| ||||||
|
Arts & Entertainment Books Comics Health & Body Media  Mothers Who ThinkNews People Politics2000 Technology - Free Software Project Travel & Food  Columnists
Current Click here to read the latest stories from the wires. - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - Also Today For a full list of today's Salon Mothers Who Think stories, go to the
Mothers Who Think home page. - - - - - - - - - - - - Search Salon - - - - - - - - - - - - Recently in Salon Mothers Who Think Complete archives for Mothers Who Think - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
It's not funny | page 1, 2
Is it a promise of love or a life sentence? Our readers weigh in with advice.
Doomed Marriage 1
Solutions
Doomed Marriage 2
Solutions
Doomed Marriage 3
Solutions
Whither marriage? Read all the articles
For this bad behavior, Lucy blamed herself. When they met, David was quiet and shy. He laughed freely at her jokes, even if they were a little harsh sometimes. But once she turned her wit on him, it ruined him. Now if she tried to tease or make a joke, he would shoot a look of disgust her way and shake his head, or even leave the room. For a while she became very serious, consoling herself with the occasional dimwitted pun. If she wanted to speak freely she would seek out new company. Now when Lucy wants to go to the movies, David usually says he would rather stay home and read. On weekends, if David wants to go camping, Lucy finds an excuse to go to the city, where she can stay with friends. David's silences last longer, and Lucy no longer holds her tongue when she sees the opportunity to laugh at his expense. I know that while people don't change over time, marriages do. I see the marriage of David and Lucy developing like a Chekhov story, something the old master might have written in a particularly bitter mood. And yet, up until last year, it was clear that
when David looked at Lucy, he still saw the beautiful,
sparkling woman he had been drawn to: it wouldn't be
inaccurate to use the old moth- The last time I saw them both together was a night I had been visiting David. We were sitting at the kitchen table, having tea and talking about, I don't know what, probably overpopulation or the threat of nuclear disaster or one of David's other favorite topics. At around 10 o'clock, Lucy came in. She had been out and her cheeks and nose were pink with cold, and she was singing. The moment she came into the kitchen and saw us, her face grew stony. She sat down with us, and within a minute or two she looked more tired and discouraged than I had ever seen her. I asked her about her evening, and made a joke about her wicked ways. For a moment her eyes brightened and she started to respond in her old way, making fun of David and I hanging out in the kitchen ("like two old ladies at a coffee klatch," I think she said). I saw David's body stiffen. Without a word he got up from the table and left the room. By that time Lucy no longer cried when he punished her with his silences. Now she just looked at me and shrugged. "I can't help it," she said. "It's exhausting, trying to be boring all the time." I thought this was a little mean to David, but she had a point. It looks like the marriage is at an end, and I don't want to
see another couple that I care about go through a
divorce. What makes it so terrible is that, while I
suspect that his depressing sulks and her annoying
jocularity have evolved into nothing more than
perverse acts meant to piss each other off, I know
that separating would make them both miserable to the core.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - Search Salon | |||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
