Description |
xvii, 278 pages ; 25 cm |
Contents |
Introduction: 'I want to know what love is' -- 1. Romantic Ideology - 'If you love someone' -- 2. Love at breaking point - 'What have I got to do to make you love me?' -- 3. The ambivalent nature of romantic love - 'What is this thing called love?' -- 4. Understanding wife killing - 'See you at the bitter end' -- 5. Boundaries of the possible - 'Never give up on a good thing' -- 6. Structural difficulties in romantic love - 'Hard times for lovers' -- 7. Novel romantic reality - 'You've got to take the bitter with the sweet' -- 8. The nurturing approach to love - 'We walk in the dream, but dream no more' |
Summary |
"We yearn to experience the idealized love depicted in so many novels, movies, poems, and popular songs. Ironically, it is the idealization of love that arms it with its destructive power. Popular media consistently remind us that love is all we need, but statistics concerning the rate of depression and suicides after divorce or romantic break up remind us what might happen if 'all that we need' is taken away. This book is about our ideals of love, our experiences of love, the actual disparity between the two, and the means of coping with this disparity." |
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"A major case study of the book concerns men who have murdered their wives or partners allegedly 'out of love'. It is estimated that over 30% of all female murder victims in the United States die at the hands of a former or present spouse or partner. How can murdering a loved one be associated with the assumed moral and altruistic love? Not only is love intrinsically ambivalent, but it can also give rise to dangerous consequences. Some of the worst evils have been committed in the name of love."--BOOK JACKET |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [261]-271) and index |
Subject |
Love.
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Uxoricide -- Psychological aspects.
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Author |
Goussinsky, Ruhama.
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LC no. |
2007036906 |
ISBN |
9780198566496 |
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0198566492 |
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