Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Husband / Wife

The husband and wife are both preventing each other from getting the thing they want: the husband wants his wife to stop worrying about their marriage and arguing with him, and he wants to do the deed; the wife wants to know that everything—the marriage, the sex—will be alright in the end.

The husband doesn't seem to really get what's bothering the wife. He just keeps reassuring her, saying that it'll be all right after they consummate the marriage, and that women sometimes get "yippy" before the wedding night reaches its climax (so to speak).

While the wife is nervous about the sex, she's also worried that it won't be a solution to anything: they'll be the same argumentative people once they've finished getting physical for the first time. Since the husband doesn't understand this, the wife keeps provoking him—but she gets no real reassurances about their love life, since he doesn't get the emotional core of what's going on. On the other hand, by continuing to argue and fight, she's preventing him from getting the relaxation and contentment that he wants.