Copious Relationships: Intimacy and Belonging in Perilous Times

The aim of this chapter is to explore the emotional nuances and affective web of relationships that Moroccan migrants navigate in relation to their marital bonds, with a focus on the domestic realm and the ways love and intimacy are constructed and experienced. The point of departure for my analysis is a consideration of some cases of conflictual and unsuccessful conjugal choices, presented here to highlight how individuals underwent periods of crisis and the role played by their families of origin. I then pay particular attention to the wife-husband interrelationship, how it changes over time and the ways gender roles are transformed when it comes to caring for children. Relationships between parents and children are also explored, in terms of how offspring are raised. This chapter paints a portrait of those households, composed of parents and children, that most vividly illustrate the difficulties as well as the sense of fulfillment entailed in making a family and settling down across migration. In particular, I critically question the notion of intimacy, understood as a detraditionalized, “pure” relationship between individuals pursuing personal fulfillment. I instead argue that these couples achieve intimacy by pursuing what I define as copious relationships resulting from their ability to navigate among family extension and nuclearization, independence and reciprocal commitment, as well as kin expectations and self-determination.