Did Pola really love Charlie Chaplin?
Not really, although she did, only briefly, allow herself to be manipulated off her feet by Chaplin, but not without some deep-down and quickly-corrected reservations. Charlie Chaplins manipulative and abusive personality is well documentedthe same patterns persist in each of the surviving memoirs by three of his lovers (Lita Grey, Georgia Hale, and May Reeves). Chaplin frequently acted out a fantasy of finding a fresh, nave, inexperienced little girl and gently initiating her into womanhood, which is to this day not an uncommon fantasy amongst men. Polas personality was that of a proud, strong-willed, independent fireball on the outside, with a sensitive, melancholy little girl who wanted someone to put her trust in on the inside. Chaplin recognized that and saw the tough exterior as an extra challenge to get to the little girl inside. Pola said that Chaplins often childlike personality (which gives so much charm to the Little Tramp character) appealed to her protective motherly insti
