"And it was a strange thing to feel, but he definitely felt it: when he emerged from the bathroom with the ring on his ring finger...he was a different person. He was the person who'd handled his own shit to get his wedding ring back. This wasn't the person he'd thought he was, or would have chosen to be if he'd been free to choose, but there was something comforting and liberating about being an actual definite someone, rather than a collection of contradictory potential someones." (page 432)So I ask you, is "handling your own shit" a metaphor for a success for marriage? How? Is Connie happy in love, or was her devotion to Joey a way of avoiding her own issues and fears? Did Joey marry a version of his mother, Patty? What do you think ultimately makes a marriage successful?
