Description
Book SynopsisIn this brilliant and provocative book Pascal Bruckner argues that the old tension between love and marriage has not been resolved in favour of love, it has simply been displaced onto other levels. In the past, marriage was sacred, and love, if it existed at all, was a consequence of marriage; today, love is sacred and marriage is secondary.
Trade Review"In this excellent little book, French philosopher Pascal Bruckner suggests that the very terms in which the argument against traditional marriage was made have served to undermine modern marriage."
—The Australian
"This small, wise book takes on a very large question: why has modern marriage failed so catastrophically, so dramatically? With his usual eloquence, irony and taste for paradox, Pascal Bruckner carefully exposes the roots of the problem and argues that despite our modern 'realism' about love and sexuality, we have idealized and overburdened the institution and practice of marriage to an impossible extent. To be married today, Bruckner tells us, is nothing short of a Promethean task. For those interested in the cultural history of the institution and a meditation on our current malaise - our current crisis? - Has Marriage for Love Failed? is a must- read."
—Richard J. Golsan, Texas A&M University
"For forty years, historians and sociologists have gradually been uncovering the history of private life, and especially of marriage for love. Pascal Bruckner examines their work, beginning with the key question 'Is marriage for love finished?' - on which he casts a penetrating eye."
—Luc Ferry, author of On Love and Learning to Live: A User's Manual
"Pascal Bruckner puts his finger on the social and existential question of the moment: can marriage be combined with enduring love? This is not a self-help book but rather the work of an astute writer and philosopher, written with elegance and style."
—Hebdo
Table of ContentsPreface ix
1 The Catastrophe of the Wedding Night 1
2 Divorce, a ‘Judaic Poison’ 8
3 The Nuptial Utopia 15
4 From Forbidden Love to Obligatory Love 21
5 The Pathologies of the Ideal 28
6 Honey and Hemlock 35
7 The Round of Disappointed Lovers 40
8 Towards Separation in a State of Euphoria? 44
9 A Ministry of Broken Hearts? 50
10 An Agony Amidst Glory 57
11 The Liberating Tradition 62
12 Restoring Reason to Sentiment 68
13 Together, Separated 75
14 The Defeat of Prometheus 79
The Sweetness of Life 85
