"Please Note. Parts are included for all installations, but no installation requires all of the parts" (Kingsolver 88).

In The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, the main character, Taylor, tells her new found friend Lou Ann about her philosophy on men. This quote was taken by Taylor from the instructions on the package to a toilet repair kit. At first glance, the words seem only to be talking about the kit, but Taylor saw the much deeper meaning they could have. Taylor sees the "parts" as her own physical and mental attributes, and the "installation" as a relationship. So, to Taylor, the quote is really saying how even though she is still her entire self with all the "parts" in a relationship, the man she is with will never need or want all of those "parts." It is this realistically blunt view of the world that define's Taylor's attitude through much of the novel.

Although I know not the answers to the vast mysteries that love holds, it seems to me that Taylor's philosophy would hold true. How could any person desire every single aspect of their significant other? Even if they were immensely deep in love. I think the reason that this is a virtual impossibility now is because one cannot know all the "parts" of their love. Furthermore, one cannot simply tell their significant other about all of their attributes because they do not even know them all themselves. It is extremely difficult to learn entirely about one's self, never mind entirely about another. However, if the world were to change, so that this philosophy of Taylor's would not hold true, people would first have to look in on themselves. Then those people who have reached utter self understanding can pass on all of their knowledge on to their lover and achieve a higher level of romantic bonding. In summary: both lovers must know about all of the parts in one another's kits before they can use them all in the installation. -Cory Partridge