These are fictional couplings designed to illustrate the reality, not the fairytale.
They show the absurdity of believing that any one person can be used as a way to solve your problems. "Have a leftover engagement ring? Give it to another girl who you aren't on a sure footing with!" No sane person would offer that advice, yet it's a quick and easy solution that Leonard sees, in a desperate attempt to try and 'fix' himself...
In reality, a person can't see the worth of someone else until they're fully cognisant of their own issues, and Leonard was still very far away from being a whole, self-sufficient person in his own right, when we left him at the end of the movie.
By unwittingly using people as substitutes to try to patch up old problems, you'll only wind up storing new ones for yourself, at a later date. We - and the people around us - don't always see the value of romantic partners who are right for us at the time. We don't always love who's 'best'. Following your heart is dangerous, because it's impulsive, and you don't always have time to weigh up the proper merits of something before you dive in and realise that you're way over your head... Nevertheless, because Leonard's emotional and looking for someone to cling to, that's his approach, and that's also how many other people live their lives.
Leonard had two lovers to choose from, but at no point would either option have addressed the root troubles. Other people only magnify our weaknesses and turn them into practical problems, which soon begin to take on a separate life of their own... It's like being stranded on a life-raft in the middle of the ocean, with no possibility of escape from the situation - You're still drowning, you're just doing it by degree! Now isn't that a nice cosy thought to cuddle up with, at night?! The buck stops and starts with you, and no-one else should be charged with the role of being your saviour.
It's nice to see some honesty displayed, which acts as a sort of palliative for the other glossy romance messages we're served year after year.
They show the absurdity of believing that any one person can be used as a way to solve your problems. "Have a leftover engagement ring? Give it to another girl who you aren't on a sure footing with!" No sane person would offer that advice, yet it's a quick and easy solution that Leonard sees, in a desperate attempt to try and 'fix' himself...
In reality, a person can't see the worth of someone else until they're fully cognisant of their own issues, and Leonard was still very far away from being a whole, self-sufficient person in his own right, when we left him at the end of the movie.
By unwittingly using people as substitutes to try to patch up old problems, you'll only wind up storing new ones for yourself, at a later date. We - and the people around us - don't always see the value of romantic partners who are right for us at the time. We don't always love who's 'best'. Following your heart is dangerous, because it's impulsive, and you don't always have time to weigh up the proper merits of something before you dive in and realise that you're way over your head... Nevertheless, because Leonard's emotional and looking for someone to cling to, that's his approach, and that's also how many other people live their lives.
Leonard had two lovers to choose from, but at no point would either option have addressed the root troubles. Other people only magnify our weaknesses and turn them into practical problems, which soon begin to take on a separate life of their own... It's like being stranded on a life-raft in the middle of the ocean, with no possibility of escape from the situation - You're still drowning, you're just doing it by degree! Now isn't that a nice cosy thought to cuddle up with, at night?! The buck stops and starts with you, and no-one else should be charged with the role of being your saviour.
It's nice to see some honesty displayed, which acts as a sort of palliative for the other glossy romance messages we're served year after year.