Psychoanalysis and Love

This work offers a sweeping, early‑twentieth‑century view of love through the lens of psychoanalysis. It begins by teasing apart the split between head and heart, questioning whether desire can ever be governed by reason alone. Drawing on the ideas of Freud, Jung and Adler, the author maps how memories, nerves and even the “dead heart” can be revived by affection.

The later chapters wander through many facets of attraction: the subconscious cues that shape our choice of partner, the curious prevalence of fetishes, the family dynamics that echo Oedipal stories, and the darker shadows of jealousy, homosexuality, sadism and masochism. Along the way, the text links physiological responses to cultural myths, presenting a dense yet readable catalogue of how love has been understood, debated and sometimes pathologised. Listeners will come away with a richer sense of the scientific and cultural forces that have long shaped human intimacy.