ABSTRACT
As Stendhal’s musings in De L’Amour illustrate, people immersed in the experience of romantic love often appear to bend reality to the will of their hopes and desires. Rather than being constrained by the sometimes-disappointing reality of their partners’ actual attributes, individuals may view their partners through the rosy filters provided by images of ideal partners. Within such idealized constructions, intimates may even see virtues in one another’s apparent faults. For example, individuals may preserve feelings of confidence in their romantic relationships-in the face of the doubts posed by a partner’s failings-by weaving stories that depict such faults in the best possible light (Murray & Holmes, 1993, 1994).
