What a scary episode Mary. It highlighted for me your fragility after your separation from D., how literally anything could now happen to you in the world of dating. I'm glad your daughter was there and able to confirm back to you what you were already feeling about the psychiatrist. Also, the female cab driver makes me think of Jim Jarmusch! His film "One Night on Earth". What a great heroine - an angel really - appearing at the right time for you.
Brilliant, Mary, simply brilliant. But also chilling. "You finally made me reject you, or fail you." Those words remind me so much - uncannily so - of a recent piece by Jacqueline Rose (I'm a huge fans of hers). I hope you can negotiate the paywall to read this: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n22/jacqueline-rose/you-made-me-do-it
All that and Yeats and Eliot playing team tag in the story! Heaven.
Oh, golly, boy, was it chilling. Thank you for the kind words, Jeffrey. I' read ing the link now and will be back to you on that. Love your reads and comments and links.
Jeffrey, I found the Jacqueline Rose essay and was able to read it: well-done, indeed. You'll find me on 11-21-23 on https://innerlifecollaborative.substack.com and my piece on the same subject-- though it does take a literary turn of sorts. I will want to know what you think. Am still waiting for @SamKahn to update the calendar so that I can give you a date to write there, as well. You fascinate: mind and thought and you will be fab! xo ~ Mary
What a creep! It strikes me that these installments are valuable not only for the beautiful writing and the insights into your life--but also for the lessons offered by objectifying one’s experiences. Note Bene: those red flags really are warnings.
Yep, and the question is: Why didn't I see those red flags sooner. I never should've gone on the trip to Boston with him! As I say about this memoir, "the good, the bad, and the foolish" -- Thank you so, John, for reading and commenting. Means so much ...
Wow, when I mentioned dating as an exercise in character study!! The psychiatrist sounds absolutely terrifying. You’ve rendered this whole thing so beautifully. Haunting.
I said more on Notes. Here I'll report that out of curiosity, I checked to see if we could reliably apply Freud to "crown" instead of "crowd." I found a couple of minor websites that contain that error, so maybe not. He couldn't have had a long, close history with the poem. Anyway, I'm hoping this is the last of him -- my fingernails have no more to give.
I have Finneran, _The Collected Yeats_,and the collected version I favor over Finneran's edition: _The Variorum Edition of the Poems of W.B. Yeats_ and "crowd" is the word used in both. We can think about what Freud or any analyst might say about "crown" versus "crowd". Anyway, no question that "crowd" is more original; and I argue more akin to Yeats's choices--and probably yours, dear poet.
Powerful. A stark and dark chapter. It brings to mind a friend who had a stalker for years. One day she got a call from the cops telling her he committed suicide. She went to her local bar and bought a round for the house, in celebration.
I don't wish that result on anyone--referring to the suicide. Thank you, Russell, for reading and getting the essence of this chapter: dark, indeed. xo ~ Mary
Loved reading this. Deep, meaningful and thought-provoking. Going to look up a blood knot - fascinating. So many connections to be made especially in the last few lines of the post.
I'm so glad, Isabelle--and, of course, in terms of the last few lines, that was my intention. "Blood knot" resonates for me in a number of ways--once you look it up, we can discuss ... xo ~ Mary
What a scary episode Mary. It highlighted for me your fragility after your separation from D., how literally anything could now happen to you in the world of dating. I'm glad your daughter was there and able to confirm back to you what you were already feeling about the psychiatrist. Also, the female cab driver makes me think of Jim Jarmusch! His film "One Night on Earth". What a great heroine - an angel really - appearing at the right time for you.
Yes, and yes and yes! Ollie, such a grand reader and virtual friend.
Wait. To protect Kashgar, they destroyed it? Did I read that correctly? What a whopper of a metaphor for your marriage to (and ending with) D.
Yes, whopper, indeed.
Brilliant, Mary, simply brilliant. But also chilling. "You finally made me reject you, or fail you." Those words remind me so much - uncannily so - of a recent piece by Jacqueline Rose (I'm a huge fans of hers). I hope you can negotiate the paywall to read this: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n22/jacqueline-rose/you-made-me-do-it
All that and Yeats and Eliot playing team tag in the story! Heaven.
Oh, golly, boy, was it chilling. Thank you for the kind words, Jeffrey. I' read ing the link now and will be back to you on that. Love your reads and comments and links.
Jeffrey, I found the Jacqueline Rose essay and was able to read it: well-done, indeed. You'll find me on 11-21-23 on https://innerlifecollaborative.substack.com and my piece on the same subject-- though it does take a literary turn of sorts. I will want to know what you think. Am still waiting for @SamKahn to update the calendar so that I can give you a date to write there, as well. You fascinate: mind and thought and you will be fab! xo ~ Mary
The shrink is scary. Run, babe, run.
Run, run is right, Bill. Late response by me: apologies on that, dear reader!
What a creep! It strikes me that these installments are valuable not only for the beautiful writing and the insights into your life--but also for the lessons offered by objectifying one’s experiences. Note Bene: those red flags really are warnings.
Yep, and the question is: Why didn't I see those red flags sooner. I never should've gone on the trip to Boston with him! As I say about this memoir, "the good, the bad, and the foolish" -- Thank you so, John, for reading and commenting. Means so much ...
Wow, when I mentioned dating as an exercise in character study!! The psychiatrist sounds absolutely terrifying. You’ve rendered this whole thing so beautifully. Haunting.
Scared me so that I feared for my life. Thank you, Alicia for such a lovely comment on the writing. xo ~ Mary
As you should have! I'm so glad you escaped and I hope he ended up getting the help he clearly needs.
Let's hope for exactly that. Love you, dear writer.
Love you too!
Oh my goodness Mary!!!! 😳
No kidding! xo
Wow. Exquisite rendering of intense complexity!
What a generous comment. Gotta love you!
I said more on Notes. Here I'll report that out of curiosity, I checked to see if we could reliably apply Freud to "crown" instead of "crowd." I found a couple of minor websites that contain that error, so maybe not. He couldn't have had a long, close history with the poem. Anyway, I'm hoping this is the last of him -- my fingernails have no more to give.
I have Finneran, _The Collected Yeats_,and the collected version I favor over Finneran's edition: _The Variorum Edition of the Poems of W.B. Yeats_ and "crowd" is the word used in both. We can think about what Freud or any analyst might say about "crown" versus "crowd". Anyway, no question that "crowd" is more original; and I argue more akin to Yeats's choices--and probably yours, dear poet.
I have the Finneran, too. I never doubted "crowd" -- so poignant.
Powerful. A stark and dark chapter. It brings to mind a friend who had a stalker for years. One day she got a call from the cops telling her he committed suicide. She went to her local bar and bought a round for the house, in celebration.
I don't wish that result on anyone--referring to the suicide. Thank you, Russell, for reading and getting the essence of this chapter: dark, indeed. xo ~ Mary
Loved reading this. Deep, meaningful and thought-provoking. Going to look up a blood knot - fascinating. So many connections to be made especially in the last few lines of the post.
I'm so glad, Isabelle--and, of course, in terms of the last few lines, that was my intention. "Blood knot" resonates for me in a number of ways--once you look it up, we can discuss ... xo ~ Mary