I Felt Guilty for Being So Happy: Narrative Expressions and Management of Postdivorce Ambivalence

Scholars have highlighted ambivalence as a central feature of experiences of divorce and its aftermath and discussed ambivalence as an important issue for divorcees in adjusting to their new status. While most of this scholarship assesses postdivorce ambivalence as a psychological phenomenon to be a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociological focus (Kent, Ohio) Ohio), 2018-07, Vol.51 (3), p.200-216
Main Authors: Winchester, Daniel, Spencer, J. William, Baird, Denise M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ambivalence
Cultural conflict
Divorce
Marriage
Merton, Robert King (1910-2003)
Narratives
Social structure
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Summary:Scholars have highlighted ambivalence as a central feature of experiences of divorce and its aftermath and discussed ambivalence as an important issue for divorcees in adjusting to their new status. While most of this scholarship assesses postdivorce ambivalence as a psychological phenomenon to be addressed therapeutically, this study analyzes postdivorce ambivalence as an interpretive problem to be addressed sociologically. Following Merton’s (1976) insight that ambivalencebeviewedasrootedincultureandsocialstructureaswellas individual psyche, we use a narrative analytic perspective to examine how divorcees both discursively express and interpretively manage their ambivalence. We then consider some of the more general cultural discourses—such as images of marriage and divorce—that shape or condition these narratives. Ultimately, we argue that conflicting stances toward marriage in the wider U. S. culture are at once important sources of postdivorce ambivalence and significant interpretive resources for its discursive management.
ISSN:0038-0237
2162-1128
DOI:10.1080/00380237.2017.1382304