Book Club Discussion 1: Question #2

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"One can never tell the story of a marriage," Nora says to Harrison (page 151). "At the very least, a marriage is two intersecting stories, one of which we will never know." What does Nora mean by this observation? Are there relationships depicted in the novel that support her statement?

My answer:

I think Nora means literally just what she says, marriage is the very private business between the couple who are in it, and nobody outside the marriage can really tell what's going on behind the closed door of a married couple. Very often, outsiders can only see what the married couple choose to let them see for different reasons, for pride, for the career, for the children....Outsiders usually don't see a problem until a marriage finally comes to an end. But even then there are his side of the story and her side of the story. Since marriage is between two people, it's only natural that there are going to be two different points of views in about everything. When two different lives, which are seperate stories to begin with, are brought together in a marraige, of course there is the intersection of two stories. I think not only all the relationships in the novels supported Nora's statment, but all the relationships in the real world do support it too. Our former senator, John Edward's marriage, is the latest example.

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