Photo by Sagar Dani on Unsplash
These archetypes build upon The Fulfillment Games, a radical new theory about Human purpose-seeking.
Women generally have a slight-yet-significant preference for the cosmic fulfillment game while men have a slight-yet-significant preference for the control fulfillment game. Healthy relationships provide fulfillment for all parties involved. By far the most fulfilling & common relationship dynamic is that of the Puppetmaster and the Beast.
The Puppetmaster wants to harmonize the Beast with the environment; she wants to control the Beast while maintaining the Beast’s potency; she does not want a tame & innocent Puppy; it is precisely the process of taming that gives her fulfillment. The Puppetmaster, residing in a precarious relationship with the Beast — who can easily overpower her — must continually outmaneuver him to maintain an ally. The Beast, on the other hand, aims to expand its control on the environment, including the Puppetmaster, but the Beast faces a problem: The Puppetmaster will only subject to the Beast’s control when she herself gains fulfillment; in other words, to gain control over her he must partially submit to her; he must show that he is capable of integrating his power into the larger fabric.
Movies like Twilight & Fifty Shades Of Grey perfectly exemplify the tension between the sexes; in Twilight, a plain girl who, by virtue of her plainness, perfectly fits in with the environment, is saved by the Beast. She would not be alive without the Beast; she must learn how to use the Beast for her own benefit — to be powerful by proxy.
In Fifty Shades Of Grey, a plain girl who, by virtue of her plainness, perfectly fits in with the environment, learns to grapple with the mechanisms of control & release. Crucially, she makes the choice to be controlled; she chooses to submit so he may expand his control. The relationship is viewed as somewhat abusive, but that is a critical misunderstanding of what abuse is; abuse is the involuntary submission to control; she chooses to engage in sadomasochism because the Beast is worthy of her. She would not engage in sadomasochistic sex with a Puppy, though that would also be a kind of bestiality.
And of course, let us not forget The Beauty And The Beast, where the Puppetmaster learns that she also has a need for control, and where the Beast learns that he also has a need for release. The Beast will only show his inner prince when he can respect his princess, and the princess will only respect the Beast when he learns to harmonize his power.
The Beast craves competition; it is precisely where the Beast can gain control over the environment whilst maintaining harmony with the environment. He showcases competence within the rules, whilst occasionally coloring slightly outside of the lines; he chooses to limit himself to the rules but maintains his ability to transgress them when needed. Furthermore, the Beast slightly transgresses the line to know exactly where the line lies.
I think it is not insignificant to note the parallels between the sexual members; during sex, the male penis must also transgress the line of the female vagina in order to integrate with that environment; she wants to let him in, in order for them to become a whole — and she will only let him in when he is capable of transgressing the line whilst maintaining harmony.
This essay is part of the book Essentialized.
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