Julia Kristeva pursues her exploration of the core emotions of the human psyche through a series of philosophical and literary texts. She focuses on the role of narcissism and idealization in the formation of a love object, accounting for the role of the death drive by coining the term "love/hate."

Assuming the voices of psychoanalyst, scholar, and postmodern polemicist, Julia Kristeva discusses both the conflicts and commonalities among the Greek, Christian, Roman, and contemporary discourses on love, desire, and self.