Essay About Widespread Belief And Anthropological Study

The Anthropological Study of Romantic Love
Essay Preview: The Anthropological Study of Romantic Love
Report this essay
The anthropological study of romantic (or passionate) love is virtually nonexistent
due to the widespread belief that romantic love is unique to Euro-American
culture. This belief is by no means confined to anthropology. The historian
Philippe Aries (1962), for example, argues that affection was of secondary
importance to more utilitarian ambitions throughout much of European history.
Lawrence Stone (1988:16) goes further, insisting that “if romantic love ever existed
outside of Europe, it only arose among the nonwestern nation-states elite who had
the time to cultivate an aesthetic appreciation for subjective experiences.”
Underlying these Eurocentric views is the assumption that modernization and the
rise of individualism are directly linked to the appearance of romantic notions of
love.
The validity of an affectionless past is challenged by some historians who draw
upon the insights of an earlier generation of anthropologists (e.g., Lowie 1950
Westermark 1922) to argue that European preindustrial courtship was neither cold,
aloof, nor devoid of affection (Gillis 1988; MacDonald 1981; MacFarlane 1987
Pollock 1983). However, much of this revisionist work continues to explain
instances of romantic love as a basis for marriage, ignoring the role romantic love
plays in affairs (see Stearns and Stearns 1985). Consequently, little has been done
to alter the prevalent opinion that romantic love is a European contribution to
world culture.