The last movement was too long. I think he should've cut it down.Husbands and Wives · 1992 — Chapter 9 of 15 · 3'57" · C1
Sally Stops Michael From Rushing, Explained: Sooner or later
After the concert and dinner, Sally invites Michael up for coffee, and the evening turns into a quiet conversation about marriage and being single. Michael misreads the mood and moves too fast; she stops him with "I can't go so fast." What follows is Sally explaining how her marriage fell apart, and how she happened to discover it.
What happens
Michael takes Sally out for Mahler and dinner, they criticize the music and the sauce, and then he comes up to her apartment for coffee. The talk drifts to marriage and to Sally's reasons for enjoying single life. Michael starts to push the evening forward, and Sally tells him plainly that she cannot move that fast.
Listen for
What's the rushSooner or laterhomelyby sheer accident
00:00 / 03:57Space play · ← → lines · R repeat
Now
Phrase of the scene
Sooner or later
at some point in the future, whether we like it or not
迈克尔送莎莉回家后想亲近，莎莉刚被婚变重击、情绪发苦，丢出一句「迟早一切都会完蛋」，把自己的悲观直接摊在对方面前。
Sooner or later, you'll have to tell her the truth.
Also in this scene
- What's the rush
why are you in such a hurry?
- homely
British: warm and cozy; American: plain or unattractive
- by sheer accident
purely by chance, with no planning
Everything marked in this scene
21 notes across 62 lines
- Yeah, but... - The conductor fought his way out.- It didn't quite make it. - Oh, I'm sorry you didn't like it.I'm sorry, Sally. I know I'm not the greatest driver in the world.No, your driving was fine, for the most part. It's not your fault.I shouldn't have had that last margarita. Three's my limit.I prefer French. My decorator screwed me.It's funny how your whole life changes.Uh, do you want to get married again straight away, Sally, or do you like being single?Oh, I don't know. I've... I got close, uh, in my 20s once, but it didn't work out.I want to be alone, for a while at least.Then if it happens, great. If not, that's just fine.Well, I'm-I'm sure you'll get what you want.why are you in such a hurry?
- Okay, okay. - What's the rush?I'm sorry. I apologize. I'm just... I'm overanxious because I like you a lot.I haven't made love, you know, in a... such a long time.at some point in the future, whether we like it or not
Sooner or later, everything turns to shit.Sooner or later, everything turns to shit.I did. That's the part that kills me.Jack was supposed to be out of town on business, in Chicago.purely by chance, with no planning
All of a sudden, by sheer accident...Sally Stops Michael From Rushing, explained
What's really going on
The scene is a mismatch that both people can feel. Michael has decided the evening means something and says so, while Sally is still measuring the distance between a nice night and a relationship. Her line, "I can't go so fast," is not a rejection but a boundary, and he takes it as well as he can. What gives the conversation its weight is the story Sally tells afterward. She traces the end of her marriage to the collapse of everything at once, joking grimly that it is the second law of thermodynamics, and she admits she watched it happen rather than discovering it all at once. "I did. That's the part that kills me." The romance is happening in a room where the last one is still being explained.
Theme
RomanceA new courtship begins while Sally is still explaining the wreckage of the old one, so desire and caution share the room.
MarriageSally diagnoses her marriage as decay, using the second law of thermodynamics to say that things fall apart on their own.
What you'll learn
- 'turn to shit' carries more than its dictionary gloss.
- 'hyper-oxygenating' changes the pressure of the reply.
- The surrounding lines set the social temperature.
Sooner or later, everything turns to shit.Her bleak rule for life: given enough time, everything decays, including a marriage.
Oh, yes, I do. It's the second law of thermodynamics.Her joke about why the marriage died: decay is not a personal failure but a law of nature, so nothing needed to go wrong.
I did. That's the part that kills me.The detail that hurts most: she saw the marriage ending as it happened, instead of being able to say she never noticed.
It's funny how your whole life changes.Her amazement at how quickly a settled life can be turned over, said without anger as a plain fact.
Questions about this scene
Why does Sally say she can't go so fast?
She wants to slow the evening down. She is interested in Michael, but she is not ready to turn one good date into something physical or serious, so she asks him to wait.
What does the second law of thermodynamics have to do with her marriage?
It is her metaphor for decay: things fall apart by tendency, without anyone deciding to break them. She uses it to explain why the marriage died without a single cause.
How did Sally find out about Jack's affair?
She says she was in town working while Jack claimed to be in Chicago on business, and that she found out by sheer accident. She does not get the whole story out in this scene.
Why does Sally want to stay single for a while?
She says she wants time alone to have a few experiences before deciding whether to marry again, and that if nothing comes of it, she is fine with that too.
Is Michael moving too fast?
Yes, and he knows it. He apologizes and admits he is overanxious because he likes her a lot, which is why the scene ends awkwardly rather than badly.
Husbands and Wives · 15 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 10cleaned up my actGabe Meets Rain's Parents
Chapter 1grow apartJack and Sally Announce a Split
Chapter 2to the best of my knowledgeGabe and Judy's Late-Night Talk
Chapter 3a different ball gameSally Calls Jack During a Date
Chapter 4I meant it as a complimentGabe Praises a Student's Story
Chapter 5penchant forGabe's Kamikaze Women Theory
Chapter 6out of left fieldGabe and Jack Fight Over Sam
Chapter 7touch a nerveFriends Discuss Divorce Over Lunch
Chapter 8knocked out by itGabe and Rain Talk About Writing
Watching · Chapter 9Sooner or laterSally Stops Michael From Rushing
Chapter 10cleaned up my actGabe Meets Rain's Parents
Chapter 11out of lineJack and Sam Fight About Astrology
Chapter 12wipe outJack Comes Back to Sally Drunk
Chapter 13in your cornerRain Critiques Gabe's Novel
Chapter 14go sourJudy Tells Gabe It's Over
Chapter 15get the wrong ideaRain's Birthday Party in a BlackoutChapter 9 of 15 · about 23 min to go