Love and Time

The connection between romantic love and time has always fascinated lovers, who ask themselves if their love will endure always and forever. And if it does, will it be the same as it is now? This chapter argues that romantic love can indeed endure for a long time without necessarily declining into something like friendship or companionate love. In order to show this, it provides various conceptual tools that can help to understand enduring emotions in general and enduring romantic love in particular, such as the distinctions between acute, extended, and enduring emotions, or between superficial and profound emotions. Finally, it tests this position by applying it to the issues of old age, sickness, and death, as exemplified in Michael Haneke's film Amour.