Comparing the Marriages in "Holding Things Together" and "The Painted Door"

704 Words2 Pages

A married couple may not always be the happiest couple even though it may seem that love is expressed in the relationship. Some marriages are meant to be while some are not. What causes a person to be dissatisfied with their marriage? Or how do external factors play a role on the outcome of a relationship? As for the case in "Holding Things Together" and "The Painted Door"; these short stories have a few similarities, but they also have many contrasting factors to take into consideration on why one couple is successful with there relationship while the other is not. The first factor that both shorties have in common is the loving and caring qualities of the husbands toward their wife's. In "The Painted Door", John, whose married to Anne, devotes a lot of his time to working in the farm. His goal is to pay off his mortgage as soon as possible and wants to be able to buy nice clothes for his wife. He's takes his wife into consideration when it comes to her feelings. For example, "[John] tried to brighten [his wife].(Pg.232)" when she was upset about him going to his fathers hou...

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