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Falling in love is overrated
Don’t follow your heart
We’ve all been there.
The butterflies, the daydreaming, the staring into each other’s eyes. All those signs that unmistakably let you know you’ve fallen into the hands of cupid.
But what is this all about? Is it sexual? Is it biological? Is it a romantic fantasy? Is it meant to be?
History
The idea of romantic love is neither universal nor old, at least not as a prerequisite for marriage.
Although there are many famous cases of people falling madly in love — Romeo and Juliet, Cleopatra and Marcus Antonius, Marie and Pierre Curie — that was not the norm at all.
In fact, the idea of marrying for love was laughable until the 19th century and the introduction of romanticism in the arts and literature.
In the west, we grow up with the conviction that falling in love is a prerequisite for marriage and it’s an inalienable right. But this hasn’t always been the case.
Until very recently, arranged marriages were the norm, and is only in the XX century, and in the west, that people started to choose their own partners for sentimental reasons.
Even today, the practice of arranged marriages between two consenting adults is popular in many places…
