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Pure romance in marriages is not as common as most people think. In fact many cultures today across the world don’t feel that the marriage between two people is the most important relationship in life. Many encourage the family ties to remain strongest and several even find that ‘couple love’ between two people is an illicit emotion that shouldn’t be displayed in public.
You’ll find lots of great history on thed topic of pure romance in marriage at StephanieCoontz.com. This author has posted the first chapeter of her book, ‘Marriage, A History’ on the site for readers to get a taste of history. Below is an excerpt from her first chapter.
In some cultures and times, true love was actually thought to be incompatible with marriage. Plato believed love was a wonderful emotion that led men to behave honorably. But the Greek philosopher was referring not to the love of women, “such as the meaner men feel,” but to the love of one man for another.3
Other societies considered it good if love developed after marriage or thought love should be factored in along with the more serious considerations involved in choosing a mate. But even when past societies did welcome or encourage married love, they kept it on a short leash. Couples were not to put their feelings for each other above more important commitments, such as their ties to parents, siblings, cousins, neighbors, or God.
The book further goes on to explain several examples of more recent couple love in marriages and cultures across the world. Be sure to check out this book and feed your knowledge.