attachments - by Elaine - manners & mystery

from friendships to the fantasy of partnership

Bruce Nauman, Human/Need/Desire, 1983 There was a time I wanted a stable, dependable relationship that led to marriage, a house in the suburbs, a dog, a cat, a kid. I look around and see so many of my friends already far along on this journey. But the events of the last two years, both global and personal, have led me to question whether this dream of domestic bliss would truly make me happier. A relation of cruel optimism exists when something you desire is actually an obstacle to your flourishing. It might involve food, or a kind of love; it might be a fantasy of the good life, or a…

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