Living Apart Together | STX Engelsk B | 25. maj 2011

The texts in section A focus on the trend “Living Apart Together” (L.A.T.). Write a paper (700-1000 words) in which you answer the following questions. Answer the questions separately.

1. Explain what “Living Apart Together” is, and give an outline of the different views presented in texts 2 and 3.
2. Text 3 is a personal comment. How is that reflected in its tone and style? Give examples from the text.
3. Taking your starting point in text 1, discuss what the consequences of L.A.T. might be.

Texts

1. Rosemary Bennett, “Couples that live apart...stay together”, an article from The Times website, May 12, 2007
2. Jill Brooke, “Home Alone Together”, an article from The New York Times website, May 4, 2006
3. Gary Picariello, “Just What Modern Romance Needs”, a comment from Associated Content website, March 30, 2007

Presentation of the topic

Living Apart Together (L.A.T.) is a recent trend in modern societies which couples engage in. It basically means that couples choose, willingly or circumstantially, to live in separate homes although they are in a committed relationship and sometimes even married.

Text 1 in you exam set defines L.A.T. as an “unusual living arrangement” (p. 1, l. 1) in which people share “their lives but not their homes” (p. 1, l. 3).

According to the research quoted in Text 1, there are three types of people who choose this living arrangement: those living “gladly apart” (p. 1, l. 14) who have chosen this lifestyle willingly, those living “regretfully apart” (p. 1, l. 23) who have chosen to do so due to economic or other constraints, and those living “undecidedly apart” (p. 1, l. 25) who are still not convinced of the benefits of cohabitation.

Text 2 defines L.A.T. as “long-term, two-home relationships” (p. 3, ll. 2-3) and argues that this type of arrangement suits better “older couples” (p. 3, l. 18) and those who are unwilling to compromise (p. 4, l. 31), particularity after previous failed relationships.

Text 3 presents L.A.T. as a situation in which “a couple who – married or not – choose to live in different homes” (p. 6, l. 4) and points out that this is done mostly by choice.

Text 3 also points out that this trend is a result of individualism and of people not being good at “compromise, negotiation, and/or commitment” (p. 7, l. 35). However, it also notes the trend as being a rejection of family values, influenced by age and financial means.