The reason I am harsher on OC than LC, I think, is because ultimately it's OC who gets the girl, so I want to view him as a satisfactory romantic partner, a better choice than LX, someone I can see worthy of a happy ending (as LX is only her temporary bf, my standards are somewhat lower). In a way, it's a bizarrely solepcistic exercise of imagining myself in Xiamo's shoes and thinking how I'd feel (with her views on things, etc - because if I was in my own shoes, I'd run away screaming from the lot of them).
Re: suicide - well, the whole point of the exercise was for OC to get Xiamo's forgiveness so he clearly wanted her to know. But I agree with your points, she probably wouldn't have - I guess he was just not thinking clearly.
Re: marriage. I agree that your 'scam' scenario is plausible and may even be the norm in modern societies (that's the first thing I've thought of, too, when he suggested it - 'OC, you refused a one-night stand, but what you asked for is sort of a longer version of that with the fact that she will get half your ginormous fortune on top? OK.' BUT, and that is a big but, for some weird reason nobody in that fictional world views it this way - the way Xiamo acts IS as if she is in Medieval Florence and will always be stuck with OC until they die of old age.
She just may not be thinking things through but I cannot help but be affected by her mental state - she is miserable, close to collapse and I cannot forgive OC causing this state in her, and dragging her towards the altar anyway when he sees what it's doing to the woman he's supposed to love above all else. Clearly, he doesn't love her above his own wishes (Neither does LX blah blah but once again, he doesn't get the girl so this is of less interest to me - and he does snap out of it eventually, unfortunately for him, too late).
Yes, kidney donation is a big deal, but people do it all the time - for family members, friends, or even random people (I remember reading a story in the local paper about a coffee shop owner who needed one and one of random townpeople donated). I wouldn't consider OC a coward for not doing it at all in the first place (though XC is no strnager but a sweet kid he's known for a long time), but to do what he did is despicable, IMO. Not to mention an 'admirable' drama hero would probably donate without asking for anything in the first place :P but I don't even require that, just for him not to be such a jerk - clearly this was part of his plan, why else did he get tested other than hoping he'd match and then he can force Xiamo to him (the book even says this was his long-ago plan).
A random point about the marriage - I have to say even if LX was laid-back and understanding and not an utter mess, this sort of arrangement with OC would probably put the nails in the coffin of their relationship - they both may have still tried hard at it after the divorce but that's a heck of a thing to get through - your gf becoming someone else's temporarily - I know if genders were reversed and I was in the situation, it would drive me mad. Logically I could understand it but emotionally I'd go mad.
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Date: 2010-07-01 12:37 pm (UTC)Re: suicide - well, the whole point of the exercise was for OC to get Xiamo's forgiveness so he clearly wanted her to know. But I agree with your points, she probably wouldn't have - I guess he was just not thinking clearly.
Re: marriage. I agree that your 'scam' scenario is plausible and may even be the norm in modern societies (that's the first thing I've thought of, too, when he suggested it - 'OC, you refused a one-night stand, but what you asked for is sort of a longer version of that with the fact that she will get half your ginormous fortune on top? OK.' BUT, and that is a big but, for some weird reason nobody in that fictional world views it this way - the way Xiamo acts IS as if she is in Medieval Florence and will always be stuck with OC until they die of old age.
She just may not be thinking things through but I cannot help but be affected by her mental state - she is miserable, close to collapse and I cannot forgive OC causing this state in her, and dragging her towards the altar anyway when he sees what it's doing to the woman he's supposed to love above all else. Clearly, he doesn't love her above his own wishes (Neither does LX blah blah but once again, he doesn't get the girl so this is of less interest to me - and he does snap out of it eventually, unfortunately for him, too late).
Yes, kidney donation is a big deal, but people do it all the time - for family members, friends, or even random people (I remember reading a story in the local paper about a coffee shop owner who needed one and one of random townpeople donated). I wouldn't consider OC a coward for not doing it at all in the first place (though XC is no strnager but a sweet kid he's known for a long time), but to do what he did is despicable, IMO. Not to mention an 'admirable' drama hero would probably donate without asking for anything in the first place :P but I don't even require that, just for him not to be such a jerk - clearly this was part of his plan, why else did he get tested other than hoping he'd match and then he can force Xiamo to him (the book even says this was his long-ago plan).
A random point about the marriage - I have to say even if LX was laid-back and understanding and not an utter mess, this sort of arrangement with OC would probably put the nails in the coffin of their relationship - they both may have still tried hard at it after the divorce but that's a heck of a thing to get through - your gf becoming someone else's temporarily - I know if genders were reversed and I was in the situation, it would drive me mad. Logically I could understand it but emotionally I'd go mad.