ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we turn our attention to a character structure that is culturally both acclaimed and discredited. The suave romantic, the dedicated board member, and the inspiring teacher: these are figures in our cultural and personal landscapes with whom most of us are familiar. At times, we experience them as loving, generous, entrancing, and persuasive. At other moments, we may experience them as shallow and insincere, selfinvolved, controlling and invasive, or engulfing.
