Stephanie Quote

Author Stephanie Kallos defines a relationship as “a marvel of construction, built up over time and out of fragments of shared experience. . . . Maybe we feel such a strong kinship with pique assiette because it is the visual metaphor that best describes us; after all, we spend much of our lives hurling bits of the figurative and literal past into the world’s landfill—and then regret it. We build our identities from that detritus of regret. Every relationship worth keeping sustains, at the very least, splintered glazes, hairline fractures, cracks. And aren’t these flaws the prerequisites of intimacy?” What do you think of this view of identity and relationships?

Wow that quote is a mouthful. What I got from it is that relationships worth keeping will have some cracks in them, that they won't be perfect, and that it is this vey imperfection that makes them so meaningful and interesting. I do agree with this. I wouldn't love my best friend Jamie so much if our lives had never been so bumpy...I think certain kinds of love and understanding comes through lifes accidents and struggles. I think we hurt the people we love the most, and visa versa. Sometimes we get a crack in that relationship, and it's love and the willing to mend the crack that counts and creates the bond between us. Sometimes the severed bond that is mended is the strongest bond of all.

Wanda Reflecting

When Wanda reflects on her life in the theatre, she says, “You’re part of this intense family for a while, and then everyone moves on.” How does Troy shift the rules? And how do things change with the steady accumulation of people at the Hughes house?

Troy shifts the rules in that he decides not to move on. He stays with Wanda and she is still wondering why he decided to stay with her. She is still looking for something else, something that she can never have again...but wants very badly. She is focusing too muh on the past to be able to enjoy the present, or get a sense of what the future can hold for her.

I love all of the different characters that are accumulating in the Hughes house. Margaret is growing this unconventional family and I just love it. The house is becomming more and more lively, and each person seems to have a place, or bring something that was greatly needed to the Hughes family.