I came across this
post while reading my daily
bloglovin feed, and so glad Joanna from
A Cup of Jo sparked the topic. I spent a whole day thinking, and I want to expand on it here.
A rather interesting article made me think deeper about the style of the relationship that IS beneficial to marriage. Here is a part that was particularly interesting to me :
"...If you’ve never heard of Hurst, she was the highest paid short-story
writer of the first half of the twentieth century—a prolific Danielle
Steele type, but one who wrote about immigrants and shopgirls. She was
the author of 26 books that were adapted into 31 films, and her death in
1968 earned her a front-page obituary in The New York Times. Equally glamorous was her private life, which was the most winning blend of prim and sensational: On May 4, 1920, the Times broke
the story that everyone’s favorite author, heretofore considered
single, was in fact married to a dashing musician named Jacques
Danielson, and had been for five years, and—I hope you’re sitting down
for this—they lived in separate studio apartments in the same building
on West 69th Street. The article opens:
FANNIE HURST WED; HID SECRET 5 YEARS
Sailed Into Matrimony With Pianist “in a Bark of Their Own Designing,”
LIVE APART, THEIR OWN WAY Meet by Appointment—It’s a New Method Which
Rejects “Antediluvian Custom.”
In the story, Hurst explained that
she considered nine out of 10 marriages to be “sordid endurance tests,
overgrown with the fungi of familiarity and contempt,” and that by
living separately from her husband, she was able to keep her most sacred
relationship a “high-sheen damask” rather than a “breakfast cloth,
stale with soft-boiled egg stains.”...
"...I was living with a boyfriend when I first read about Hurst, and I’d
grown increasingly anxious about whether I could continue it long-term.
Our daily intimacy, though so lovely and cozy, somehow didn’t suit me. I
didn’t know what to make of this. Was I one of those selfish,
noncommittal Peter Pan types who couldn’t grow up? Ironically, I hugely
enjoyed our domestic life together—we both loved to cook and lounge and
talk and read, and he was generously tolerant of my messy ways. (He
figured out, for instance, that my awful habit of tossing my clothes on
the floor could be accommodated with an armchair in the bedroom; I’d
fling everything on it throughout the week, then deal with the mountain
come Saturday.) But my brain felt crowded, as if I couldn’t hear myself
think; I longed to wake up in my own bed in the morning, with my own
thoughts. And I wanted more mystery, too, more of a sense that we were
separate people with our own lives and interests who were choosing to
spend the evening together because we wanted to, not because we were too
lazy to leave the house. For all these reasons, a Fannie Hurst marriage
seemed the perfect solution, a way to retain our own independence while
also being committed to each other. But I could never find the courage
to bring it up. Eventually we broke things off, and I haven’t lived with
anyone since..."
It sparked MY curiosity. I know that I personally am of a ... ummm ... possessive type? I want my man with me every night, because, honestly, I cannot even sleep in the bed when he is not there. I am also perfectly content with the fact of "must clean-up" messes , because, frankly - I am very happy to have someone to clean up messes after ( even if I am a clean freak).
But I also know different.
My mother - not by choice - and father have been separately living rather far apart ( think states apart equivalent) due to his very important work arrangements , and her work keeps her stationary at our homestead. He travels every 3-4 weeks for a weekend, and they, naturally, have phone conversations, and... they are very happy. As a matter of fact - happier then ever before.
I can't not think of US 50s "
instructions to the wives" that were all over the internet a few months ago and associate it with the article and my own family. While I think that living together IS a wonderful thing * at least in my case* , it is very clear that by far that is not one-fit-all solution for a healthy relationship. Can't help by wonder - could high divorce rate be saved by simply living apart? Or , at least, having a personal room? I do have friends that have personal bedrooms ( and I remember when 50s trendy separate beds seemed extreme!)
I never thought that "to each its own" could be applied to a STYLE of marriage execution. But it most definitely does.
WHICH TYPE ARE YOU? WOULD YOU LIVE SEPARATELY FROM YOUR SPOUSE? OR ARE YOU A "CLING-Y" TYPE?
WHY?
