Inasmuch as Lauren’s husbands change, her friend Elena, neighbors Maryam and Toby, and sister Nat remain relatively unchanged from relationship to relationship, with a few exceptions. What do you think that says about the nature of Lauren’s nonromantic friendships?
Lauren could be a real friend. Her problem was in romantic relationships. I think she always wanted more from a man.
I think she had deep relationships which endured no matter what. Those people were there for her. In return, she must have been a true friend or they would’t have stayed connected through all the husbands.
Laurens changes only involved her husbands. I did wonder - ddi all her friends and family just forget about all the other men? I mean some she was with for months - how did the others translate that in their heads?
I think she had good friendships with each situation. They all supported her. The problem was she didn’t have the memories that she build with them from husband to husband.
It says those relationships developed over time, and that Lauren is capable of strong, lasting relationships with others. She should pay attention to that lesson when it comes to evaluating the husbands.
Lauren had good “friend sense” when it came to her non-romantic friends. I think she just expected the moon and the stars when it came to romantic love and was addicted to the possibility that the next one would be better.
I never really thought about it being indicative of anything in particular. Me and my tunnel vision: I got to a point that I just wanted to know how the attic apparatus worked!
Lauren accepts her friends and family members as they are and has good relationships with them.
Lauren seemed easily able to maintain her family and friend relationships in a stable manner and they were important to her. Each also offered a different kind of relationship for Lauren to observe and actually participate within, adding to her “wish list” or not.
I think Lauren had good, solid relationships. I was frustrated, because I kept wondering why she couldn’t do the same with a man in her life? It seemed that her expectations for marriage were very limiting and too specific.
Often, non-romantic relationships are what sustain us. I find myself “lifted up” by my non-romantic relationship, and even with the lack of romance, I feel beloved.
These relationships offered stability to Lauren. She could always rely on these people no matter the changes in her romantic world. I think deep down she wanted to replicate stability in husband choices but somehow didn’t know how to do it until the end of the book when she set fire to everything.
Lauren’s non romantic relationships were very strong. She was well liked and was a good friend. With her husbands, limited apart in some cases, there was no time to develop anything. Even when some husbands stayed a little longer, she was always doubting her relationships.
I definitely agree with you.
I also wondered how many places like the attic existed in the world. We know there was at least one more. There had to be more.
I think Lauren’s friendships are constant because the author needed something to ground her in the story, otherwise she could lose herself with all the husband swapping.
I also think there is less pressure when finding non romantic friends verses finding romantic ones.
They endure because she isn’t trying to make them fit into her life–she accepts them as they are, warts and all. I was disturbed by the one life in which she and Toby had a casual swap — but it explains the ability of these people to deal with her constant spousal renewal–they didn’t remember any of them once they were gone!