Joker & Harley Quinn Are Not Relationship Goals

If you’re one of those people out there who post these memes or buy the graphic t-shirts of Joker and Harley Quinn and think #RelationshipGoals or something along those lines, stop. Pick up a comic book every once in a while. Nothing about their relationship should ever be considered goals. I know you think that there’s a dysfunctional loyalty factor there and you and your significant other want the loyalty through the ups and downs. However, you do realize just how abusive and toxic their relationship was, right?

It might not play out that way in the movies or on television, but what you’re seeing on the screen isn’t the full story. Joker is Harley’s captor and she falls for him but these are not mutual feelings.

Stockholm syndrome is a coping mechanism to a captive or abusive situation. People develop positive feelings toward their captors or abusers over time.

Harley Quinn’s love for the Joker is textbook Stockholm syndrome. Her feelings for him are all an illusion. He doesn’t care for her. He doesn’t love her. Whatever pleasantries that are extended to her, it’s not out of love. It’s out of what she can provide for him. The Joker uses her for whatever mindless task he needs to carry out. She is his scapegoat, his distraction, his puppet. He uses her love for him to get his way.

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The love #RelationshipGoals you’re looking for can be seen through the lens of what Harley Quinn thinks is love. You want that kind of loyalty, to ride through the good times and the bad, and to take on the world together. Unfortunately, that’s not what exists in their relationship. It’s a falsehood. He’s abusive. It’s manipulative. Most of all it’s toxic.

I assure you, whatever love you think there is between these two characters is being painted through the lens of a naive lost soul searching for their connection to someone. It’s a connection that does not exist. The Joker doesn’t love her back, he only loves how useful she is to him. Sprinkle some Hollywood magic on it and it might look appealing, but their love is not something you should be setting your sights on.