Dulcinea! I see heaven when I'm with you, Dulcinea!

Evening Reading: articles on the Madonna/Whore complex.

An aspect of Freudian psychoanalysis found that can develop in men. The Madonna/Whore complex results when a man can only perceive of his romantic partner in pure, beautiful, and virginal terms (the Madonna). The Madonna can be protected, loved, and is most likely admired and respected by the man. The respect runs so deep that he considers it "improper" to consider her as a sexual object.

This displaced lust can be freely applied to other women. If the man experiences a visceral lust for a particular woman, he feels no qualms about treating her as the "whore", because she is completely different from the "Madonna". Extreme internal conflict can lead to frustration in not being able to find one woman to satisfy both of the paradoxically opposed categories, or of trying to consider a normal woman as both simultaneously. (For a popular culture application, see the "Roxanne" scene in Moulin Rouge.)

Of course, being Freudian, the complex also involves mothers and repressed sexual anxiety. But you all knew that already.

*** *** ***

"Hanging a Lantern On It"

I've heard the above expression most often applied to script-writing. When you've written yourself into a corner and can only do something illogical or stupid to extricate yourself, often times you'll call attention to it, simply to beat the audience to the joke. By hanging a lantern on it, you're calling attention to a weak area.

It seems to me that we do the same thing in conversation. Some people are extremely sensetive about aspects of their life, and they'll "hang a lantern" on the subject to prevent other people from possibly bringing it up. For example, people sensetive about their weight may respond to any sentence involving the word "heavy" with "Are you saying I'm fat?". Among friends, such a statement is usually said comically, but the fact it gets mentioned at all is extremely revealing.

I can't figure out if it's fishing for compliments or simply hypersenestivity to the subject. To me, it's like waving a big red flag with INSECURITY written on it, but maybe that's the point, too. I've been known to twist people's words into an age, weight, or hair loss joke.

But that's mainly to show how clever I think I am.