What would Elizabeth Gilbert think of "The Bachelor"?

In my last post I didn’t reveal anything about Elizabeth Gilbert’s attitude toward marriage other than that she has strong feelings and is “reluctant” about marrying Felipe. Felipe feels the same way, since they both endured painful divorces. Although they care deeply about each other and agreed to be monogamous, they didn’t think it would be necessary to enter into another marriage. Alas, this attitude changed dramatically when Felipe, not a U.S. citizen, was barred from the United States after one too many extended visits to the country.

One reason Gilbert feels queasy about marriage is that she has seen the great sacrifices that many women, including her mother and grandmother, make for marriage. She devotes a large chunk of her book to this topic. Since I finished reading Committed, I’ve been hearing about this season of “The Bachelor”. I’ve been following with mild interest because I worked at a summer camp a few years ago with Ali, one of the contestants. I learned today that Ali, who had made it to the final four, had to make a difficult decision at the end of last night’s episode – stay on the show and risk losing her job as an advertising account manager or return to her job and give up her opportunity to “win” love. She chose work.

I imagine that Gilbert must disapprove of this TV show that chronicles the fierce and dramatic competition among a gaggle of beautiful ladies for the opportunity to marry one eligible bachelor. I’m surprised she didn’t include commentary about the show in her book. However, I know Gilbert would be cheering for Ali and her decision. I applaud her, too. You go, girl!