Head Over Heels

I am absolutely in love...with a fictional character (seriously). I hate to admit it but this is not the first time I've fallen for someone who only exists in print. It's interesting to me to look at the dynamic of how someone can get attached to a person who doesn't exist. So, here's my psychoanalytic interpretation of this phenomenon. Firstly, a fictional character is written to make you fall in love. They are usually in a plot line that has very high stakes. The high stakes keep things much more interesting than they would be in the typical daily life. Secondly, they do and say everything you wish someone in real life would do and say. They make the sweeping gestures of eternal devotion, they write love letters that would make Shakespeare green with envy, they fight for the heroine, etc, etc, etc. Lastly (and perhaps, most importantly) they don't exist. If I were actually presented with a Mr. Darcy or an Edward Cullen tomorrow, I would probably run as fast as I could away from them. I'm not ready for that kind of reality. I settle for relationships that I know won't go anywhere. It's easier at this point in my life to have a sudden burst of passion and heartache then to settle in for the long haul. For the moment, I'm content to keep this relationship strictly in my head and not actually in my hands.