of Property and Profits that Ferengi brides traditionally sign, as Ferengi females are not allowed to own anything or make any money. Quark learns that Brunt is trying to take over the government and refuses to assist him anymore and Rom gives away all his savings so that Leeta will not have to sign the waiver.
In the Star Trek series, Ferengi are quite often represented as behaving as if they are operating only to satisfy their irrational greed, while Starfleet is represented as being the epitome of rationality. Another way to see the Ferengi, is that they are just as rational as Starfleet, in their Rules of Acquisition that forms their society, it is just that they are behaving rationally from a capitalistic perspective, whereas Starfleet is more socialistic and egalitarian. However, both Starfleet and the Ferengi are one-sided in that they suppress the Eros-driven irrational unconscious, the Ferengis may be just a bit more obvious in it, in that they do not allow females to wear clothing or own anything. That being said, when Rom does allow himself to be driven by Eros rather than the rational Rules of Acquisition, he wins back Leeta, and the two can be happily married. Just as when the conscious ego integrates bits of material from the unconscious, the psyche becomes more whole.
mydailysoultrek 