Confession #3

I have fallen in love with a fictional character.

Before you think I'm crazy or delusional, let me explain...

I am a reader. I love being able to pick up a good book and get drawn into the story, and I love feeling like I am a part of the story, right in the middle of the action. Obviously, being a hopeless romantic, I enjoy reading romance. There has been more than one occasion when I have gotten completely lost in a story and felt as if I was actually falling for the hero of the story. Out of all those "dreamy" characters, two stand out in my mind.

The first is Edward Cullen from The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. Laugh if you must, but if you take the time to read the story, his character is complex and shows an unparalleled devotion to the love of his existence, Bella Swan. It's a bit creepy, and in real life would be an extremely dysfunctional relationship...but looking at the pure love that's between the two characters, and the way Stephenie Meyer writes the story in Bella's perspective, you feel like you could be her, like you are her. You can't help but fall for Edward and see him as the perfect man as seen through Bella's eyes.

Before there was Edward Cullen, the hopeless romantic in me had eyes for only one fictional character...

Jane Austen's Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. My love affair with Mr. Darcy started back in my AP Lit class in high school. One of the books on our assigned reading list was Pride and Prejudice. I fell in love instantly. In addition to reading the classic novel, we also watched the BBC mini series, and I absolutely adored Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. The gradual progression of both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett's love for one another is so fantastic, yet realistic. They both fight their true feelings, but cannot deny them for long. Mr. Darcy does things for Elizabeth and her family because of his pure love for her. I could write so much about how much I enjoy Mr. Darcy's character, but none of those words could accurately sum up how much I loved that character.

I know there are others like me. Others who have fallen for fictional characters. Being the hopeless romantic I am, I can't help but imagine and hope that I will one day find my Edward Cullen or Mr. Darcy. So I know it will end up happening again. And each new "prince charming" I encounter through fiction, will continue to shape the, at times unrealistic, idea of my ideal man.