Libbie thinks, "Each step one took in life, from what one ate for breakfast in the morning to who one married, involved regret for the choices not taken." What do you think she meant? Do you agree?

Libbie thinks, "Each step one took in life, from what one ate for breakfast in the morning to who one married, involved regret for the choices not taken." What do you think she meant? Do you agree?

I think her life was so difficult that she really did have serious choices to make everyday that impacted her life in big ways. I’m glad my life doesn’t play out that way! I have a few regrets, yes, but they are life regrets not day to day regrets

She means that every choice you make leads to a path not taken. Your choices shape your life. She married Custer which led to a nomadic military life. If she had married someone with a regular job her life would have changed a lot. I'm ok with the way my life turned out but my choices have shaped my life. Once in awhile I have regrets but I realized if I changed something it would change other choices I don't want changed.

I really think Libbie had no idea what she was getting into when she married Custer. But once in, she had to make it work. And looking back, I'm sure she had a lot of regrets or longing for "what might have been."

I agree with Karenrn, I may have regrets, but changing one bad thing might have changed all the good things, and I wouldn't want that to happen. So I'll say my choices were mostly right and stick with them.

Libby made two pivotal choices in her life, that when examined honestly would have most likely caused her serious thought. First, had she married more traditionally, she might have been able to have children, experience a more stable, faithful, less tenuous relationship without the necessity of mercury treatments. Had she chosen to remain in Monroe instead of accompanying Custer on his campaigns she would have lived a much more comfortable life. Instead she ended up enduring onslaughts of grasshoppers and mosquitoes in the plains and almost freezing and/or starving to death in the west. In spite of all the hardships Libby endured while married and traveling with Custer, I believe at the end of her life, as a widow living in NY, she would have said she had no regrets because in spite of it all, her love for Custer was deeper than her hardships with him.

I do not agree that the regret for choices not taken is immediately apparent. I have many regrets, but almost all of them are a result of introspection and the passage of time.

I agree with everyones opinions. All our lives are full of ifs. "If I had only said that", "if I had only done that", etc. : but it is usually in hindsight that regret or doubt creeps in. On the other hand, hindsight can sometimes bring us relief in the choices we did make.

I think Libbie meant that every choice we make has consequences. One thing leads to another.

I agree with the above answer, these words are true for everyone.

I agree with Rosieglitter. As Robert Frost says, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both." He ends his poem with, "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." Every action taken has a reaction. Some people live with regret, wishing the past was different. They are unable to move forward. This is not healthy. It is better to accept responsibility or acceptance of the past and one's choices, and then move forward.

From the quote and within the context of the book, I think Libbie was questioning the choices she'd made in life and regretting some of them, particularly her choice of husband.

On a personal level, I couldn't disagree more. Even the "bad" decisions I made have led me to the point I'm at in my life, and making a different decision would have created a different person. I'm happy with the way things have turned out for me, and as a result wouldn't change a thing.

This quote is essentially a restatement of the Robert Frost's poem, The Road Not Taken. No matter what choices we make and taken, there is an opposite thing/choice that we didn't do. All choices have an effect; some so transient and minor as to be meaningless, while others are permanent and life altering.

Love your reply, BuffaloGirl. I do have to say, though, that I don't agree with Libbie's sentiment here; I don't regret the things I didn't get to do because of the choices I made. My choices have made me who I am, and I'm comfortable with that. Indeed, when I think about the choices I didn't make, I thank heavens I didn't make those choices; I could have wound up in situations that would have been much worse for me in the long run.