Bernadette Marty

“Not much is known about pre-Internet courtship rituals. But presumably, if a twentieth-century male was in need of sexual release, he had no choice but to physically approach a female and, without any kind of warning, begin speaking to her. Needless to say, this must have been a highly upsetting experience for everyone involved. In order to mitigate the horror of the situation, primitive humans relied on a poison known as beer (figure 1) to damage their brains to the point of near unconsciousness.”
― Simon Rich, Man Seeking Woman (originally published as The Last Girlfriend on Earth): And Other Love Stories

“BARBARA: Even if things don’t work out with you and Marsha. BILL: Cindy. BARBARA: Cindy. BILL: Right. Even if things don’t work out. BARBARA: And I’m never really going to understand why, am I? (Bill struggles . . . it seems as if he might say something more, but then:) BILL: Probably not. (Silence. Bill heads for the door. Barbara watches him go and sobs.) BARBARA: I love you . . . I love you . . . (He stands for a moment, his back to her. He exits. Barbara stands, alone.)”
― Tracy Letts, August: Osage County

“Envy is like farts? BELLA. Everyone suffers from it. But, if you let it out . . . you don’t smell very nice. And everyone moves away from you.”
― Nina Raine, Rabbit

“Maybe Artist is hard job. It is not for me to say. But I would be surprised if it was as hard a job as Rock Thrower. Throwing rocks is not so easy. For example, five years ago, one of my shoulders detached from my arm when I was throwing a boulder off a cliff. And two years after that, the other shoulder detached also. I can still throw rocks. But now, when I throw them, I am screaming. Not just once in a while, but constantly. Every time I throw a rock I am screaming, so loud. I do not always realize I am screaming—it is just part of my life. Usually, by sundown, I have no voice left. It is gone, you understand, because I was screaming so much from the pain of throwing rocks. Another thing is that sometimes I fall off the cliff, which is a bad situation.”
― Simon Rich, Man Seeking Woman (originally published as The Last Girlfriend on Earth): And Other Love Stories