Abstract (eng)
This thesis combines two extensive discourses: Those about rituals and those about dyadic ways of life and focuses on the everyday and non-everyday ritual acts in partnerships. To answer the questions, what pair rituals could be, in which way they can develop and which meanings are attached to them, on one hand is going to be illustrated by the ritual theories and on the other hand an own developed explorative, qualitative approach was used for.
A theoretical ritual term compiled through five selected ritual theories. Ritual characteristics from anthropological, classical-sociological, modern ritual-scientific, family-sociological and pair-sociological perspectives are going to be identified and combined. Furthermore the pair relationship is represented, understood as an extramarital affair without children, as a couple living in one household or living apart together, which leads a different or same-sex relationship, in order to clarify the specific population.
Afterwards the empirical part follows. For this pair study a complex, qualitative method design was used. This composes of narrative and problem-centered pair interviews, participating observations and pair diaries, which were a tailor-made instrument especially for this study. Moreover, Grounded Theory was selected as the analyzing method with an emphasis on the coding paradigma by Strauss.
On one hand the extensive, partly very specific results show, what kind of different meanings of rituals in partnerships can be found. Furthermore, they play an enormous role within the construction of pair-world. The meanings range from structuring, everyday life-facilitating, couple-unifying, valuabling, symbolically, solidarizing up to adjusting or normative. Pair rituals are always seen as pair-specific and also adaptable. The whole daily routine of the relationship is determined by consistently, usually unconscious ritualized activities of everyday life. In addition, a great number of other interesting strategies can be identified, for example pair-language, pair-time or partnership-symbols, which help to construct, develop and reconfirm a necessary pair-world.
The developed theory of the construction of pair-world and of the fundamental meanings of pair rituals could form connections in many cases, for example in the establishing ritual-science and in the family- and pair-sociology.