Social Cultural and Psychological Effects of Marriage among Second Generation Tamil Adults in France. Case Study—Renuka: A Western-Style Arranged Marriage
Objective This study is a comprehensive approach to psychic conflicts encountered by young women confronted with divergent cultural models. It relates the tensions experienced by Renuka, Tamil born in France, in her marital choices between cultural verticality and interbreeding. Method Renuka’s matrimonial journey is explored through in-depth semi-structured interviews analyzed using Devereux’s complementarist method. Results In a multicultural space, there is a difficulty of positioning. Marital choices reveal intrapsychic tensions that can be overcome by mobilizing strategies, processes and mechanisms articulating identificatory models. Conclusion This study explores the issues of marriage in a migratory context and its effects on the psychic life of individuals and relates the major issues of our mixed societies.