WHAT CAN THE FRENCH TEACH US ABOUT MARRIAGE?

VOGUE : MARRIAGE : WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE FRENCH?  by Christina Perez published April 8, 2017

TEASER: FRANCEINFIDELITY IS OVERRATED -  BE YOUR HUSBAND'S MISTRESS INSTEAD.

As Piazza points out in her book* only 47% of French say infidelity is unacceptable in a marriage, compared to 84% of Americans. Still that doesn't necessarily mean French women are as tolerant to affairs as we've been lead to think.  "That is a silly cliche you Americans believe," one of the writer's French friends tells her before clarifying, "I don't mind if my president has sex with other women, that's not my problem... of course, I hope my man doesn't do that to me." Instead the French believe in working to keep each other interested so that neither person wants to have an affair in the first place. "It's work. He still need to conquer me every day and I need to make him want me every day. I need to put in the effort - and here's what's important: I want to do the work,"  Piazza's friend says....

*  Jo Piazza, author of How to Be Married (What I learned from Real Women on Five Continents About Surviving My First Really Hard Year of Marriage.) 

 

CAROLE MALLORY ON A REASSESSMENT OF HER RELATIONSHIP WITH NORMAN MAILER

"Still, I was being foolish to live in the now and not look to the future.  How Norman had treated his ex wives was an indication of how he would treat me when it ended.  But I was so into my obsession with him that I was wearing blinders on my heart.  I loved him and knew that to keep him in my life I could not put pressure on him.  He need a long leash, like a wild animal. Wild he was and a part of me loved the excitement so much that I made few demands of him.  He would have a temper tantrum when confronted by my financial needs.  In the beginning of our relationship I learned to do without any support from him.  I couldn't risk being thought of as a former wife pulling on him financially.  After all I wasn't a former wife.  I was only his new lover.  (Page 101)


How many Mistresses are proud that they are NOT HIS WIFE?!  I think MOST!  Missy