Of plurality and affection: trajectories of love and intimacy in contemporary partnerships

Abstract

In face of the massive historical transformations occurring in family live, which have led conjugal relationships to be constructed upon affection, this article aims to debate the relationship between historical sentimentalization and the growing complexity generated by individualization processes. The analysis of discourses of Portuguese married or cohabiting women enabled us to describe a variety of trajectories and orientations towards love and intimacy, thus showing the plurality of affections in contemporary conjugalities. On the other, companionship seemed to associate with erotic passion. At the same time, highly individualized women always reveal some tension between autonomy and intimate fusion with the partner. Showing the linkages between different conjugal trajectories and the building up of these semantics of affection, we disclose a heterogeneous scenario, where love acquires multiple meanings, follows different pathways and is interwoven with the construction of the couples' daily life.

Affection; Trajectories; Conjugality; Individualization; Modernity