“Lolita” portrays Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged professor driven to obsession by Lolita, a young girl he idealizes. The novel captures the dark layers of obsession, where Humbert transforms his morally unsettling desire into an intellectual passion.
Nabokov’s poetic storytelling contrasts sharply with the disturbing subject matter, offering readers a haunting exploration into the mind’s dangerous obsession. Throughout the book, the reader finds a troubling yet remarkably written portrait of fixation and destructive love.
In “Wuthering Heights,” Emily Brontë illustrates the stormy, often destructive obsession between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. Raised together, the two share a bond that goes beyond typical romantic love.
Even after Catherine’s marriage to another man, the intensity of their fixation persists, eventually destroying both lovers as well as those around them.
Through this story, Brontë presents obsession as a force that defies reason, a force that can both create and consume, showing love pushed to its darkest extremes.
Flaubert’s “Madame Bovary” introduces readers to Emma Bovary, a dissatisfied wife consumed by romantic fantasies. Emma longs for the passion and drama she finds in romantic novels, and this longing evolves into a ruinous obsession.
She relentlessly searches for excitement and fulfillment outside of marriage through affairs and reckless spending. Her inability to reconcile fantasy with reality eventually leads Emma toward tragedy.
Flaubert paints obsession as an escape that can trap, revealing the danger hidden within Emma’s seemingly innocent dreams.
In Daphne du Maurier’s “Rebecca,” the unnamed narrator marries Maxim de Winter and moves to his grand estate, Manderley. Soon, she becomes haunted by the lingering presence of Rebecca, Maxim’s glamorous but deceased first wife.
The new Mrs. de Winter’s obsession with Rebecca grows into insecurity and paranoia, slowly overshadowing their marriage and her own sense of identity.
Du Maurier illustrates how obsession, even toward someone long gone, can distort reality and jeopardize a person’s very sense of self.
John Fowles’ “The Collector” explores obsession through Frederick Clegg, a socially withdrawn man fixated on Miranda, an art student he idolizes but hardly knows. After winning a lottery, Clegg kidnaps Miranda in an attempt to make her love him.
Their disturbing situation escalates in intensity, conveying a chilling look into obsessive desires and control. Fowles reveals the terrifying outcome when attraction turns into obsession, and how a romantic idea can spiral into the darkest corners of human behavior.
Jay Gatsby in “The Great Gatsby” dedicates his life to winning back Daisy Buchanan, the woman he briefly loved in his youth. Gatsby’s obsession transforms him from poor James Gatz to wealthy Jay Gatsby, leaving behind his roots in pursuit of an idealized love.
Yet, Daisy herself fails to live up to Gatsby’s dream when they finally reunite. Fitzgerald evokes obsession’s ability to blind; Gatsby sacrifices his authenticity and happiness in chasing a memory of love that can never fully exist.
Ian McEwan’s “Enduring Love” showcases obsession at its most unsettling through Jed Parry’s fixation on narrator Joe Rose after a traumatic accident. Parry believes they share a special connection created by destiny and God’s purpose.
As Parry’s obsession deepens, he interferes increasingly with Joe’s private life, relationships, and emotional stability. McEwan clearly portrays how one-sided fixation, built solely on delusions, can rapidly consume lives and invade every corner of reality.
In “The End of the Affair,” Graham Greene draws readers into Maurice Bendrix’s painful affair with Sarah Miles. Consumed by jealousy and furious suspicion after Sarah unexpectedly ends the relationship, Bendrix becomes fixated on discovering her reasons.
His obsessive scrutiny reveals deeper layers of emotional turmoil, alongside spiritual and moral questions. Greene highlights how obsession feeds insecurities, creating an inner torment far greater than the sadness of separation itself.
Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” features Anna, a noblewoman whose obsessive love affair with Count Vronsky upends her comfortable, respected life. Anna’s passion grows into an obsession that isolates her socially and emotionally from family and society.
She struggles with jealousy, doubt, and paranoia, inevitably leading to tragedy. Tolstoy’s depiction lays bare how obsession can intensify desire, distort judgment, and ultimately destroy lives.
A.S. Byatt’s “Possession” revolves around two modern-day scholars who discover hidden romantic letters between two Victorian poets. Their academic fascination evolves into personal obsession, affecting their present lives and relationships.
Byatt interweaves two love stories—a past and a contemporary one—to emphasize how obsession with love literature can influence and distort real-life emotions and trust.
Charlotte Brontë presents obsession through Mr. Rochester in “Jane Eyre.” Rochester’s obsessive secret—keeping his wife hidden due to madness—and his passionate, unconventional love toward Jane create constant inner conflict.
His fervent desire to possess Jane emotionally and spiritually often complicates their bond. Brontë depicts a love tangled with ethical struggles, portraying obsession as both compelling and potentially unsettling in its power.
García Márquez’s “Love in the Time of Cholera” features Florentino Ariza, who holds onto unrequited love for Fermina Daza for over half a century. After Fermina marries someone else, Florentino fills the years with countless affairs, yet remains fixated on her.
Márquez portrays obsession’s endurance over decades, reflecting whether obsessive longing could ever truly evolve into genuine love.
In “Damage,” Josephine Hart unfolds the destructive power of obsession as a prominent married politician becomes infatuated with his son’s fiancée. Their clandestine affair spirals beyond control, jeopardizing both familial relationships and career stability.
Hart clearly illustrates obsession’s ability to erase rationality, morality, and responsibility, as the repercussions ripple disastrously through all involved.
“Call Me by Your Name” explores the obsessive first-love experience of seventeen-year-old Elio Perlman and Oliver, a visiting American scholar. Elio passionately desires connection with Oliver, questioning his emotions, identity, and the intensity of his longing.
Aciman captures the vivid, overpowering obsession embedded within a youthful romance, revealing how it shapes an individual’s perspective and memories.
Patricia Highsmith crafts a dark tale of obsession in “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” featuring Tom Ripley, a man fascinated by wealth and luxury. Tom obsessively admires Dickie Greenleaf, eventually going to great lengths in an attempt to become him.
Highsmith demonstrates how an obsession can push an individual to shocking extremes, blurring illusion with reality as Tom’s fixation spirals into dangerous territory.
Gaston Leroux’s “The Phantom of the Opera” revolves around the mysterious Phantom obsessing over the talented performer Christine Daaé. Hidden in an opera-house lair, his fixation leads him to manipulate, terrorize, and harm those around her.
Leroux powerfully portrays obsession as a consuming force—both beautiful and sinister—that inevitably leads to tragedy, isolation, and despair.