OCR Text |
Show Kathleen Norris Says:" IFien Marriage Goes Sfae BeU Syndicate WNU Ftaturas. She won t face the simple truth that every woman knows in her heart, that this ecstatic flame that is devouring her has m very unstable bate oj physical passion and flattered vanity. By KATHLEEN NORRIS THE other day one of the papers had a little story about a young woman who lost a hundred pounds, much to the improvement of her beauty and health. When someone asked her how she did it she said "I dieted and I fell in love." Nothing takes gff weight like falling in love, or being under the pressure of a terrible grief, because both those emotions are all absorbing. The woman newly in love looks at her food curiously; curi-ously; what is it? Oh, lunch? She tastes it, isn't hungry; she is thinking think-ing of nothing but Douglas, whom she will see tomorrow. And If" she keeps this up for more than a few flays she begins to lose weight. A delightful way to lose weight, too. Which one of us wouldn't like always to have the dazzled, aeoniz- GREENER FIELDS It is truer of marriage than of almost anything else, that another's lot inevitably seems better than one's own. The distant fields, you know, always al-ways look greener. At close range they rarely are better and frequently are far worse. Phyllis Taylor is regarding the prospect of divorce and remarriage re-marriage from the safe distance dis-tance of domestic security. And Kathleen Norris, aware of the pitfalls of change, urges her to cling fast to that security se-curity and to make the most, of it. did refuse any capitulation until I could think it all out and decide what was fair. I felt then that our feeling, because of its very violence, might be short-lived, but today it is stronger than ever. David wants me to get a divorce, bring my children chil-dren to his lonely house, and create for us all a real home again. His little girls are darlings, and although I do not see them much, I know they are ready to love me. David is devoted to my boys, so that the only sufferer in this whole case would be Jack, who has no idea of the situation. "If I should force myself to be strong enough to sacrifice my own feeling in this matter, I lapse back into the loneliness and stupidity of my old life. I also sacrifice the love of the finest man I have ever known. I rob his daughters of a mother, a woman's influence in the years when they most need it, and I deprive my sons of what is a step up In the social and economic scale. David talks of their college careers, promises prom-ises them circuses and bicycles, and "has already won their small hearts. ing, delicious, floating and flying sensation sen-sation that is being in love? Unfortunately it is as baseless an emotion as the sweet drowsiness that envelops the drug-addict. Sense and reason are dulled; anything, everything sounds true to the lover. The stout middle-aged married man believes that the exquisitely pretty eighteen-year-old is madly in love with him; the frustrated wife of 40 listens enraptured to the compliments compli-ments of a boy of 22. There is no use arguing about it; lovers never hear anything except what they want to hear. Drifted Apart. "Please let me put to you for your advice a situation that has arisen in my life, and that I want to solve right away for all concerned," writes Phyllis Taylor, a Vassar graduate who' lives in Nashville. "I am S3, and have been married to Jack for 11 years. We have two sons, aged nine and six. I adore my boys, and I think that from their manners, health and intelligence you would think me a good mother. Jack is a lawyer, moderately successful; he and I like each other and respect each other, but we have, few Interests Inter-ests in common. Jack goes to his club every Thursday night and quite often on some other night about once a week; he likes to go duck-hunting, deer-hunting, fishing, in a very informal in-formal way, I mean with a friend or two, camping, or in somj little boat they hire for a week-end. The boys chatter at the breakfast table. Jack reads the paper; they chatter at the dinner table, he reads the paper. He is amiable, was very good to my mother, who lived with us until her death six months ago, and will al- "Is it wise, is it right to give up the immediate and great happiness of all of us, merely because this will be a real blow to Jack? Of course it will! He has been taking home, wife, hot dinner, sons, love and consideration con-sideration for granted; isn't It about time he waked up? His sister is married to his partner in the firm; the natural thing would be for him to live there; he could see the boys whenever he liked, there would be no unpleasantness, and but I hardly hard-ly dare tell you how my heart sings at the thought of such a future for mel" Won't Face the Truth. Poor Phyllis, having failed to work out personal happiness from the rich store of gifts life has already given her, she Is as confident as a child of three that unlimited candy and being allowed to stay up late will be all her heart desires! She doesn't realize the tremendous fight that Jack would put up for his sons; the unpleasantness of it She doesn't stop to think of the opinion of her friends; the Instant sympathy that would turn to Jack, the criticism of her. She won't face the simple truth that r-vprv woman hunm In ways answer a question interestedly. But we seem to have drifted far apart. "After Mother's death I went to a neurologist, because I was upset in every way, not sleeping well, depressed. de-pressed. He is a fine man, quiet 12 years older than I, widowed, with two girls of 14 and 10. He helped me from the first life became worth living again, and best of all I grew patient with Jack, little things didn't - " ---- it 0 Ul her heart that this ecstatic flame that is devouring her has a very unstable base of physical passion and flattered vanity. Nature is man-aging man-aging the hunger part, that is her business, none of us would be here if it wasn't and David is supplying the sugar coating. And oh, how sweet flattery is, when it comes in the low voice of an adoring male! Phyllis must be bewitched indeed If she thinks Jack is going to surrender sur-render his sons to the man who broke up his home; woman after woman fondly Imagines this, but in the end the boys go to the partner who la in general public opinion the injured one. seem to trouble me any more. David, to call him that had suggested sug-gested exercise, a diet really worthwhile worth-while reading. Discovers New Love. "Two months ago, in his office, we discovered our love for each other, and faced the facts. I was truly amazed, not having realized where I was drifting, or rather being carried car-ried by a current too strong for me to resist David, man-fashion, would have thrown all discretion to the winds in the terrific weeks that followed, fol-lowed, when I was in such a state of emotional excitement that I hardly hard-ly knew what was going on. But I |