Lauren finds that she’s quite a different person in some of the versions of her life. What changes surprised you the most? Do you think that most people would change so dramatically if they were with different partners or in different jobs, or is Lauren more easily changed by her situation than you would be?
To a degree we all change dependent on who we are with or where we are. It is when we do not remain true to our core that problems start. I guess I was surprised that at the end she made the decision to stay and work on a marraige with the last man - sight unseen, name unknown. Finally! Lauren had grown up.
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I totally agree with Sandy. Well said.
The old saying that the only thing we can really change is ourselves rings true here. The parade of husbands, and their attributes and behaviors, gave her various reasons for personal changes, mostly in reaction to them or the circumstances. It was not surprising to me in this context and I was pleased whenever she was able to recognize what was happening.
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I guess the changes in decor surprised me the most since I am someone who likes my “nest”. Personally, all these changes would have been disturbing. In fact, I think I would have settled on a husband and stopped the search earlier. I would have taken the “high road” and accepted the husband as is. None of us are perfect!
I think her career changes surprised me the most, especially when she ended up in wildly different professions, some of which she’d never have considered in her “first” life. I think this is a good way to demonstrate that our life’s choices can be heavily influenced by the people we spend time with and by the different experiences we encounter.
I don’t think Lauren was more changeable than myself or anyone else, though; I think these were just a product of the human condition. How dreadfully boring would it be to have our paths so predetermined that details wouldn’t change between parallel universes?
Everyone is multifaceted and the company you are keeping and the places you are in as well as the situations there bring out different parts of one’s personality. The way you behave at a funeral is very different than at a wedding. Does that mean that your values or core being is different? No. Her behavior changed, but not who she was, in my estimation.
I agree that her behavior changed but to an extreme degree in some cases such as when she broke into Felix’s home twice, stole the air rifle and then actually used it causing physical injury. She also engages in lying quite easily and more frequently as the year progressed.
I think we learn to adapt to our situations. I am a very different person now, single, than I was at the end of my 20 year marriage.
I think the swingers lifestyle was the most troubling one and I’m honestly glad she didn’t stick with it. I think I would’ve been more open to giving each husband a fair chance rather than just cycling through them, sometimes before they even climbed all the way out of the attic!