Definition
Pursuer reversal is the moment a seduction flips roles: the person who was being pursued becomes the pursuer. The seducer, having drawn the target close, deliberately steps back — and the target, suddenly facing the loss of something they had begun to count on, moves forward to recover it.
Greene treats this as a structural turning point. Once a target is chasing, they supply their own motivation, and the seducer no longer has to push.
Why it matters
How it works
The seducer first invests heavily — attention, warmth, presence — so the target adjusts to a comfortable expectation. Then the seducer withdraws. The gap between the recent abundance and the new absence registers as a loss, and people work harder to avoid a loss than to secure a gain. The target closes the gap themselves, mistaking their own renewed effort for the strength of their feelings.
The tell is the sequence: a sudden cooling that arrives right after a warm peak, followed by a pull to chase.