I remember years ago reading a book written by a female author where a male character, obviously in danger and fleeing for his life heads directly for a place he is deathly afraid of and ends up dying there.
It did not make sense to me, and to make it clear, it was not necessary for the plot to continue for him to die there, he could have died anywhere, or even escaped but getting killed was consistent with the ominous tone of the novel. I suppose him dying at that location was “more ominous” but it seemed nonsensical.
I mentioned this to a woman I was with and her response was, “People are often drawn to the things they are afraid of.”
I accepted that at the time, partly because I knew a woman before that was afraid of heights and when I had asked if she was afraid of falling, she replied, “No, I’m afraid of jumping. The edge lures me.”
But, in my own experience I have not been lured by my fears, they have taken two different paths. I have either avoided the thing that made me afraid (the rabid dog, the rattlesnake) or I have confronted it in order to overcome my fear.
The lure of fear is a much stronger compulsion in women than it is men.
It is often noted that women will go into dangerous places that common sense would dictate that doing so is foolish. The argument has been made that women lack common sense, or believe because they are empowered they are untouchable.
No, they know what they are doing is dangerous.
They are drawn to the danger in some inescapable and inexplicable way. They know the bad boy, the killer, the murderer, the serial killer are dangerous and that in itself is a lure that pulls at them, just as the edge pulled that one girl.
A dominate male is by definition somewhat scary, because all power is somewhat scary to those that don’t have it.
The lure of fear is intertwined in a girl’s psychological make up and it is important to keep that in mind.
