377. (xii) There is also jealousy inspired by mistresses, but this is different in nature from that inspired by wives.
Jealousy of wives wells up from the inmost levels of the personality, but jealousy of mistresses only from the outward levels, so this is different in character. The reason jealousy of wives wells up from the inmost levels us that this is where conjugial love dwells. This is because a marriage, by reason of its being firmly established by a compact to last for ever, and also of the equal rights which one has over the other, unites their souls and forms a higher bond between their minds. Once this bond and union have been established, they remain indissoluble, however warm or cold the love between them becomes.
[2] This is why an invitation to make love coming from the wife would totally freeze the husband from inmost to outermost. But such an invitation from a mistress to a lover would not do so. Jealousy regarding a wife is accompanied by seeking for good repute so as to be respected; and this accompaniment of jealousy is lacking where a mistress is concerned. But both of these types of jealousy are varied, depending on where the love coming from a wife or from a mistress is received, and also upon the state of the man's judgment who receives it.
This page is part of 
© 2000-2001 The Academy of the New Church