After Love: Romantic Heartbreak, Emotions and Embodiment in Britain c. 1750-1900

爱情之后：英国的浪漫心碎、情感和体现 c．

• 批准号: AH/X010716/1
• 负责人: Sally Holloway
• 金额: $ 19.06万
• 依托单位: Oxford Brookes University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FX010716%2F1
• 关键词: After; Love; Romantic; Heartbreak; Emotions

We all recognise the excitement, joy, and comfort which accompany romantic love, but what happens when love goes wrong? What follows romantic rejection, infidelity, divorce, or the death of a beloved? The extreme grief of romantic heartbreak is one of the most powerful emotional experiences that human beings endure, one which most of us will experience at some point in our lives. It sits at the centre of the modern mental health crisis, with the breakdown of romantic relationships a key driver of people seeking help from mental health charities, and a leading cause of both homelessness and suicide. Yet for all its ubiquity, how far do we really understand what romantic heartbreak is? And what can history teach us about the most effective ways to heal?The abject misery of a broken heart is more than simply rhetorical - it is a visceral mental and physical experience with very real bodily consequences. Individuals mourning the end of a romantic relationship are liable to high blood pressure, blood clots, and a disturbed heart rhythm. People who have recently lost their partners are more likely to suffer health problems such as heart attacks, with women especially vulnerable to developing takotsubo cardiomyopathy ('broken heart syndrome'), where a surge of stress hormones causes chest pains and shortness of breath. In the weeks and months following bereavement, the 'Widowhood Effect' means that men and women are considerably more likely to die due to the suppression of their immune systems and experience of extreme stress.Yet the distinctive grief which follows the end of romantic relationships is not static or unchanging, but has evolved significantly over the modern era. During the eighteenth century, individuals suffering from a broken heart were vulnerable to low spirits, disturbed nerves, a weakened pulse, and impaired memory. Their grief was likened to cords tightening around the heart, which could be paralysed by their suffering. If their sorrow was especially violent, or continued over a long period of time, patients were thought to be liable to a host of conditions from phthisis to cancer and insanity. During the nineteenth century, the source of our emotions changed, as scientists came to prioritise the brain rather than the heart as the locus of feeling. But feelings still remained firmly corporeal in nature, with violent passions such as love and grief able to tear or stop the heart dead. Just as the experience of romantic heartbreak has changed over time, so have the ways in which we treat it, and the rituals we turn to in order to heal.The project furthers UKRI's strategic goal to improve the nation's health and wellbeing, namely through how we discuss and recover from the grief of a broken heart. This has never been more pressing, given the current mental health emergency exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The project will establish a new interdisciplinary research network for studying romantic heartbreak, and produce three main outputs:1. An academic monograph, After Love: Romantic Heartbreak, Emotions and Embodiment in Britain, c. 1750-1900.2. A group exhibition on 'Broken Hearts & Broken Bodies'. 3. A project website, featuring videos 'in conversation' with experts from the new research network, and digital version of the exhibition.The exhibition will provide the setting for the following public events:1. An art and crafting project led by the Oxfordshire Mind Wellbeing Service.2. A programme of talks by experts from the new research network.3. Artist-led workshops where members of the public create 'body maps' of heartbreak. 4. A pop-up Poetry Pharmacy dispensing poetic remedies for broken hearts. The project will conclude with a cross-disciplinary symposium to provide a critical public forum in which to discuss the mental and physical reality of romantic heartbreak past and present, and the best routes to restoring our health and wellbeing.

我们都知道浪漫的爱情伴随着兴奋、喜悦和舒适，但如果爱情出了问题怎么办？在浪漫的拒绝、不忠、离婚或心爱的人死亡之后会发生什么？浪漫心碎的极度悲痛是人类经历的最强烈的情感体验之一，我们大多数人都会在一生中的某个时候经历这种经历。它处于现代心理健康危机的中心，恋爱关系的破裂是人们向心理健康慈善机构寻求帮助的关键驱动因素，也是无家可归和自杀的主要原因。然而，尽管它无处不在，但我们到底在多大程度上理解什么是浪漫的心碎？关于最有效的治愈方法，历史能教给我们什么？一颗破碎的心的悲惨遭遇不仅仅是口头上的--它是一种发自内心的精神和身体体验，具有非常真实的身体后果。为一段浪漫关系的结束而哀悼的人容易患高血压、血栓和心律失常。最近失去伴侣的人更容易出现心脏病等健康问题，尤其是女性更容易患上支气管型心肌病(心碎综合症)，压力荷尔蒙激增会导致胸痛和呼吸急促。在丧亲后的几周和几个月里，“丧偶效应”意味着男性和女性更有可能死于免疫系统的抑制和极端的压力。然而，浪漫关系结束后独特的悲痛并不是一成不变的，而是在现代发生了显著的变化。在18世纪，心碎的人容易情绪低落、神经紊乱、脉搏虚弱和记忆力受损。他们的悲痛被比作缠绕在心脏上的绳子，这可能会因为他们的痛苦而瘫痪。如果他们的悲伤特别剧烈，或者持续很长一段时间，患者被认为容易患上从肺结核到癌症和精神错乱等一系列疾病。在十九世纪，我们情绪的来源发生了变化，因为科学家开始把大脑而不是心脏作为感觉的中心。但情感在本质上仍然是坚定的有形的，强烈的激情，如爱和悲伤，能够撕裂或阻止心脏死亡。就像浪漫的心碎经历随着时间的推移而改变一样，我们对待它的方式和我们为了痊愈而求助的仪式也是如此。该项目进一步促进了英国皇家儿科学会改善国家健康和福祉的战略目标，即通过我们如何讨论和从心碎的悲痛中恢复过来。考虑到当前因新冠肺炎疫情而加剧的精神健康紧急情况，这一问题从未像现在这样紧迫。该项目将建立一个新的跨学科研究网络，以研究浪漫的心碎，并产生三个主要成果：1.学术专著《恋爱后：浪漫的心碎，情感和体现在英国，约1750-1900.2》。《破碎的心与破碎的身体》群展。3.一个项目网站，展示了与新研究网络专家的对话视频和展览的数字版本。展览将为以下公共活动提供背景：1.由牛津郡心灵健康服务领导的艺术和手工艺项目。来自新研究网络的专家的演讲计划。由艺术家主持的工作坊，公众可以制作心碎的“身体地图”。4.一家弹出式诗词药店，为破碎的心提供诗意的补救措施。该项目将以一个跨学科的研讨会结束，提供一个重要的公共论坛，在这个论坛上讨论过去和现在浪漫心碎的精神和身体现实，以及恢复我们健康和福祉的最佳途径。