of human bondage

At one point of time, more than ten years ago, I had asked a very close pal of mine if it was ever possible that one could be as besotted with another person the way Phillip is with Mildred in the novel 'Of Human Bondage' by Somerset Maugham. She seemed to think that it was possible and I had my own doubts then.

When I re-think about this, I now tend to agree that it is possible that one person can yearn for another person's company so much that it ends up becoming a bondage. Such a yearning demeans the person and prevents him from being himself. Does this arise from lack of self-confidence? Or is it because the person is inherently timid and fearful of the external world that he needs a crutch to hang on to? This is looking at the issue from a pessimistic point of view.

The more complimentary view of this would be that a person keeps wanting another's company because he feels incomplete by himself. This view of the whole issue interests me thoroughly. Being incomplete - is it how God made man? Are we made to constantly yearn for something all our life and seek out something to keep us going? This other something could take any shape and form - it could be a yearning for wealth, fame, power, companionship, love...

What if man were inherently not like this? If one were to be completely content in oneself, wouldn't that lead to end of the human race?