Introduction: What’s Love Got to Do with It?

The history of love and intimacy shows a fascinating interweaving of social, economic and cultural influences and explanations. The focus of this book is on the historical emergence of romantic love and intimacy in the West. And as Shumway (2003: 11) shows: “ ‘Romantic love’ in this sense is best understood as a culturally specific discourse. . . .” which is most clearly defined in the history of Western culture.