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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...oss Cultures,
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The article '' love: the right chemistry'' by Anastasia Toufexis efforts to explain the concept of love from a scientific aspect in which an amateur will understand. Briefly this essay explains and describe in a scientific way how people's stimulation of the body works when you're falling in love. The new scientific researches have given the answer through human physiology how genes behave when your feelings for example get swept away. The justification for this is explained by how the brain gets flooded by chemicals. The author expresses in one point that love isn't just a nonsense behavior nor a feeling that exhibits similar properties as of a narcotic drug. This is brought about by an organized chemical chain who controls different depending on the individual. A simple action such as a deep look into someone's eyes can start the simulation in the body that an increased production of hand sweat will start. The tingly feeling inside your body is a result of a scientific delineation which makes the concept of love more concretely and more factually mainly for researchers and the wide...
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Love is a concept that has puzzled humanity for centuries. This attachment of one human being to another, not seen as intensely in other organisms, is something people just cannot wrap their heads around easily. So, in an effort to understand, people write their thoughts down. Stories of love, theories of love, memories of love; they all help us come closer to better knowing this emotional bond. One writer in particular, Sei Shōnagon, explains two types of lovers in her essay "A Lover’s Departure": the good and the bad.
Humboldt Journal of Social Relations 32.1, TRANSLATIONAL APPLIED SOCIOLOGY (2009): 158-83. JSTOR.Web. 11 May 2014. Chalmers, Jennifer H. "Romantic Love: Is It a Realistic Goal for Marriage Therapy?" Romantic Love: Is It a Realistic Goal for Marriage Therapy?
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