It's almost like she's married her neuroses, and was cheating on them with Marten, and now the affair is over and she's going back to be with her mental equivalent of an abusive spouse, and that's somehow 'back to normal'. As I write this, I'm actually starting to feel sorry for her.
Get rid of the
almost, and you've got it. Continuing the relationship with Marten meant giving up her insecurities—he out-and-out said that, pretty much, after the Underpants Incident. To quote Amy Lee*, Dora prefers (hopefully
preferred, but she hasn't actually changed anything yet) to 'stay in love with her sorrow,' or, to be more accurate, to continue in the state of mind she's developed over the years rather than take a chance on changing, even if it meant she'd be happy. This is not uncommon. If you really pay attention, you'll be shocked at how many people prefer to suffer loss, pain, and suffering, and how
much of it, rather than change the way they interact with the world. It's one of the core things Flannery O'Connor, for one, writes about (as do many Southern writers from the U.S., as behaving this way seems to be even more popular here than elsewhere). As I've said, it's Dora's tragedy, and it may become Marten's, too, since it's not that unusual for such a person to make those closest to them began to suffer from mental problems, too. Not that Marten may not already have his own, but it's entirely possible Dora unintentionally made them worse. It's like unto a contagion.
I think that as the instigator, she may have been better prepared for this than Marten was, which is why she doesn't seem as broken up about it. She also may just be avoiding thinking about him, because it's too much right at the moment and she HAS to keep focused on her moving forward if only to cope and not just stay in bed bawling.
I think we will see someone who isn't Hanners bawling again sometime soon, mayhaps. I feel bad for both of them. 
Well, yes. Dora's only been saying their relationship was temporary for what, a thousand strips or so? I can't recall when she first did it (I'm sure some else will oblidge my indolent posterior and look it up), but it's been quite a while. It's also been pretty clear Marten, for all someone accused him of not committing to the relationship, thought differently. (Sorry, but that still sticks in my craw).
And Marten's been bawling already.
Sven earns twelve Big-Brother Points. He's begining to upgrade into "Decent Human Being" and threatening to gain the Empathy (level one) ability.
Idle speculation:
Faye is, apparently, out with Angus right now. If she returns home and finds Hannelore babysitting an increasinly drunk and depressed Marten, she might not want to stick around and get in on the pity-party, especially if Marten's not being very good company right now. And if she leaves, we don't need three guesses as to where she's likely to end up if not at her own apartment. So, potentially good news for Angus?
Fixed that first part.
Seriously, I give Sven credit for this and all the other demonstrations of being a real person lately, but I suspect Sven-boy's going to get really tested soon, and I want to see how he comes through that before I stamp the DHB on his forehead. Which, for some reason, seems to have shrunk in this strip.
Angus may profit, but I do hope you're not inferring he thrives on others' misfortunes. He doesn't seem to be that sort of fellow to me. Nor is Faye, for all her abrasiveness and frequent dickery, a bailer. Except, of course, on herself—always on herself.
*Not something I do often, but that song does resonate with me. So sue my semi-goth fanny
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Topic: WCDT: 6-10 Dec 2010 (1811-1815) (Read 163986 times)