I have begun reading sociologist Eva Illouz's 2012 book Why Love Hurts and while I haven't gotten too far into it, and thus will likely have a lot more to say about, Illouz says the modern world, with its deregulated
of marriage markets and freedom to choose one's own partner has, made the search for love an «agonizingly difficult experience» that leads to collective misery and
disappointment, which is then internalized by people — especially women — as a personal
failing.