Elaine And Paul Adults Alone

In “Adults Alone,” Elaine and Paul are left to confront their former, less mature selves as they ship the kids away for a week. When their daily routine of taking care of their children is no longer around to distract them from their actual selves, they must rediscover themselves. Marriage and their wearisome daily routines have drained them of individuality and made them a husk of their former selves. In an attempt to return to their original lifestyles, Elaine and Paul try a series of activities they would not normally undergo. After performing the same duties day in and day out for a prolonged period of time, they are uncertain of how to spend their free time. Elaine and Paul go through an existential journey to find their former selves and face the reality of
If you think about this conscientiously, it describes Elaine and Paul’s daily routine very accurately. They have slipped into a dull, repetitive cycle of taking care of the children, working to support their family, and living a quaint suburban life. All while at the same time losing any sense of intimacy to make room for a stable, safe environment for their offspring. Once the children are with their grandmother, the couple quickly realizes they have no clue what they like to do. This is due to overwhelming sense of responsibility to their kids. Even with the boys several hours away the couple can not break their routine or escape the thought of them. Whether it be during simple pleasure or even sleeping, they can not escape their haunting responsibilities. Some examples of this would be when she regrets buying food for herself and not her kids at the store, when sex is interrupted because they are in their kid’s room, and when she’s sleeping and can stop dreaming about her