Analyzing The Story 'Marriage' By Melanie Sumner

In the story “Marriage” by Melanie Sumner we learn that the married couple goes to counseling over a disagreement due to a dirty milk glass. Every evening the man has a glass of milk, and instead of washing it or even rinsing it out, he puts it by the sink. The wife becomes outraged because she is sick and tired of cleaning out the “disgusting milk scum.” Rather than mediating the situation, the counselor blurts out, “‘He will never, never stop drinking that glass of milk before he goes to bed, and he will never rinse it out.’” Since the ending was left out, it is our job as a class to determine the correct ending out of six alternatives. I ordered this essay in which the endings seem least realistic, to most realistic. I chose the ending that

seemed most plausible, to me, in which the husband argues his own point of view.
Connecting back to the husband, in ending [F] the husband concludes, “‘It brings me so much pleasure to see you enraged by the dirty glass.’" Although this seems realistic, I don’t believe it is the correct ending.

My father leaves his dirty dishes by the sink, and although it doesn’t annoy my mother, he doesn’t do it to make her mad. Even if he did leave them there intentionally, my mother would never become enraged.

Similarly, in ending [E] the wife becomes so “furious” she yells, “'I want a divorce!’" This can’t be the true ending either, because if the husband knew the wife was this upset, and still had a “pleasant look” on his face, they wouldn’t be at marriage counseling. It even says in the story that he was, “…a balding, middle-aged man who sat with his hands in his lap, a pleasant expression on his face.”

Speaking of facial expressions, in ending [B] the woman “looked surprised.” After thinking about the divorce, she recognizes the counselor’s “wisdom.” I think this ending is not the correct one because the counselor did not share any wisdom. He simply stated, “'There is something you need to understand…’” and followed with how the husband will “never” ever clean out his dirty milk glasses. There is no guidance or insight in that

declaration.
In ending [A] there is a little bit of insight.

The counselor proceeds to tell the wife, “‘For as long as he has been married, he has done this simple task every night and has been happy ever since. He doesn't know what will happen if he ever stops, and he doesn't want to take the chance.’” Although it sounds cliche, it doesn’t sound completely unrealistic. However, I don’t believe this is the right ending because there is no reaction from the wife who typically has something to say about everything. We established from the beginning that the wife was the dominant character so this ending doesn’t seem correct from her end.

Unlike ending [A], in ending [C] the wife accepts “defeat and disappointment.” The counselor explains that the husband will continue leaving the dirty milk glasses on the sink because he has “free will.” Having free will means that one has the discretion to do what one wants, which is exactly what the husband does. However, I don’t believe this is the right answer because if the husband knew that his wife was going crazy, he would stop annoying

her.
Finally, in ending [D], the man still seems pleasant, “‘I do things for you that I don't want to do all of the time. If you truly loved me, this one simple habit would not be so irksome.’” I believe this is the correct answer because the husband has a valid point. In relationships people have their peeves however, if they truly love the other, they can get past it. The husband keeps quiet about what he doesn’t like about the wife, and he has a smile on his face. Maybe the wife should just accept his flaws and love him for the way he is- as he does for her.