{"title":"Differentiating between romantic and mature love: Revisiting the three caskets.","authors":"John Steiner","doi":"10.1080/00207578.2024.2322081","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Freud's paper on the three caskets is revisited. His view that the lead casket represented death is supported by extracts from The Merchant of Venice, in particular the song, \"Tell Me Where is Fancy Bred\". It is argued that the acceptance of death is a necessary step in the transformation of romantic love to mature love. With experience of reality a disillusion of romantic idealisation becomes possible, but this means that losses have to be accepted and mourned. It is argued that this is made more bearable if an ironic stance enables an acceptance of the pleasures of romance without believing them to be literally true.</p>","PeriodicalId":48022,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Psychoanalysis","volume":"105 4","pages":"564-575"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Psychoanalysis","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00207578.2024.2322081","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/9/4 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, PSYCHOANALYSIS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Freud's paper on the three caskets is revisited. His view that the lead casket represented death is supported by extracts from The Merchant of Venice, in particular the song, "Tell Me Where is Fancy Bred". It is argued that the acceptance of death is a necessary step in the transformation of romantic love to mature love. With experience of reality a disillusion of romantic idealisation becomes possible, but this means that losses have to be accepted and mourned. It is argued that this is made more bearable if an ironic stance enables an acceptance of the pleasures of romance without believing them to be literally true.
期刊介绍:
It is the only psychoanalytic journal regularly publishing extensive contributions by authors throughout the world - facilitated by a system of international editorial boards and the policy of allowing submission and review in all main European languages, followed by translation of accepted papers at the Journal"s expense. We publish contributions on Methodology, Psychoanalytic Theory & Technique, The History of Psychoanalysis, Clinical Contributions, Research and Life-Cycle Development, Education & Professional Issues, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, and Interdisciplinary Studies. The Journal also publishes the main papers and panel reports from the International Psychoanalytical Association"s Congresses, book reviews, obituaries, and correspondence.