Loving too much on September 21, 1998…

Dear Breakup Girl,

How many times do you think a woman should get divorced before she should begin to question the validity of her choice to continually get married? Do you think women should start to re-think the whole marriage idea after two divorces? Four? Five? Or do you feel that as long as the woman is happy going from marriage to marriage, she should do so, regardless of what she does to her reputation, her children, and those men she leaves behind? Is marrying a right, to be exercised as you please, or is it more of a responsibility, especially after multiple divorces? Should society simply turn a blind eye to women who marry time and time again, only to divorce a year or two later to start again? Or should someone (for example, a Super Heroine who specializes in breakups) start some sort of therapy group for women who unceasingly seek marriage, only to seek divorce? Thanks.

— Crazy Doug

Dear Crazy Doug,

How many questions do you have to ask Breakup Girl before she realizes they aren’t entirely hypothetical?

There are no absolute answers/numbers here, Doug. I’m not saying that multi-marriage (and all the other potentially icky stuff you describe) is a good thing. But. Let’s say YOU had had a string of, oh, four lousy marriages. You wrote to a Super Heroine who specializes in breakups and she sorted out everything that hadn’t been working. Then: tanned, rested, and ready for commitment for real, you meet The Fifth. Who, it turns out for real, is The One. Now what would happen if that same Superhero, in her own metropolis, had also instituted a four-marriage cap?

Doug, if someone (as in “a woman”) did you wrong, please write and tell me and we’ll talk. About guys who unceasingly seek advice, only to seek being told that they’re already right.

Love,
Breakup Girl