"A Marriage at Sea" Is a Study of Couplehood in Extremis
Briefly

Joshua Slocum, the first man to sail solo around the world, chose a life of alienation aboard a ship, believing domesticity could thrive in such conditions. His wife, Virginia, shared this adventurous spirit, having seven children at sea, with three dying in infancy. She wrote poignantly about their losses. A century later, Maurice and Maralyn Bailey chose to live on the ocean, opting to remain child-free. Maralyn humorously remarked on Maurice’s impractical nature, revealing the differing approaches to adventure and life at sea between the two couples.
"To have chosen such a life, as opposed to having been drugged or crimped or hoaxed aboard, was almost defiant in its sense of alienation."
"Virginia's notion of the good life was obviously fueled by her love of adventure."
"the night she died she had one convulsion after another I gave her a hot bath and some medicine & was quite quiet..."
"Maurice is problem enough without having children," Maralyn often said.
Read at The New Yorker
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