"Familiarity Breeds Contempt"

“familiarity breeds contempt” is an old and exciting saying in the English language. It means that over time, due to an excess of exposure to one another, a relationship may turn sour, but the question arises how is this possible. To understand the answer to this question, we must first understand what a relationship is.

A relationship can have a swarm of meanings, from the close comradeship among friends to the intimate connection to one’s kin within a tightly knit family. Summarising the word - relationship is actually a form of a bond between two gregarious beings. These bonds are only formed due to both beings enjoying one another’s presence and developing a close association with each other.

The enthralling point of this saying is how beings who came to form an attachment with one another due to their similar interests, likes, and dislikes can start to detest each other because of this same attachment. The British author Geoffrey Chaucer was the first to use this expression in his writing, though is he really correct? Is this the reason that certain marriages fall apart and friends fall out with one another? Is there too much familiarity among them?

If this is true, should we spend less time with those who we love for fear of their scorn, or should we spend more time with them and risk the disintegration of the once beautiful relationship. Or is the saying simply a sham and just another form of disinformation in today’s modern-day and age? Well, we may never know.