The Experience and the Manifestation of “Romantic Love” in the Caribbean and the High Himalayas

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This paper aims to address the question: ‘Is Romantic love the same world over?’ by studying the experience, expression and manifestation of Romantic love in Guadeloupe’s (2006) and Du’s (2008) ethnographic accounts.

We meet, we fall in love, we get hurt, we part, and then we meet again. Sounds familiar? Yet, a simple question like, ‘How do you know you are in love?’ baffles many.

The study of human emotions began in the late 1970s and has flourished since; centring on the role it plays in the personal and social life of the individual, and how culture influences emotion (Lutz & White 1986: 405, 410). Love is considered to be one of the six, fundamental emotions surrounding human attachment (Lindholm 1982 in Lutz & White 1986: 411), and has been defined as the strong feeling of affection or attraction, which is more profound than fondness (Oxford Dictionary of Psychology 2009). Consequently, the notion of “Love” has long been a topic of interest, leading to an explosion of literature on love (Sarsby 1983: 20).

However, the concept of Romantic love (also known as passionate love) has been less researched (Lindholm 2006: 7). This is perplexing, considering how often Romantic love is portrayed in popular culture. As such, these influential imageries of romance inexorably overrun, influence and drive our everyday lives (Lindholm 2006: 5). Except, what is Romantic love? Romantic love itself is an ambiguous emotion (Sarsby 1983: 16). At best, it can be defined as the feeling of powerful attraction that encompasses the idealism of the other, within a sexual situation, and is expected to be long lasting (Jankowiak & Fischer 1992: 150).

In addition to its ambiguity, there has been concern with its worldwide prevalence. Despite Janko...

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‘Love and Marriage’ 1955, on This is Sinatra!, CD, KHJ Studios, Hollywood. Written by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, and performed by Frank Sinatra.

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