: Where are you getting that definition from?
: "chimera" means illusion, fantasy,
: unreality, delusion, a fanciful idea, etc. That's what
: it has always meant. Yes, the Chimera was a
: mythological monster that was a hybrid of a bunch of
: different things but "chimera" does not mean
: "hybrid".
"Hybrid" is the primary meaning. It's true that it is also used to mean "delusion" or "fantasy," but only in the sense of "my idea could not possibly exist any more than a Chimera could," not in the sense of an illusion. (To the rational Greeks, a creature like the Chimera was the ultimate implausibility.) So when someone calls a belief a "chimera" it means it can't possibly be true. I've certainly never heard anyone refer to their life as a "chimera;" that would be like saying "my life hasn't existed." I'm not saying the statement is meaningless or idiotic, but it isn't really good English (or good fantasy-medieval talk). And it was a little misleading to call the scenario "Chimera" and have everyone thinking about hybrids and then have the only actual reference to the name be her saying "my life has been a Chimera."
--SiliconDream
