considering he might never have even addressed her , his description of his experience of laura bespoke of exaggerated comparisons and conceit : born to inspire , obsess and also to distract , perhaps even to mislead , she comes close to signifying life itself : lovely but transient , beguiling , exhilarating ; hence the tenderness , the melancholy , the devotion , the irresolution , the yearning forever destined to be unfulfilled .