Perfection is achieved, wrote Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the French pilot and author, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. It is absurd to look for perfection, said the artist Camille Pissaro. D.H. Lawrence said, “The cruellest thing a man can do to a woman is to portray her as perfection.” It is also the cruellest thing a woman can do to a man.
Why are we talking about perfection, which most human beings think is unattainable anyway? Hang on for a bit.
There is much to be said for forgetting to take the garbage out. Or for lazing on the sofa when the spouse is busy. Or for going to a party on the wrong day. Such activities keep one from being perfect. And that, apparently ought to be our aim in life. Perfection is not something most husbands suffer from, especially as it can lead to divorce, as a woman in Uttar Pradesh demonstrated recently.
