What does it mean to «give oneself an out»?
I didn't understand what Gail's mother meant when she said that to her.
«I was on the fire escape! I saw ya!»
It's exactly like it says. Meryl's character (Gail) was thinking of divorce. She was thinking of a reason to get out of the marriage. Thinking her husband doesn't love her or care anymore. Her mom listed a few reasons she could've have given herself "an out" (her husband was ornery, deaf, etc...). But, she stuck with it. And you saw how happy the old geezers were in the movie.
This film is teaches us a little about true marriage and the commitment it takes to have a long successful marriage. You don't need to find reasons to get divorced. In fact, there are not many good reasons. You just stick with it and all your hard work won't go to waste, it produces good fruits in life.
What's inside the hard calcium shell of an oyster? You have to go through the hard stuff to see the true richness within. Marriage is like that sometimes.