Janet first met Florette at a gathering of the parish Ladies Club. She was a newcomer to the parish and had joined the club only recently. She was immediately attracted by the charming personality of Florette and moved toward her. The affirming and delightful way Florette welcomed her floored her. She felt drawn more closely to Florette and was feeling very good to be with her. They spent quite some time talking apart from the others and Janet was deeply impressed. Janet felt she could spend the whole evening with her. After a while, Florette told her, “It is such a delight talking to you. We must meet for coffee by ourselves soon” and moved away to someone else who was showing interest in her. The afterglow from the conversation smoothed over Janet’s disappointment that Florette had left her suddenly without introducing her to anyone else.
The invitation came the very next day. And they met on a few more occasions. Gradually Janet began to get irked and tired of Florette’s self-focus, as she realised more and more that Florette was not really the person she thought she was. She recognised the shallowness and superficiality of character and her tendency to get irritated whenever Janet said something that was not very appreciative of or not focused on Florette. Soon Janet drifted away from the relationship and felt good about it.
Janet had fallen victim to the impression creation art that those suffering from the histrionic personality disorder are so good at.
FR JOSE PARAPPULLY SDB
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