On love, dying together and Liebestod fantasies.

Abstract

The study of the legend of Tristan and Iseult in terms of the multiple fantasies it might express adds to our understanding of the psychology of love. In a previous paper (1975), I delineated, via allusion to the Tristan legend, the romantic-erotic conditions sometimes involved in creativity. In this one, I have approached the question of love from the other direction and have tried to delineate the creative-adaptive conditions required for integrating the experiences of loving and being in love. The "High tale of love and death," the Liebestod fantasy realized, is still with us, but the happier ending may be a realistic, viable alternative.