Love Versus Love Addiction in Dependența, by Constantin Cheianu

This paper explores the mechanisms underlying the fragmentation of Dan Mătăsaru's individuality, shaped by a dysfunctional mother-child relationship that permanently distorts the son's perception of love. As a result of the confusion between love and hatred - manifested through envy, invalidation, disregard, devaluation, and emotional manipulation - the protagonist, in adulthood, develops a bitter and reactive stance toward the world. He seeks success and public recognition as substitutes for love, achieved by exposing and punishing political authorities onto whom he projects his desire to punish parental figures. This success brings him the attention of women, yet he maintains emotional distance, limiting himself to physical relationships. These defense mechanisms, however, deepen his inner emptiness, particularly when separation from a woman is experienced as a repetition of maternal abandonment. At the same-time, the novel Dependența offers a portrayal of the socio-cultural context of communist and post-communist Bessarabia, emphasizing the influence of historical and political circumstances on the individual's destiny.