The Notebook
Romantic fiction is popular amongst women, as it offers seemingly perfect love stories and lustful relationships between admirable role models.
Yet recent trends show an increase in women becoming unhealthily obsessed with their fictional heroes, sometimes at the expense of their own well-being and real-life relationships.
Internet forums dedicated to females discussing their attachments to fictional characters often include comments surrounding depression and self-harm. This comes as a result of women’s inability to form such ‘perfect’ relationships as portrayed in romantic fiction.
Obsession with fictional characters can cause “emotionally disabling attachments filled with anxiety, fantasy and over-dependence” Mary-Lou Galician
In her book, Research and Theories of Mass Media Effects on Individuals and Society, Mary-Lou Galician outlines expert Tennov’s beliefs that “at the obsessive extreme, ‘romantic’ relationships are a form of addiction” and that such obsession with fictional characters can cause “emotionally disabling attachments filled with anxiety, fantasy and over-dependence”.
In other words, women who fall in love with fictional characters find it difficult to establish relationships in real-life, as their expectations are too high and they place too much dependence and reliance on men.
In this sense, women who aspire to have similar romantic experiences to those portrayed in romance novels have unrealistic ideas about what constitutes love, and are therefore less likely to develop stable relationships of their own.
On a more worrying level, some women admit to forming imaginary relationships with fictitious male characters, and feel depressed at the realization that their ideal partner doesn’t actually exist.
Galician points towards a ‘false love syndrome’ for these women, a term derived from psychologists Katz and Liu, which is an “illusion so powerful that it becomes difficult to imagine a more realistic kind of love”.
“‘False love’ includes enjoying constant romance, never needing anyone but your partner in life, and complete fulfillment”, which are deemed as being unrealistic and unachievable ideals.
One popular character that women fantasise about is Edward Cullen, a vampire from Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series, who falls in love with teenage girl Bella and protects her from harm.
Aragorn, from J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, is also a favourite, as he fights in the battle of Middle Earth and maintains a strong relationship with elf-maiden Arwen, who sacrifices her immortality to be with him.
J.K Rowling invented Harry Potter’s godfather, Sirius Black, who bears similar traits to these fantastical characters as he escapes the wizard prison of Azkaban, and he is also a popular choice for women. However, Sirius Black doesn’t form a romantic relationship with anyone throughout the series.
“Women have always been fascinated by abduction by a brutal, determined villain, who is eventually reformed by love” Barbara Cartland, bestselling romance novelist
This suggests that women don’t always use existing relationships between characters to help them identify romantic traits in their favourite characters. But similarities between these men point towards an agreed sense of masculinity and perceived flaws which make them so appealing to women.
According to Galician, the bestselling romance novelist Barbara Cartland once said: “Women have always been fascinated by abduction by a brutal, determined villain, who is eventually reformed by love”.
This works on the notion that the fictitious female characters experience ‘love at first sight’, and consequently disregard their lover’s initial weaknesses whilst striving for a flawless romantic relationship.
According to the Jehovah’s Witnesses Official Website, from statistics published by the Romance Writers of America, “the three primary traits that readers look for in heroes are muscles, handsomeness, and intelligence”.
Other male characters that women fantasise about are less ‘fantastical’ than the likes of vampires and wizards, and come in the form of Atonement’s Robbie Turner, and The Notebook’s Noah Calhoun.
The relationships between these men and their lovers are reminiscent of that of Romeo and Juliet, as all of these couples are torn apart through conflicts of social class and war. A study by Galician noted that some people credited Romeo and Juliet’s relationship as being a ‘fictional ideal’.
“This is troubling”, said Galician, “Considering the obvious dysfunction and failure of that relationship”.
Focusing on unattainable romantic figures and creating rigid ideas of what constitutes ‘perfect’ relationships makes women feel dissatisfied in their own relationships, as their partners simply cannot live up to such high expectations.
Considering this, Katz and Liu said: “It is not sensible to create a fixed image of your ‘ideal beloved’. The key ingredients of true love are shared goals and commitment – as unromantic as it may seem”.
Galician added: “Genuine love includes a balance of mutual supportiveness and independence, and welcomes change and personal growth, rather than fearing it”.
In other words, women should stop looking for brave, rugged loners, and should instead outline realistic characteristics for their potential partners to live up to.
“‘Real love’ is productive, enlarging and joyful, and ‘false love’ is mythic and stereotypic” Mary-Lou Galician
While some women’s mental health is suffering as a result of falling in love with fictional characters, many others develop harmless infatuations with their favourite characters, and can easily determine the differences between ‘real love’ and ‘false love’.
In considering Tennov’s thoughts on the matter, Galician said: “‘Real love’ is productive, enlarging and joyful, and ‘false love’ is mythic and stereotypic”.
Other fictional characters that women have admitted to lusting over include Ron Weasley from the Harry Potter series, Mr Darcy from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Laurie from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.
By Kay Taylor
Romantic fiction is popular amongst women, as it offers seemingly perfect love stories and lustful relationships between admirable role models.
Yet recent trends show an increase in women becoming unhealthily obsessed with their fictional heroes, sometimes at the expense of their own well-being and real-life relationships.
Internet forums dedicated to females discussing their attachments to fictional characters often include comments surrounding depression and self-harm. This comes as a result of women’s inability to form such ‘perfect’ relationships as portrayed in romantic fiction.
Obsession with fictional characters can cause “emotionally disabling attachments filled with anxiety, fantasy and over-dependence” Mary-Lou Galician
In her book, Research and Theories of Mass Media Effects on Individuals and Society, Mary-Lou Galician outlines expert Tennov’s beliefs that “at the obsessive extreme, ‘romantic’ relationships are a form of addiction” and that such obsession with fictional characters can cause “emotionally disabling attachments filled with anxiety, fantasy and over-dependence”.
In other words, women who fall in love with fictional characters find it difficult to establish relationships in real-life, as their expectations are too high and they place too much dependence and reliance on men.
In this sense, women who aspire to have similar romantic experiences to those portrayed in romance novels have unrealistic ideas about what constitutes love, and are therefore less likely to develop stable relationships of their own.
On a more worrying level, some women admit to forming imaginary relationships with fictitious male characters, and feel depressed at the realization that their ideal partner doesn’t actually exist.
Galician points towards a ‘false love syndrome’ for these women, a term derived from psychologists Katz and Liu, which is an “illusion so powerful that it becomes difficult to imagine a more realistic kind of love”.
“‘False love’ includes enjoying constant romance, never needing anyone but your partner in life, and complete fulfillment”, which are deemed as being unrealistic and unachievable ideals.
One popular character that women fantasise about is Edward Cullen, a vampire from Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series, who falls in love with teenage girl Bella and protects her from harm.
Aragorn, from J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, is also a favourite, as he fights in the battle of Middle Earth and maintains a strong relationship with elf-maiden Arwen, who sacrifices her immortality to be with him.
J.K Rowling invented Harry Potter’s godfather, Sirius Black, who bears similar traits to these fantastical characters as he escapes the wizard prison of Azkaban, and he is also a popular choice for women. However, Sirius Black doesn’t form a romantic relationship with anyone throughout the series.
“Women have always been fascinated by abduction by a brutal, determined villain, who is eventually reformed by love” Barbara Cartland, bestselling romance novelist
This suggests that women don’t always use existing relationships between characters to help them identify romantic traits in their favourite characters. But similarities between these men point towards an agreed sense of masculinity and perceived flaws which make them so appealing to women.
According to Galician, the bestselling romance novelist Barbara Cartland once said: “Women have always been fascinated by abduction by a brutal, determined villain, who is eventually reformed by love”.
This works on the notion that the fictitious female characters experience ‘love at first sight’, and consequently disregard their lover’s initial weaknesses whilst striving for a flawless romantic relationship.
According to the Jehovah’s Witnesses Official Website, from statistics published by the Romance Writers of America, “the three primary traits that readers look for in heroes are muscles, handsomeness, and intelligence”.