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What ideas about love did Stendhal explore in On Love?

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Stendhal Stendhal, oil painting by Pierre-Joseph Dedreux-Dorcy; in the Bibliothèque Municipale de Grenoble, France.

In his 1822 philosophical discourse On Love, the French author Stendhal provides an analytical study of love, which also serves as a reflection of his own emotional experiences.12

Stendhal categorizes love into four distinct types:
* Physical love: Purely sexual in nature.1
* Love as a social game: Detached from true passion.1
* Vanity love: A form pursued to maintain high social standing.1
* Passion: The highest and most idealized form of love, which receives the majority of his focus.1

He further outlines seven progressive stages of love, beginning with admiration and culminating in "crystallization." This process describes how a lover projects all perfections onto the beloved.1

Beyond these psychological observations, the second part of the work presents views that were considered radical for the time. Stendhal argues against the institution of marriage and advocates for the moral liberty and full education of women.1