A Psychological Map of Love. Alain de Botton’s Love Stories as Reflections of Sternberg’s Theory on Love

摘要

This article aims to give a psychological interpretation to Alain de Botton’s novels On Love and The Course of Love, doubling the philosophical take on love that runs in the background of the novels. Robert Sternberg’s triangular theory of love will be applied to de Botton’s two novels, in an attempt to reach an understanding of love by means of psychological deconstruction, following the dynamic of the three components of the love triangle: passion, intimacy and decision commitment. References will also be made to Sternberg’s complementary theories on love, i.e. the theory that conceptualizes love as a story and the theory of love as a socio-cultural artefact.