Introduction

In this chapter, women's identities are conceptualised in terms of two poles – love and emancipation. In the Sostris case studies of women from varied backgrounds, these polarities were frequently seen to interact in the women's lives, to the point of cross-fertilisation, leading to new orientations. We have chosen the cases of three women whose circumstances are in some respects strikingly similar and in others notably different. Together these cases indicate new patterns in contemporary European societies: the crossing of cultural, social and geographical borders, as well as the growing importance of emancipation for providing a sense of security relative to love.

Both love and emancipation have an inherent potential for change. In art, literature, film and music, love has demonstrated an ability to mould and remould characters and perspectives. We consider first our two polar concepts, and then the three cases.

Dimensions of love

Love is a state of being as well as a state of mind. It can be a dynamic process of transformation, from infatuation through passion and romantic love to true love. In the Sostris cases, it is not easy to detect either such a state or such a process. If the love element in these cases represents a forceful hidden drive, it is in spite of the palpable shortcomings of love these women experienced in their childhood. In short, these various forms of love leave deep and complex imprints on culture. In the words of psychologist Ethel Person (1991, p 22):

It is my central contention that love fills an important function not only for the individual but also for culture. It is the red thread in novels as in our lives. Love determines our feeling for obligation and time and also contrives to transform these magnitudes. Romantic love offers not only momentary excitement but possibilities for a dramatic change of the I. Hence it is a powerful force for change.

In our Sostris case studies, a different but equally real transformation process was richly represented in the more directed love of work and love of one's children or other family members. These forms of love drove social processes. They were sometimes powerful enough to trigger change from negative relations and situations to more functional ones and, vice versa, from functional to disturbed ones.