What did you see as some of the advantages of Lauren’s situation? What about drawbacks?
Lauren could keep trying out new husbands looking for the perfect one, but she knew she didn’t have to commit. She could send them back for superficial flaws, while the rest of us have to put up with our partner’s irritating habits because we can’t just send them back to the attic. And she had no history with any of them or with her friends, for the most part. She was always starting over.
Lauren’s situation was advantageous in that she really got to see the different ways her life could play out so instead of imagining it, she actually got to see it firsthand. The drawback was she didn’t get to fully experience the life that lead her to each husband and to Julie’s point, she had to keep starting over. Additionally, with Carter she had wanted to spend time with him, but because of the mechanics of how she got a new husband, it was easy to “lose” a husband she was interested in.
Advantage - not getting stuck with someone not compatible to yourself.
Drawback - being married to some of those jokers - even for a few minutes!
The advantage was that she was always on an adventure and had control over what she wanted the outcome to be. I thought the big disadvantage was that her life and memories with her friends kept changing with each husband.
The advantage was she could change her life and partner when she wanted (mostly) when things were not satisfactory but the disadvantage was that the happy, pleasant events were also gone.
The drawback was the instability and uncertainty of the situation. In addition to being an experience she couldn’t freely share. The advantage was she was (somewhat) in control of who she chose to be her “husband.”
I agree with the other comments here. It seems the advantages are the choices she has, but as others have stated, she doesn’t have a frame of reference as to how she ended up married to each husband. Plus, the rate at which they come, doesn’t really give time to process. She lacks patience maybe only because this attic thing is such a startling surprise. Decisions are made on the fly because she can just trade each husband in on a new one. As the process continues, one advantage may be to see how she has evolved in each relationship, which can be enlightening (even down to hairstyles - LOL).
Advantage is she can easily get rid of a husband she isn’t into. But so many drawbacks! I was exhausted just reading about her having to get to know someone new!
This constant dissatisfaction Lauren reminded me of the the constant urge to buy the next big thing that I feel when I get stupid emails about the Wirecutter “best” this or that from candles to gifts to buy or latest gadgets etc. The conclusion was very satisfying to me because I have to do similar things to to stop the constant tyranny of consumerism. Just hoping the next thing is bound to be better or perfect. I loved that whole concept, exploring wants, needs, desires and the futility of it.
It seems an advantage to be able to “try out” husbands and discard them whenever you want. Perhaps that is how younger generations moved into the “living together” stage that their elders found so shocking. For many that seems to have turned out beneficially as real time spent living together enhanced the ability to see and feel a partner in the various situations and challenges that present themselves during a life together. How long does it take to “really” know or can you ever? The “chapters” of a life change and evolve over time. So Lauren’s advantages mostly seem to me to be the ability to remain in a comfortable, stable place and have the support of work, family and friends.
At least, she didn’t get bored with husbands appearing and disappearing. She was always searching for the “perfect man”. She was willing to keep trying for that person. This search had to get confusing. It is amazing she could remember any details of marriage or men involved. I think at times this was clearly the case.
One advantage was Lauren’s ability to send her husband back if he had a trait she didn’t like. Maybe another advantage was an inside redecoration. Her house inside changed with husbands. I see both positives and negatives on that one. Disadvantage: how could she make a valid decision when some of the husbands lasted minutes. Another disadvantage was trying to learn about her various husbands in a short time period.
The ability to send back the husband on a whim was both an advantage and disadvantage. The second that something bothered Lauren, she would send them up to the attic and had the advantage of not having to deal with it. But then that meant she ended many “relationships“ for the most trivial of reasons, instead of sticking it through a little bit and seeing if there was a deeper connection.
The advantage was the obvious one - not having to put up with someone or a life-style you’re not compatible and comfortable with; getting to figure out what you do and don’t want in a partners as well as life; getting to dable in other jobs and lifestyles (if you’re the curious type). The drawback of course is the loneliness, the stress of constantly being with someone new and needing to learn your life over and over again, trying to fit into the new relationship and sometimes even a new job…
advantages were you could send the guys back to the attic as soon as they became annoying or you realized they weren’t for you.
disadvantages were that you didn’t know all of the history leading up to the relationship and therefore might not be as annoyed if you had developed a relationship over time instead of just waking up and being married to someone without the back story.
I agree with the listed advantages and disadvantage others listed. I would add in two disadvantages. She had one husband who was aggressive or potentially violent. Yikes, I was nervous she would not be able to return him the attic before she got hurt. Another disadvantage was not knowing how the attic worked. I was wondering if there were only so many husbands and then you got stuck with the one you had…yikes!