I love this, what a great analysis of his character and what makes him so interesting.

Thank you!

Also I think the point that 'This story is only available in genre fiction' is a great point because I think the tendency of some fans to judge characters as though they were real people is even worse when there's something that's only true in a fictional context (he didn't have a soul and then he got one) -- they feel the need to discount the fantastic element from their reading of the story. (ie, if you accept that Spike is killing under the influence of his vampire nature, you must be a fan of murderers in real life.) I hope that makes some sense!