Saturday, November 24, 2007

HIGH MAINTENANCE WOMEN



Here's (above) my all-time favorite Bette Davis scene, from "Of Human Bondage." I just saw it at Mike's house. She's a wonderful over-the-top actor but when I see scenes like this I can't help asking myself what it would be like to live with someone like that. It would be a rollercoaster ride, no doubt about it.


Women like to think that men prefer stupid women, but if they do they never told me about it. The men I talked to overwhelmingly prefer smart women. The problem is that smart women are sometimes very high strung. If you're married to someone like this you better expect strong and frequent arguments over small things, and major crises on a frequent basis.





The complicating factor is that some high-strung, high-maintenance women are worth it, at least their men think so. Some guys crave the stimulation. Well, each to his own.

BTW, none, absolutely NONE of this, refers to people I know!

10 comments:

Kali Fontecchio said...

That film was great! Rain followed by Of Human Bondage- it don't get much better than dat!

"The problem is that smart women are sometimes very high strung. If you're married to someone like this you better expect strong and frequent arguments over small things, and major crises on a frequent basis."

HEY- I CONTEST. I think that's far too broad a statement, and you've really gotten in ov'r yer head- better watch yer back!!

"BTW, none, absolutely NONE of this, refers to people I know!"

No back-trackin'!!!!

lastangelman said...

Wild Tiger Woman by The Move:
Spotlight for Jean, she's more than seventeen
Seems keen, in other words
She must have been a former Beauty Queen
Now she's a naughty girl.

Chorus
Wild, wild, wild, tiger woman
(Wild, wild, wild, wild)
You move me very fast
But can it last another day?
Get out of my way
Wild, wild tiger woman
(Wild, wild, wild, wild)
You never break, you never fall
They call you the Wild Tiger Woman.

Tied to the bed, she's waiting to be fed
No pay till Saturday
Can't see an ounce of reason in her head
Don't laugh and turn away.

Chorus

Need another girl to come and grab her by the tail
As I was hoping that the ground would open up and take me in
Life is so obscene,
And the remarks that go unseen
Have been diminished to the earth
I'll never find another girl.

All in the race, such a friendly face
Seems clean and upper class
Young indecisive minds are in a maze
She moves me very fast

Chorus, repeat

Eddie Fitzgerald said...

Kali: LOL! Nope! Nonononono! This doesn't refer to ANYONE I've known well since moving to California!

Last: Fascinating!

Adam Tavares said...

Watch out, Eddie, you've just invited all your male readers to vent their women problems to you.

One thing I'm confused over is what you mean by high maintenance. You seem to be describing emotionally unstable women... I always thought high maintenance referred to a woman who expected you to pay for her whenever you went out together... or one who was overly materialistic... or one who doesn't look good unless she 'puts on her face'.

And one other thing it's not just women... I know guys like that character Bette Davis plays too. Everybody acts nuts when it involves their willies or their cooters.

RedDiabla said...

Adam: you're describing materialistic more than high-maintenance, IMO.

"Willies and "cooters"? Hmmm, your relationship problems could possibly stem from using terms like that for genitalia. ;)

I finally saw "Of Human Bondage" just a couple of months ago and wondered to myself if there were really guys that would tolerate the behavior that Bette Davis' character exhibited.

Baffling, if so.

Jenny Lerew said...

Well, there's a reason the film's got that title!

Lester Hunt said...

I guess I would define "high maintenance" as "needs a lot of attention." As pets, dogs are higher maintenance than cats. It's hard to get good data about this because high maintenance people invariably deny that they are such. This in fact is one of the many things they will give you an argument about. What they think is that you are delivering abnormally low levels of maintanence. You worm!

Anonymous said...

The men I talked to overwhelmingly prefer smart women. The problem is that smart women are sometimes very high strung. If you're married to someone like this you better expect strong and frequent arguments over small things, and major crises on a frequent basis.


Tell me about it. You find yourself having to explain every little thing you say. It's emotionally taxing.

Anonymous said...

A passive aggressive female can can be just as trying, and not anywhere near as entertaining.

pappy d said...

There are plenty of Bette Davises in L.A. but life has miscast them as ordinary people.

An intelligent woman needs more than a relationship to occupy her. That surplus mental energy can turn on you. She will catalog every casual remark, compliment or slight, cross-index them in order of grievance & draw fascinating inferences about you. Hating to be thought petty or a nag, she'll stew in private & discuss her theories for hours with a phalanx of sympathetic girlfriends.

When you're presented with this Gordian knot in the form of an argument, you won't remember anything you'd said that is being quoted back to you or the context in which you said it.

At this point, you can be responsible & reasonable & split up as amicably as possible or you can turn her over your knee.