The Mermaid Chair

Me and my "Chosen Sister",Lois, frequently exchange books-her sending me books and me offering her suggestions of books to read more often than the other way round. She recently read "The Secret Life Of Bees" by Sue Monk Kid and I had just finished listening to "The Mermaid Chair" on NPR by the same author. She sent me "Bees" and she bought TMC and read it. I LOVED "Bees"- uplifting and sort of sad/sweet at the same time. But The Mermaid Chair was another story altogether, in more ways than one.



The Mermaid Chair left me feeling a bit..."ashamed"... of the woman.
I too am loyal to my man and if I found myself becoming too... comfortable-for lack of a better word- in my marriage, I would find a better way to deal with it. Hell, spice it up a bit- do something that your hubby would not expect of you and it will most likely set off a like response from him. Then you will learn things about each other that you never would have guessed. And your marriage would be stronger for it- not shattered by a stupid fling that she will probably go to hell for even tho Whit wasn’t yet a FULL Monk yet.

I don't understand that concept anyway. I STRIVE to become that comfortable in my marriage. I WANT to know my husband that well, and I WANT to know that kind of sameness and normalcy. I don't want to constantly be guessing about what is going on with my marriage. Why would anyone want less for their marriage and their life?
Not to say I don't want Passion to stay in our marriage- but I think you can have passion stay in your marriage and still be comfortable in it without becoming bored.

Am I crazy? Do I strive for too much? Can't we have both Passion AND Comfort?
I think we CAN!!!

It’s sad that Sue felt the need to write such a troubling story. But look at us- are we discussing the one that we really LIKED? No- we’re upset about the one that was a bit risque in the storyline.

Are we fueling the fire?
Maybe- but I’ve found that the people who have read T/M/C have very strong opinions on it one way or the other and tend to be passionate about stating their opinion when discussing the book.

If I ever get Hunters Revenge finished-(I have to remember to try and find a more appropriate title if I decide to change the storyline to include other women’s revenge plots in it)- it will probably have the same effect. I don’t know that society is ready for a story about a woman/women who are capable of harboring such horrific thoughts and acts of torture when they are abused- Especially one/ones who wait/s for YEARS before exacting that revenge. Sometimes it worries even me a bit that I have to ability to come up with the things that are going into this book.
Imagining some of these things is one thing- actually carrying them out would be quite another.

Or WOULD it?
What would it take to make a person cross that line and actually carry out their fantasies? How long and how horrific would the abuse have to be. What would be the "straw that broke the camels back" so to speak?

There is a scary person lurking in my imagination......very scary indeed.