Kathrin Rochow 
Together alone – The Other in a love relationship 

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject Psychology – Social Psychology, grade: 1, 0, Uppsala University, language: English, abstract: Symbolic Interactionists are also referred to as “cultural romantics.”2 They sympathize with
outsiders and underdogs, believe in the contingency of self and society and envision social reality as
an ongoing interaction of people, which entails change and transformation.3 On the other hand,
Symbolic Interactionism reflects not only a subjective study of human experience, but it also
attempts to evolve an objective (social) science which holds man as a product of society and one’s
self as “only existing in the definite relationships to other selves.”4 This dichotomy appears to be
fairly interesting when it comes to social phenomena that are assumingly either mainly subjective or
objective. Love tends to be seen as a merely subjective experience of the self. Falling in love with
somebody seems to be possible under the most incredible circumstances, not complying to any
rules, being mysterious and unpredictable. The “beloved other” prompts feelings and might get
positioned on a throne for the most inexplicable (personal) reasons. But who is the “beloved-other”
really? Why is he or she privileged to ascend the throne? Are the reasons for loving this particular
person barely subjective or might they be rooted in society and hence influenced and induced by an
objective reality? Do we really choose our “beloved-other” or is he/she chosen by society?