After being dumped, or suffering some other form of romantic rejection, an adult male character will often be seen drowning his sorrows by consuming a lot of alcohol. It is less common, however, to see women in fiction drinking heavily, so, possibly as a more socially acceptable alternative, a heartbroken woman will often be seen eating a large quantity of ice cream instead. It may also be a sign that the character has "let herself go" if this behaviour continues for several days or even weeks. If so, it will often be accompanied by other behaviours such as wearing pyjamas during the day and refusing to leave the house.