People Change Over Time

This week I read one contemporary short story, but I did not like it. It’s called Today I’m Yours by Mary Gaitskill. From the title I was expecting a romantic love story or quite possibly a sad love story because “today” makes the relationship sound temporary which suggests a breakup or separation. Regardless, I thought it would be a charming little story about a man and woman. It ended up because a story about lesbian lovers who saw each other on and off for a long period of time, but in the end they realize that they can never be together. One of the women is married and she cheats on her husband and the other has a girlfriend who she cheats on throughout the story. It was somewhat interesting, although I wish the lovers did not simply walk away from one another in the end like they mean nothing to one another.

I really liked the Shiloh short story because it reminded me of what could have happened with Grandparents’ marriage, had my Grandfather not required my Grandmother to follow him as he grew internationally aware and educated. Although the stories are a bit different, Shiloh is a key example of what my grandfather feared could happen to his relationship if they did not grow together.

Shiloh is a story about the realization of a woman, Norma Jean, that she has changed and her makeshift marriage is holding her back from her dreams. The short story is told through the eyes of her husband. Her husband, Leroy, notices her changing and is aware that his wife may leave him. Leroy tries to connect with his wife, but it is too late and Norma Jean is already out of reach. Like the characters in Shiloh, my Grandparents also got married because my grandmother was pregnant with my mother when they were both eighteen. Even though their baby did not die, their marriage could have taken the same path as Norma Jean’s and Leroy’s because they started out the same initially. As time passed, both my grandfather and Leroy got jobs that required them to often be away from home. The difference was that when Leroy was away he lost touch with his wife, but when my grandfather was away he would often bring my grandmother. My grandfather considered the possibility that he would change and grow as he traveled and if left behind, my grandmother would not. Even when my grandmother would not want to go to the places that my grandfather planned to travel to, my grandfather would encourage her and she would always be glad she went. They have now been married for fifty-five years and in my opinion they have been so happy together because they have grown and changed together. I think that it is not uncommon, unfortunately, for big businessmen to travel and lose interest in their wives at home who are not exposed to the same situations as them. Businessmen then may meet other women while working who intrigue them. In Shiloh the scenario is reversed, Norma Jean is left home and she explores new areas of interest, while Leroy remains the same as he was in high school. Both the scenario of the businessman and the scenario in Shiloh develop due to the same circumstance: separation and different experiences.

556