Happiness

[richt...@gmail.com]

Megan kinda touched on this in her Sarah post but I think it's an
important to expand it. Happiness is a key to the dynamic of the book
and the relationship throughout. Henry, as cuckolded and dopy as he
may seem is, perhaps, the only happy person in the book. Even at the
end after his wife dies and he has Maurice move in with him he still
seems happy or that he at least has the most potential to become happy
again.

Maurice and Sarah seem to constantly shoot themselves in the foot.
Even when Maurice is with Sarah he will insult her or do something to
get a rise out of her that will cause her to leave. Sarah seems to
string life along, content with one man (or several) for a while
before moving along to the next one. The one real rule that she seems
to need is that there always needs to be another man in her life
somebody that she can run to when she can't stand herself.

[Megan....@gmail.com]

so you argue that to be simple is to be happy? i can see that, but i'm
more inclined to say that henry is happy with himself, and therefore
its easier to be happy with life. neither maurice nor sarah are happy
with themselves as people, and consequently cannnot gain happiness in
the changes that the world brings. they would not be happy in any
situation if they did not change how they felt about themselves. henry
is always changing with the times - his job ushers him up in rank, his
social life revolves and evolves, even his private life evolves in the
end. so arguably, through the henry character, despite his lack of
passion, we learn that happiness comes from within.

[richt...@gmail.com]

Okay, first Sarah: Sarah did try to make changes in her life (new
boyfriends, finding God) but none of those truly made her happy which
was why she ultimately died. The argument could be made that it was
God's will that she left the world, which is the direction that the
author hand held the reader towards, however she was the one that
walked out in the rain, she was the one that would bring the pain on
herself. I don't think she was capable of happiness.

Maurice was capable of happiness. Unfortunately, his happinses seems
to come at the expense of others. Saving up the sweet venomous licks
for people like Henry when he tells him he slept with his wife. Also
I think his happiness comes out of feeling miserable perhaps best
exemplified by him moving in with Henry so that the bitterness would
truly sink in.

I wouldn't disagree that Henry is happy/comfortable/blind with
himself. Albeit he and his wife weren't the most physical of people
there should've been some sort of anger when Maurice told him he was
one of many men that slept with his wife.

I don't agree with you on Henry evolving though. At the end of the
book I think Maurice only replaced Sarah for him. Henry needs to have
somebody around just for the sake of talking at or having noises fill
his house. As was evidenced when the Priest came over, it doesn't
even matter the subject so long as their is noise happening.

sorry, i didn't think this would get this long... :)