Category: Cinderella Love and Unrequited Love

Women, less so men, have a common fantasy that a princely man will sweep into their lives and rescue them from unhappiness.  Many popular songs such as “Someone to Watch Over Me” or “The Man I love” capitalize on the wish to be liberated from loneliness.  For men, the longings are quite different and involve a quest for an object of beauty and sensuality.  The differences here reflect the psychology of sex.  Women yearn for companionship and care taking; the physical attributes of the man are less important.  Men seek adoration and an affirmation of prowess.  In some people, the fantasies are so powerful that they lead to highly imagined relationships in which a man loves someone he can never possess.  A woman can fall in love with an unattainable and idealized man who has no idea that he is being loved.  Future posts will examine the problem of searching for the perfect mate.