Photo Credit: Corbis Photography/Veer.comMarie Claire's relationship blogger Maura Kelly breaks down the different types of love that pull us into relationships.
1. HOPEFUL OR ESCAPIST LOVE: When we fall in "love" (or something like it) because we imagine that the person we've fallen for will transform our lives, figuratively--in the sense of relieving our existential or psychological suffering--but often literally as well.
2. SAVIOR-COMPLEX LOVE: When we fall in "love" (or something like it) because we think that we can "save" the love object. Kind of the flip-side of escapist love.
3. SELF-LOATHING LOVE: When we fall in "love" (or something like it) because the other person treats us just as badly or as negligently as we think we deserve. (An extreme example of this would be a relationship where some kind of abuse--emotional, vituperative, physical--occurs frequently.) This is roughly the opposite of narcissistic love.
4. REDEMPTIVE LOVE: When we fall in "love" (or something like it) because we think the love object will redeem us--that his love will mean that our own lives are worthy or meaningful. Similar to escapist love, but maybe a bit more extreme, and less concerned with any literal transformation. (Cf. Dostoevsky.)
5. PRACTICAL LOVE: When we fall in "love" (or something like it) because we recognize that the other person has similar values and similar life goals, and we think that he or she can help us attain them.
6. ANTONYMICAL LOVE: When we fall in love (or something like it) because the love object is so different, so exotic. He or she does things so differently from the way we do things that we are mesmerized and captivated. A.k.a.: the love that happens when "opposites attract." The opposite of narcissistic love.
7. NARCISSITIC LOVE: When we fall in love (or something like it) because we see our own favorite qualities in the love object.
Keep Reading: A Year of Living Flirtatiously, a Dating Blog
Did she forget any? Which types of love do you find yourself most attracted to?
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