Elizabeth Gilbert’s autobiographical Eat, Pray, Love became an international bestseller, and is about to be released as a movie starring Julia Roberts. This week her new book, Committed, was also released in Europe.
Why did you call the book Committed?
The word ’Committed’ has two meanings. One is having a contract, to be connected and the other, obviously, is being admitted to a mental institution. So I’m playing on that a little bit. I like that there’s a kind of fierceness to the word – in both meanings. It’s got a lot of muscle, it’s not a happy-go-lucky word — and that appeals to me, because that goes well with the way we decided to get married.
What were you most afraid of about getting married?
I was afraid of becoming someone else. I was afraid of the power of the language of marriage. There are so many expectations connected to it, and I was afraid it would cause me to be someone I didn’t want to be. I was afraid that marriage would be the end of my privacy and of me being in control.
What would have happened if you had fallen in love with someone who wanted to get married?
I don’t think it was an accident that I fell in love with someone who didn’t want to get married, who didn’t want any more kids, who doesn’t have any trace of traditional views on what men and women are. That’s what I was attracted to. If he had been someone who wanted to get married, I don’t think there would have been a second date. And the good thing about neither one of us wanting to get married is that now none of us has a feeling that we were tricked into it by the other one.
Have you seen anything from the Eat, Pray, Love movie?
I have seen the entire film, and it’s really good. I’m very happy to say that. I would never say anything negative about it – I think it would be tacky to criticize what they do, but they’ve made it easy for me
