In order to understand this book, the reader must put themselves in the position of a young guy who doesn't have a very healthy relationship to authority or approval. Johannes Climacus is an Oedipal person trapped in a nightmare; his relationship to boredom is that unless he is being entertained, he suffers unspeakable horror and depression (perhaps a result of low self-esteem).
When Climacus encounters romance, he learns that he can get an emotional high from the approval of attractive women, but after a while, he learns the negative side of that; as the relationships go further, he starts feeling bored by every woman he "falls in love" with. He is abusing women chronically because he views them essentially as artistic experiences, instead of realizing his opportunities.
What opportunities? The opportunity to build a new life with someone, to build a family from scratch, and to repair his low self-esteem in the only way that works: Ethical living.
Ethics is the art of maximizing one's potential, and it should be viewed as a scientific process. In Kierkegaard's model, ethical wisdom is when a young person chooses to look into the future to analyze the truth of life's challenges. In other words, the young bachelor is running from a fear of commitment that he experiences as a boredom crisis:
Commitment is boring to him. But, The Judge knows that by facing his fears and committing to a marriage (really any marriage at this point), he could learn to love sacrificially, which would bring him peace and joy.
