I have no nostalgia for the patriarchy, please believe me. But what I have come to realize is that, when that patriarchic system was (rightfully) dismantled, it was not necessarily replaced by another form of protection. What I mean is--I never thought to ask a suitor the same challenging questions my father might have asked him, in a different age.
Elizabeth GilbertProblem is, you canโt accept that his relationship had a real short shelf life. Youโre like a dog at the dump, baby โ youโre just lickinโ at the empty tin can, trying to get more nutrition out of it. And if youโre not careful, that canโs gonna get stuck on your snout forever and make your life miserable. So drop it.โ โBut I love him.โ โSo love him.โ โBut I miss him.โ โSo miss him. Send him some love and light every time you think about him, then drop it.
Elizabeth GilbertBut he [Depression] just gives me that dark smile, settles into my favorite chair, puts his feet on my table and lights a cigar, filling the place with his awful smoke. Loneliness watches and sighs, then climbs into my bed and pulls the covers over himself, fully dressed, shoes and all. He's going to make me sleep with him again tonight, I just know it.
Elizabeth Gilbert