Since the emergence of religious orders, any woman who wished to become a nun needed to take a series of vows in order to enter the convent. However, these vows are very extreme and require nuns to live a life seeking perfection by being fully devoted to the Lord in every aspect. In the painting Love or Duty the painter, Gabriel Castagnol, depicts a nun facing an internal struggle involving the religious vows that she took (Castagnol). By looking at the position of the subjects, the symbolic use of color, and the tapestries and painting in the background, we can see the woman's struggle between her vocation as a nun and a more secular life as part of the laity with the painter. This is important because it illustrates the temptation nuns face in breaking their religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.  

The body positions of both the nun and the painter give insight into the inner conflict of the nun and the thoughts and motives of the painter. The women standing in the painting is illustrated wearing a habit and a black veil with a rosary hanging from her waist, thus making it evident that she is a nun (Castagnol). In addition, she is positioned with her body facing the painter while her head is tilted and she is staring straight ahead at the viewer. The way her body is twisted in two directions shows a struggle, which symbolizes her internal conflict as to deciding whether she should retain her vows as a nun or give up her vocation for the painter. The position of the nun's body facing the painter shows that she has a desire leading her towards him. The painter is also positioned in an interesting way as he is seated with his torso up facing the nun, while his lower body is facing downward as if about to kneel (Castagnol). His body position shows his awe and respect for her and the higher morals she embodies. However, the way the painter's body is twisted two ways mimics the nun's body showing that while the painter respects the nun's higher morals he is trying to pull her away from them. The painter is also illustrated holding both of the nun's hands as if trying to pull her toward him while leading her away from her religious values. The way the painter's body is twisted pulls back the red draping he has over his shoulders and back to expose a green bag and the handle of a dagger (Castagnol).  The dagger symbolizes danger suggesting that the painter may be harmful, and suggests uncertainty. This symbol relates to the dynamics of the relationship between the nun and painter in that it provides evidence that a life with the painter is more ambiguous then a life with Christ contributing to the nun's internal struggle.

Similar to the subject's positions, the symbolic use of color in both the nun's and painter's clothing aide in the portrayal of the nun's internal struggle. The white clothing of the nun symbolizes purity and her vow to chastity. The painter, however, is pictured wearing deep red, which symbolizes passion and lust (Castagnol). The juxtaposition of these two symbolic colors coincides with the nun's internal struggle between her vow of chastity and her desire to be with the painter. In addition, the shiny green color of the coin bag hanging off the painter's waist and depicted around his arms symbolizes money and greed (Castagnol). The symbolic green color shows the nun's struggle between her vow of poverty and the lavish life she would live if she decided to break that vow for the painter. 

The tapestries in the background and the more prominent painting alongside the nun reflect the two lives the nun is struggling to choose between. The tapestries symbolize the religious life the nun is currently living and the prominent painting reflects a life in the laity with the painter and religion. The tapestries in the background portray people with halos, long robes, and clothing similar to that of a priest, thus providing evidence that they are religious (Castagnol). One of the religious figures has a cross in his clothing and another figure has angel wings. Also in the background on the wall separating two of the tapestries is part of the crucifix, showing Jesus' torso and lower body with his feet crossed and nailed down (Castagnol). These tapestries are faded, the lines are nearly indistinct, and they are pictured behind the nun and the painter. In contrast to the tapestries and crucifix is the painting of a women and three boys that is positioned to side of the nun and painter. This painting is more prominent and a clearer image then the religious work in the background. This more noticeable picture contains a woman whose hands are positioned as if she is praying, however she is not wearing the same clothing as the religious people in the tapestries or the nun. The halo that is above her head is very different than the halos that the various religious people in the tapestries have over their heads. The halos depicted in the tapestries are vibrant and thick and seem to produce a yellow-gold circle around the people's heads making their presence known (Castagnol). In contrast, the halo in the more prominent painting around the woman's head is thin and is almost not visible. This shows the difference between the religious people in the tapestries such as priests and angels who devote their lives to God and the woman in the prominent picture that has religion in her life but is not married to the faith. The portrait inside the painting, depicting a woman happily surrounded by children, is key in illustrating that both the painter and Castagnol himself, believe that the woman was capable of leading a life in Christ, without requiring marriage to him. The children in the predominant picture also represent the possibility of a family and motherhood the nun would have with the painter. The juxtaposition of the tapestries to the picture the painter was working on shows the nun's struggle and her idea of leaving her religious vows in the background and taking up an earthly life making more prominent materialistic ideals with this painter. The clear prominence to the painters painting in Castagnol's famed image, as opposed to the religious picture in the background, also shows Castagnol's own personal preference to living a life not regimented by religion. 

The painting Love or Duty by Gabriel Castagnol portrays a nun contemplating whether to stay true to her religious vows or leave her vows behind for a life with the painter. The nun's internal struggle is made evident through the nun's twisted body position facing both the painter and the viewer as to look off in the distance meditating on the choice she has to make (Castagnol). The use of red to symbolize desire, green to symbolize money and greed, and white to symbolize purity also shows how the nun is torn between her purity and desire and greed with the painter. Finally, the contrast of the faded religious tapestries to the more prominent and up front picture portray the idea the painter is trying to get across that the nun is able to live a religious life without being married to Christ and her faith (Castagnol). Simultaneously, the viewer can determine that both the painter in the image and Castagnol believe that the nun can continue to live a life where religion exists without keeping the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
