: Byronic Hero characters While reading up the characteristics of a byronic hero for my research, I discovered the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byronic_hero However, some elements on this

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Short answer: cynicism is a version of "playing hard-to-get," which some people find attractive. You seduce by allowing yourself to be chased.

Long answer: Someone who's cynical can be an attractive target for a naïve person who wants to "save" or "fix" the Byronist. "I know Charlie is so world-weary, but if he fell in love with me, I just know I could soften his heart and soothe his hurts! I could take away his pain and make him happy!"

Meanwhile, the Byronist is cynical after heartbreak, or betrayal, or anything else which sours one on optimism. The naïf's point of view may be exactly what the Byronist used to think pre-heartbreak, and s/he is sneering at what s/he used to be. The naïf chases the Byronist, they sleep together, and the Byronist either really doesn't care about the naïf or feels disgusted at him/herself for using the naïf the way s/he was used, and the naïf gets dumped.

And after like the third or four naïf tries this, the Byronist, not pursuing emotional intimacy, might think this was a pretty decent tactic to get some action, and cultivate it deliberately.

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