Reel Vs Reality: Is Strangers Offering Umbrella Creepy Or Romantic?

We often see in movies and shows or read in novels and stories that a normal umbrella helps you find your soulmate. Walking under the same umbrella and offering your umbrella to another person is a common romantic scenario in movies and stories. But what if this happens in reality, is it romantic or creepy and uncomfortable?

You are on your way to a convenience store and park your car nearby. You finish your errands and when you come out, you see it's raining heavily. You are standing at the door, wondering how to get to your car without getting drenched when a mysterious guy steps beside you. He has an umbrella and you wonder why he stopped by you. Suddenly, in his deep voice, he offers to walk you to your car under his umbrella. What would you do?

Now if you are the female protagonist of a fiction, bestseller novel or rom-com, strangers to lover movie, you might readily accept the offer and hand out your business card to the guy so as to return the favour and then end up losing your sleep, fantasising about that guy. However, if you are a woman alone in a vacant area, you might prefer getting drenched and soaked instead of accepting it. That is the reality, in times when women can't even trust the ones close to them, a random stranger's help is the last thing they want.

Suggested Reading: Stalking Isn't Romantic: A Simple Concept That Indian Men Can't Comprehend

Taking Help From Stranger Is Creepy Or Romantic: The Umbrella Story

A Reddit thread on @AskWomen asked, "How would you feel if it raining out and you don’t have an umbrella and a guy you don’t know has a umbrella and offers to walk you to your car?" and the female users were quick to respond. A user wrote, "I would say "no I'm good" and make sure he's not following me to my car.". Another one wrote, "Like I am going to wind up in his trunk. People don’t do that in the city. Even good guys don’t do it here, because they know women have to be careful."

Though there is a possibility that the offer is out of goodwill, it is important for men to understand that women have to constantly stay alert for obvious reasons and it is difficult for them to judge good from the bad. A user expressed the dilemma well and wrote, "It's a very nice gesture. I'd like to think he was just being chivalrous but I'd pass for safety reasons. I'd tell him, That's very sweet of you but I'm ok. And depending on how creepy, I might have to go elsewhere before going to the car or home"

In fictional movies and novels, many problematic things like stalking, possessiveness, miscommunication and rudeness are considered romantic. However, in reality, these things are creepy and toxic. No matter how you look at it, fictional characters and scenarios are different from reality as incidents in movies happen in a pre-decided setting while reality is unpredictable. You don't know which thing might turn out to be wrong or uncomfortable.

Strangers don't come with labels and the truth is that you can't trust anybody who looks good and speaks sweet. Being alert and preventive saves you from harm and that's why women do not and should not accept such help from strangers. In the case mentioned in the thread, there is a possibility that the man can harass you, get into your car and threaten you or follow you and get details of your home address hence, it is best to avoid this.

Men too need to be considerate about situations that might reflect badly or can be misunderstood because as women, we always have to be on guard. It is not disrespecting you, it is avoiding any doubtful situation that might turn bad. So if you are looking for recreating a movie or novel scene with someone you like, remember that reality is very different from expectation.