Kat enjoys the words of sad songs that
nobody knows. Nathan pays to watch women on the internet put shoes
on. Ingrid burns holes in her socks when she wants new ones. Bridgett
has taken twelve sensory deprivation baths in the last three months,
trying to develop synesthesia. Dj buys stamps just to lick them.
Martha makes cookies with chocolate
chips and bakes them according to the directions.
Holly kisses other women in bars to
attract men. Bradley lives in New York and counts the buildings he
passes on his way to work. Luther tells his friends that he is
lactose intolerant so he'll feel important. Wynne tries to pull her
teeth out every night before bed. Summer eats pebbles.
Martha cries at the sad scenes in films
and laughs with the cues in sitcoms.
Erik watches hundreds of music videos
and catalogues them as “lyp-synched” or not. Brenda makes her own
toilet paper. Harold stoops to walk through doorways, despite his
dwarfism. Anatole plays instruments she hates so she can brag to her
imaginary friend. Harriet tears the fortieth page from every
publication she reads in public waiting rooms. Grant refers to every
vehicle as “hoss.”
Martha picks up things on top of piles.
She eats at restaurants because they are popular and cheap. She wears
shoes that are comfortable and fit her feet. She owns several types
of deodorant because she doesn't keep track. She sometimes sleeps on
the couch with her feet on the coffee table. She constantly runs out
of bowls and must wash dishes. She owns a plunger. She pays to have
her oil changed. She drives to work. She gives to an annual charity
drive.
You know the most about Martha and she's still the least interesting person on the page.
I'm not sure I can adequately express to you how much I hate this.
ReplyDeleteWhy does it exist?
But being "normal" does not mean that one is not interesting. What one sees on the surface does not always equate to what's on the inside.
ReplyDeleteJust because Martha does all the boring things instead of some OCD thing like the others does not mean that she is not an interesting person. It means that whoever is making the observations should get to know her better before making such a judgment upon her.
I have spent the better part of my up-to-this-point life thinking that I was a boring person because I was responsible and did the right things. I am not boring just because I do normal things. I live in a family with quirks, and I know I have some of my own, but that is not what makes me interesting.
The things a person does is not what makes them interesting or not, in my opinion.
I started writing a character once and tried three times to make her normal and she ended up like the characters in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. They are not interesting. They are foils to the girl because the GIRL IS SO QUIRKLY. And that is how it is.
ReplyDeleteSo is Martha the girl with the dragon tattoo, or is she the boring foil to all the quirky people?
ReplyDeleteDo you really have to ask? I hope not.
ReplyDeleteI don't have to, no. Sorry.
ReplyDelete