Drawing the line between Private and Intimate

As former high school students and current college students, the idea of a relationship is becoming more apparent and relatable. We go through experiences that teach lessons and open our eyes to things we may not have previously noticed. Privacy and intimacy go hand-in-hand with each other in regards to a relationship. Sometimes people find themselves assuming that with intimacy comes less privacy. In the Circle, there are two significant scenes where Mae is stuck in between intimacy and crossing the line of privacy.

 

The first scene occurred during one of the weekly "Dream Friday" gatherings held at the Circle and usually by Eamon Bailey. That Friday, Gus Khazeni was going to do a new presentation on a piece of technology he called LuvLuv. LuvLuv was a device that allowed to people to essentially set up the perfect date. Gus provided the opportunity for a volunteer to go on stage and demonstrate how the device was used. In order for it to work, the volunteer was to have a special someone they were interested in. Mae and Francis have had a somewhat friendly, somewhat intimate relationship. They were both beginning to share mutual feelings with each other. Francis was the volunteer that afternoon. Francis publicly announced to Gus that Mae Holland, was someone he'd like to date. After Mae's name was given, Gus continued to demonstrate how the device operated. Although Francis thought the act was funny and cute, Mae was upset.  "Mae had first hidden behind her hands, then sunk to the lowest-possible place in her seat.." (Eggers 125). She did not feel it was necessary for Francis to display that type of information. Mae and Francis were beginning to develop an intimate relationship with one another. However, it was not clear to Francis that even though that was the case, privacy was to still be respected. Intimacy does still require privacy. Mae felt the relationship she and Francis had was not to be publicly announced in front a widely respected group of people and if he wanted that information, he could have just asked her (Eggers 124).

The second scene occurred when Mae received a phone call from her mom telling her to come home. Mae's father struggled with multiple sclerosis. He was coming to a point in time where it was starting to greatly affect him. When Mae arrived home, she found Mercer, her ex-boyfriend, there. Her parents had called him over to help with the transition of her dad to the hospital. Mae asked him why he was there (Eggers 127); she was not pleased to see him. Mercer and Mae were involved in an intimate relationship with one another, however, Mae's reaction demonstrated she still deserved some privacy and the situation with her father did not involve him. Just because there was an account of intimacy, does not mean privacy is not to still be given. Mercer was the last person she expected to be there, especially after what she just went through at the Circle. Mae's sharp comments like "Can I hear the answer from my own parents?" (Eggers 128) gave a sense of inappreciativeness.

Intimacy and privacy are two elements of relationships that many have a difficult time drawing the line in between. In the Circle, Mae's experiences demonstrated the lack of privacy that came with intimacy.