Relationship Development And "Fever Pitch"

Relationship development and deterioration is demonstrated effectively in "Fever Pitch". The unique thing about relationships is that each of these stages overlap and development can transition to deterioration and back into development. When it comes to matters of the heart, nothing is concrete. Lindsey and Ben's relationship demonstrates this philosophy.

Ben meets Lindsey in a chance meeting through their work. Ben has arranged for Lindsey to demonstrate real world use of mathematics to a select group of his honor students. Later that day, Ben returns to Lindsey's work and starts the stage of initiating. They size each other up and Lindsey chooses not to go on a date with Ben. Later, after Lindsey's girlfriends talk her into going on a date with Ben, the experimenting stage starts to bloom. Over a lunch conversation, they start to learn of each others pet peeves. This stage transitions into the intensifying stage through Ben's self-disclosure of his Red-Sox love. This stage continues as Ben starts taking Lindsey to games. They spend more and more time together and Lindsey tries to learn more of the Red-Sox history. The integrating stage occurs simultaneously, in which both plan their lives around the games. Their friends start recognizing them as a couple. When Lindsey finds that she has missed her period, the relationship should have transitioned into the bonding stage; however, it starts the most notable stages of deterioration. At this point, without realizing Lindsey has already completed the differentiating stage by allowing Ben to go to the games while she focuses on her promotion. Each one paying more attention to their own agenda instead of a common one. This leads into the circumscribing stage in which their communication is breaking down. Both of them are spending to much time apart and not realizing how important the other one is. This is until Lindsey states that she missed her period. By this