Feeling ‘Crazy in Love’? It Might Not Be Love, but Limerence
Let's deep dive into 'limerence' — an intense, all-consuming infatuation that mirrors love but isn't quite the same.
By: AAKRITI SANGHI
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Remember Tara, from Tamasha (starring Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor in lead roles), fixated on the carefree and spontaneous Ved she meets in Corsica? She confesses, "It's been four years since we last met. But it still feels the same — I don't know what it is. I thought about love and all but then felt how stupid I am... Whenever I meet you it's just... (stops speaking)"
Or try recalling Geet from Jab We Met, who overlooked all the glaring red flags to paint a rosy picture of her relationship with Anshuman, unaware of its initial one-sidedness.
And then there's Joe Goldberg from You — the American psychological thriller TV series — where every woman he "loves" is just a figment of his imagination, his obsession consuming him even before truly knowing them.
Now, you might wonder, what connects these three fictional characters?
Well, if you look closely, you'll find that each of these characters yearns for something unattainable — a fixation on an idealised version of love that may not exist.
They pursue their love interests, fueled by passion yet tinged with a hint of delusion, leaving us to question the true nature of their affection.
To delve deeper into understanding this romantic obsession intertwined with fantasy and delusion, FIT reached out to experts. This is what they had to say.
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