Women in Love

The concept of romantic love emerged in the Western culture in the Middle Ages. It was different from the views of love that had existed before that, although hints of it can be found in earlier societies and cultures.

In the fourth century BCE, the form of loved described by the Classical Greek philosopher Plato (429 to 347 BCE) referred to finding a person to complement a part ...

The concept of romantic love emerged in the Western culture in the Middle Ages. It was different from the views of love that had existed before that, although hints of it can be found in earlier societies and cultures.

In the fourth century BCE, the form of loved described by the Classical Greek philosopher Plato (429 to 347 BCE) referred to finding a person to complement a part of oneself in a bid to recover an original unity of souls. The object of this Platonic love could be of the same or of different sex, although for Plato the love of youths was held much higher than the love of women. In the first century BCE in Roman society, where women had a higher standing than in Greece, the conclusion was that love brought inevitable misery to men.

During the Middle Ages, women and love had little influence in literature, which was mainly written by the clergy. However, women could be patrons of literature and some believe it was this patronage that played a key role in the development of romantic love. A few women made an impact here, including Heloise d'Argenteuil (1101 to 1164) in her love letters to Peter Abelard (1079 to 1142) in the 12th century. Poet Marie de France (her actual name is not known, this is her writing name) wrote traditional love literature and writer Christine de Pizan (1363 to 1430) was described as an early feminist for her work.

According to researchers, there is a difference in the way men and women describe love. Men often describe themselves as more involved in game playing, while women's descriptions of themselves include them being more friendship-oriented and practical. Men idealize an altruistic love more than women do, while women are more realistic. Both men and women emphasize the importance of passionate love, which is a phenomenon no longer confined to the Western world.

There are different kinds of love, such as the love of a parent. Mothers in particular feel for their babies and this is viewed as one of the deepest emotional connections. Parental love changes over time as children grow up and become independent. According to psychologists, love is a combination of intimacy, commitment and passion. This is true for all kinds of love, including parental love, affection and loyalty between friends, a romance between lovers, or warm feelings for a pet.

According to the Swiss psychologist Carl G. Jung (1875 to 1961), a woman has an unconscious male spirit, called the "animus", while a man has an unconscious female spirit, referred to as the "anima." Jung believed that people often fall in love with those who are representations of their own inner male or female spirit. Referring to the death of popular silent film star Rudolph Valentino in 1926, Jung said it left women across the world weeping as if they had lost their own lovers. Jung felt that women really must have been weeping over the loss of their inner male spirits.

Jung argued that the relationship between the animus and anima was the most perfect relationship. He saw the animus and anima as archetypes that contain a person's preferences and psychological characteristics to fit their personality. When a man meets his anima, and the woman meets her animus, Jung says this is a perfect combination. The argument goes that they feel ‘magically' connected to one another and cannot separate without suffering depression for the rest of their lives.

Jung believed that such a partner was like a part of a person's body and that there were many obstacles an individual would face to prevent him or her living with their true love. He advised that in the search for love everyone should be patient about getting involved with someone, especially if they may not be the ideal partner. Jung warned that an extremely difficult situation could result if a person had a relationship with someone who is not his or her soul mate.

In general, psychologists in this field argue that the abstract, conceptual ideology of "love" obscures the reality of a woman's individual experiences and struggles, gender relations and patriarchy. As a result, essential issues and problems are concealed, making everything seem fine. The symbolic discourse of love can be seen in sharp contrast with the reality of women's experiences with love.