ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the emotional implications of care by focusing on different kinds of care arrangements, as they emerge in different kinds of family contexts and other forms of intimate relationships. It aims to contribute to the project of a general theory of care, which has been pursued by a range of scholars. The chapter describes how the emotional dynamics revolving around care can challenge our conventional view of care-related inequality and produce unexpected outcomes in terms of symbolic and practical productivity. It reviews theoretical perspectives on care, illustrates how emotions can help to unpack, and highlights its less visible rationales. The chapter shows how the focus on emotion is a necessary step to show the ambivalences and the grey areas connected with the concept of care as well as to challenge the not fully explored assumption that care is often associated with burden and stress.
