She cannot expect to find what she is looking for if she constantly thinks of all the reasons why it cannot happen, it is a fool’s errand. Some would say that according to the Law of Attraction, this is bound to happen. Her “word loss” and large family are definately not the reason her husband left, and also do not have to stop her from trying to find a new lover instead of resigning to celibacy. Nadine’s love life is clearly not very successful both during and after her husband’s “escape”, but once again, she puts the blame on the wrong things. She is in a race against time, but she forgets to stop for a second to make sure that her shoes are even on right. Although these changes are positive and can often be helpful when trying to move on and make a change, she doesn’t seem to mention putting any effort into first figuring out why she is in the place she is in, which obviously is not a very happy one. Throughout this short story, Nadine lists several things she has accomplished such as finding a job, buying a car, and renting a housekeeper. Her blindness to the real problems that occur around her everyday is the reason for her feeling like she has no control over the fate of her life, which is why she continuously fools herself into tackling the wrong problem. The fact that Nadine repeatedly mentions the on-going loss of her brain cells and vocabulary, whether being an actual physical condition or simply a metaphor for aging, certainly does not help the situation. If Nadine were to direct as much attention to her family as she does to her “oozed-out” brain cells, perhaps she would encounter less problems and have a healthier relationship with her husband. Her consistent focus on minor irrelevant problems prevents her from seeing what is happening around her family, and from fighting to find a solution.

But it is her pessimism and passive lack of interest that drives these problems and causes them to piral out of control. Helen Keller once wrote in her famous essay, that “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.” Like most middle-aged married women, Nadine – the main character in “Nadine at 35: A Synopsis” – faces many of the common problems that exist in a family with kids.

Highway to hell free