Bubble and Blister Pack: The Chilly Waterfall Just Above the Coffee

Hundred Waters

Elspeth Huxley's The Mottled Lizard: "And then his choice of subjects was not at all what we were used to. The waterfall just above the coffee nursery, the view from a bluff above the pulping shed, even the new house with its smart Dutch gables, none of these stand-bys, normally so attractive to our visitors, aroused even the mildest interest in Hilary. He was fascinated by a chameleon on a shrub, by the flowers of a passion-fruit creeper on a low wall, by the nests of a weaver that built in a swamp. These nests hung down like little pockets attached to the reeds' heads, and were extremely difficult to get at, for the swamp was deep and treacherous. Hilary thought he could best reach the nests by boat" (115).

Ideas About Love / 135

"Freud concludes that when lovers act irrationally what they're really doing is regressing to the needs, insecurities, and obsessions of childhood. Using an archeological metaphor, he pictures the mind as the many-layered city of Rome, where different eras and societies rub shoulders. Right below today's bustling metropolis lie other cities, and each one has its own set of morals, principles, punishments, customs, rulers, piety, and red tape. In contrast, attachment theory looks at Rome and sees, in the remnants of the past, more than artifacts:

...some of the important historical landmarks, bridges, and crooked streets are still there. But few of the ancient structures exist unaltered or in mental isolation, so simple regression and fixation are unlikely. There is continuity in attachment behavior, but there can also be significant change.["]