"So," I tell him, "there's this woman I know who has been diagnosed with manic-depressive disorder. We were talking the other day about freedom and she said, 'No matter how abnormally I act, people always indulge me because I'm 'insane'. It's like I have the license to misbehave! I feel so liberated!'"
"Interesting. That's one way of looking at it, I suppose," he says.
"She reminded me of this novel called 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' in which this character whatsername deliberately encourages her puritanical society's belief that she is a scarlet woman so that she could be ostracised from that society, and thereby be free of its sham conventions and moral obligations".
"How is it that you can recall my obscurest f**k-ups and yet be unable to remember any of the names of the characters in all the novels you've read?"
"..."
"You do, you know".
"Well, that's immaterial. What I'm trying to say is, is ultimate freedom only possible when one loses one's society? Because what we call freedom always comes with some kind of responsibility or an obligation to someone or something", I persist.
"Why is it that when you bring up some peeve, we have to talk it to death, but when I do, its 'immaterial?'"
"Fiiinneeee. What do you want to talk about then?"
"Never mind".
"Hmm, okay then".
.....
"If you truly loved me, you would not pretend not to know what I want to talk about."
"You're the guy! Guys are supposed to get straight to the point! So what do you want to talk about!?"
"Oh right, so its okay for you to gender-stereotype."
"What's with you???"
"Sorry. I'm just depressed".
.......
"It's also been said that true freedom exists when one knows one is loved unconditionally", he says after a while.
"I don't know. I don't really buy this unconditional love thing".
"So you believe in freedom through lunacy and ostracism, but not through love?"
"Bleh".
"Interesting. That's one way of looking at it, I suppose," he says.
"She reminded me of this novel called 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' in which this character whatsername deliberately encourages her puritanical society's belief that she is a scarlet woman so that she could be ostracised from that society, and thereby be free of its sham conventions and moral obligations".
"How is it that you can recall my obscurest f**k-ups and yet be unable to remember any of the names of the characters in all the novels you've read?"
"..."
"You do, you know".
"Well, that's immaterial. What I'm trying to say is, is ultimate freedom only possible when one loses one's society? Because what we call freedom always comes with some kind of responsibility or an obligation to someone or something", I persist.
"Why is it that when you bring up some peeve, we have to talk it to death, but when I do, its 'immaterial?'"
"Fiiinneeee. What do you want to talk about then?"
"Never mind".
"Hmm, okay then".
.....
"If you truly loved me, you would not pretend not to know what I want to talk about."
"You're the guy! Guys are supposed to get straight to the point! So what do you want to talk about!?"
"Oh right, so its okay for you to gender-stereotype."
"What's with you???"
"Sorry. I'm just depressed".
.......
"It's also been said that true freedom exists when one knows one is loved unconditionally", he says after a while.
"I don't know. I don't really buy this unconditional love thing".
"So you believe in freedom through lunacy and ostracism, but not through love?"
"Bleh".
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