Love as acquisition—at a certain level, an individual longs to possess that which he or she does not have. However, the same will that motivates the desire for self-improvement through the acquisition of new knowledge, can, given the right circumstances, turn nasty. In its extreme manifestation, the will-to-possess supercedes all other considerations; it becomes the focal point of desire: everything is subordinated to the acquisitive urge. In its disproportionate emphasis on the objective aspects of the love relationship, it inhibits the possibilities of reversal, and imprisons the object of love within the dehumanizing cage of possession.