Can there be love without need, marriage without possession?
No, I don’t think so. It’s often part of the battle that comes in marriage. Another common thing, also with Vera and Bennet, is that one partner moves on in one direction and the other goes in another. Or worse still, is left behind. That is what happens to Bennet. Vera feels that this puts too much pressure on her. In the book you talk about sex as a way to shed the burden of self, to achieve the illusion of belonging to someone else. Do you think men look at sex the same way as women do, to achieve that same purpose? I think so, I think this is a universal. The burden of self is a very heavy thing. Is everyone’s life a journey to the self? Everyone’s is. Not all admit it, or want to recognize it. But it is there, unavoidable. Vera thinks she’s made Annie a lesbian because her own sexuality asserted it over the needs of her daughter. That seems a guilty sort of logic. You’re right. She’s full of guilt there, wishes to free herself, but like most people, finds it extremely difficult. S
