Marriage material (and other clichés)
From the 1988 play “The Heidi Chronicles” by Wendy Wasserstein, in which Scoop explains to Heidi (a girlfriend he could never commit to) why he’s marrying Lisa:
SCOOP: Do I love her…? She’s the best that I can do. Is she an A+ like you? No. But I don’t want to come home to an A+. A- maybe, but not A+.
Hazel Bishop
I dare say that Hazel Bishop had no time for marriage. For years she pulled double duty, as a chemist by day, developing aviation fuel, while in the evenings, cooking up recipes in search of the world’s first smudge-proof lipstick. After 300 trials in her tiny home kitchen, she landed on the perfect formula. Continue reading »
What Would You Give Up (to be married)?
“I’d rather be free to paddle my own canoe.”
–Louisa May Alcott, 1868
The Black Dress
About a year ago, while browsing in my favorite card store, I discovered a postcard of Alex Katz’s “The Black Dress,” and thumbtacked it to the cork bulletin board beside my desk. Mr. Katz employed his beloved wife Ada as a model for the painting, which he created in 1960, almost a half century ago. I suppose some might consider this image, painted in loving tribute to the artist’s spouse, an odd inaugural emblem for “Notes from an Unmarried Life.” I find it a timeless representation of the ways we single women can be similar and different (while chic and fabulous) all at the same time.
(Check out a recent interview with Alex Katz, from Women’s Wear Daily.)
Fannie Merritt Farmer
Fannie Merritt Farmer is on my mind this week. 112 years ago, she published her first book, The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, and it catapulted her to fame. It also made her rich. When a publisher wasn’t willing to take a risk on an unknown, she ponied up the initial printing costs and retained the copyright. With over 4 million copies sold, it is one of the best-selling cookbooks of all time. Continue reading »
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About this Site
FIRST PERSON SINGULAR is a guide to surviving, thriving and sometimes just getting through a single day. Created by Wendy Braitman (more…)
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- 94 Reasons the Man I’m Dating Isn’t Right For Me - 11 emails
- 94 Reasons Why the Man I Haven’t Met is Right For Me - 8 emails
- 40 Reasons To Be Single - 8 emails
- How to Survive a Sex Drought - 7 emails
- How I Grabbed the Best Bedroom in the Guest House - 7 emails
