Maybe the greatest favour a spouse can tender is to overlook what you can't.

For women, marriages foreclosed often resulted in an accumulation of booty; for men, these failed projects of implausible optimism were more likely to manifest themselves in material lack. It was hard to resist the metaphorical impression that women got to keep the past itself, whereas men were simply robbed of it.

...some people coddle their own afflictions the way others spoil small pedigreed dogs with cans of pate.

Desire is one of the burning experiences of human life.

You can't be stylish and petty at the same time.

Maybe the greatest favour a spouse can tender is to overlook what you can't.

People seem to get used to anything, and it is a short step from adaptation to attachment.