Definition
Aftereffects are the consequences that follow once a seduction has succeeded — the emotional residue left in the person who was pursued. Greene treats this phase as the one most seducers neglect: they focus entirely on the conquest and ignore what the conquered person feels the morning after.
The central warning is that a mishandled aftermath does not produce neutral indifference. It produces an enemy. Someone who feels used, discarded, or deceived has motive and knowledge to retaliate, and the intensity that fueled their attraction can reverse into equally intense resentment.
Why it matters
How it works
During pursuit, the target's emotions are heightened and their self-image is bound up in the connection. When the pursuit ends abruptly or coldly, that heightened state has nowhere to go. The person re-reads the entire courtship through a darker lens, reinterpreting charm as calculation and attention as a trap. Greene's advice — to either sustain the relationship deliberately or end it with grace — is really advice about respecting the reality of the other person's feelings. From a defensive standpoint, the aftermath is also diagnostic: a sudden shift to coldness once a goal is reached confirms the pursuit was transactional.