Michael's story : love and vulnerability in a close relationship

Abstract

Being in love in a close relationship is contingent upon biological, intrapsychic, social and cultural events. Understanding these processes has implications for stability and health in individuals families and society. Various dimensions of love are considered as converging on a more basic concept of vulnerability as a part of the human condition where both love and vulnerability are experiences which shape individual development growth, interdependence and survival or the lack thereof. The objective of this study is to capture the dilemmas which underlie love and vulnerability in a qualitative study. The method is a case study of a story using narrative analysis and the relation of theory to experiences revealed in the story. Analysis included observation of the major premises, setting, structure, images and voices in the story and theories included Lee's (1977) theory of love, Sternberg's (1986) triangular theory of love, attachment theory, social construction, psychobiological theory and phenomenologal theories of love. A summary finds that most theories infer vulnerability as an underlying dimension in processes of love and that vulnerability as a characteristic in human mortality may be implicated in love experiences.