The essay Friends, Good friends-and such good friends is one of the best essays by Viorst. The Essay describes the various types of friends that women have. She begins by telling us the friendship of a person to another is very different from the friendship relationship of another friend. Viorst previously believed that all friends are the same but she came to realize things were not so.
She begins by analyzing the friends of convenience. These are people that we meet under specific circumstance and they become our friends. She continues to state that hadn’t this situations not have been present they would not have met. Viorst gives an example of next door neighbors that we borrow cups and silverware ever so frequently that we become friends.
But such friendship has a limit as it does not entail telling of deep secrets, they are specifically meant to help out with favorsFriends with special interest are another group of friendship that one can have. These are friends that we share the same interest with such as a sport. Such friendships are also not intimate.Historical friends on the other hand are friends that have known us for a long while. Viorst describes such a friendship as having a sister without sibling rivalry. You grew up together and she knows practically everything about your childhood.
Viorst continues to state that the intimate friendship between such two women is never broken no matter the distance.Crossroad friends are friends that remain intimate to us due to the past shared such as academic life and first time experiences such as motherhood. Crossroad friends no matter the distance still share a strong connection.Cross generational friends are friends who have a wide age difference but are still able to connect in different arenas such as music and literature.
Most of these friendships are like mother-daughter friendship but it’s more open and revealing to the various aspects on life.Part-of-a-couple friends are friends that we relate to a group, it is not deep. They arise due to connection in marriage and the like but whichever way we appreciate their presence in our lives.Men who are friends involve having relationship that can be as close as that between two women. It involves sharing of intellectual interests i.e. things that he can neither discuss with another man and things that you can never discuss with another woman. Viorst admits that the sexual part of the friendship might be present though very minimal.
