ABSTRACT
It was just after Christmas when Agnes’ fiancé, Ray, announced that he didn’t want to get married after all and moved out. The couple had been engaged for three years and had two children, aged two and one. Suddenly, Agnes, 27, who had been staying at home caring for the children, was a single mother. A month later, at the time of our interview, Agnes was feeling overwhelmed. The separation, starting a new life—“like where do I begin?”—and the challenge of raising children by herself, had brought on a host of “different emotions.” She was also very anxious to avoid the negative evaluation of others and quickly reassert herself as a successful person. “I just feel,” she said, “like I have to prove something … and show everybody, yeah, all right, he left me, but I’m doing better. Fast.”
