ABSTRACT
Love of the romantic sort is suffused with creative ecstasy, but it carries within it the seeds of destructive agony as well. Being the victim of betrayal can be so emotionally damaging that mental health professionals have hatched a syndrome to describe the stress and turmoil of its aftermath called postinfidelity stress disorder (PISD). Wars have even been set in motion by love, betrayal, and jealousy. Evolutionary biologist propose that men and women adjust their mating strategies from short term to long term, and vice versa, at different times in their lives and in response to different opportunities and conditions when benefits outweigh costs. Despite the Western condemnation of adultery, there have been some cultural traditions in history that have viewed extramarital love as more desirable, more spiritual, and more "real" than marital love. In this tradition the illicit love affair is seen as unencumbered by any practical tit-for-tat considerations or social or material gains.
