Arawn, your take on Lois makes perfect sense. Her behaviour makes sense if we see her as a socially very insecure woman who has this tremendous need to be seen as "right" and "socially successful" by the women who make up the "in" crowd and define what social success really is, women like Cat Grant and her ilk. If Lois is this sort of woman, who measures her own success and happiness by how much the "in" crowd approves of her, then she would certainly fall for Lex Luthor simply because a relationship with him would bring her precisely the social success that she craves. The question of whether or not she loves the man she is going to marry suddenly becomes a moot point.
I have only one problem with this take on Lois - I don't like this version of her very much! I want her to be more independent, more able to stand up for herself, more able to shrug off the fact that others may frown on her for being single, more unapologetic about the fact that she hasn't met the right guy yet, more able to accept the fact that if she never finds him, she will remain single. A pity, but there you have it. That's what I would like "my" Lois to be like - and then of course I want her to meet Clark and have her world turned upside down by him, which is another story...
But, bottom line, Arawn, your take on Lois is a very good one. Many women are totally obsessed with what others think about them, and they will do so many things just to get the approval of others. Lois in the show certainly acted as if she was one of those women. And the show can definitely be seen as a story about how Lois learns to reevaluate her life and her priorities and find out what is really important in her life, now that she has finally met this guy who has been looking for her all his life. And yes, even I agree that Lois becomes a more complex person that way.
Ann
