If someone's partner has Herpes, and there is thus a likely chance that one may contract the virus, would it make sense to purposefully infect oneself in a small place so that one would develop antibodies, and not end up with a bigger infection?

Never, ever let love lull you into believing that unprotected sex with a partner with herpes is without consequences.  First, we do not know enough about herpes transmission to understand why some people have the disease with few to no outbreaks and others have outbreaks three or more times a year. You could be lucky and never have an outbreak, or you could have frequent ones.

Moreover, there's no such thing as a "small" herpes exposure.  A woman with herpes could transmit the disease to an unborn child should she have active disease near delivery. 

If you should ever have another sexual partner, it will become your responsibility to notify that partner of your condition less you unwittingly expose someone else to the condition.