In many partnerships and marriages love forms the most important basis for staying together and for experiencing a fulfilling sexlife. Love is touted as that special feeling that brings people together, binds them to each other and creates joy and happiness within that relationship. Many couples believe that this feeling possesses strength and a nearly magical effect: Love becomes the ideal to be attained. But ideals also have their downsides. They can set unduly high hurdles, increases one s expectations and strengthen our sensitivity for the presence of love. Should love go missing, then couples often separate, causing emotional stress for everyone involved, also among the couple s children. If love were not such an ideal to be reached in any case, then couples could deal with the loss or temporary absence of love in an easier and more relaxed manner. Understanding love as a construct help not to overvalue this feeling within a partnership. It also allows other important elements that strengthen the relationship to flourish.
Frank Natho takes the reader on a trip through time and discusses in detail the development and the background of the phenomenon of love throughout various past epochs: ancient times, the Middle Ages and modern times are but a few of the stations along the way in the history of love. The author poses the question whether romantic love is relevant to the present day or whether it perhaps tends to make people more unhappy than happy. Why friendship is a better and more useful ideal is discussed at the end of this volume on the 'invention of love.'