Love and Repair

When a woman is hurt in a relationship, she may engage in different behaviors to deal with this pain. She may seclude herself, convinced her wiles will bring the man back. She may become detached and run from man to man without second thought. She may shut men off completely and run to females for solace. Or she may rid herself of what caused her pain to begin with. These are some of the possibilities I explore in this thesis - a collection of fiction and poetry from a female perspective that examines a woman\u27s position in a romantic relationship. These characters have been hurt in the past and thus have different ways of coping. Despite their vulnerability, they intentionally put themselves in degrading situations in the hope that they will find a genuine connection. Because they have lowered their standards, they assume they will have an easier time finding someone. They know they are in the wrong places, but ignore that notion to achieve the connection they are looking for, often using sex to achieve that goal. While I make no claims to explain these women\u27s mentalities, I do attempt to show different sides of such women as they struggle through such relationships. Each of these characters wants the same thing from these relationships, flawed or no: love. They merely have different ways of pursuing that goal. It isn\u27t until they realize they\u27ve been looking in the wrong places that they begin to analyze themselves and discover who they are. This collection shows how these women move through the progression of their relationships until the point of fracture, when they are forced to make certain decisions. Finally, the relationships fall apart, and the stories and poems show how each character deals with the loss