Marriage and Adultery
Compare and Contrast the Marital Relationships in “Great Falls and “To Room Nineteen”

Marriage is a “formal union of a two individuals, typically recognized in law, by which man and woman become husband and wife. The intention is that those who enter into wedlock will commit themselves to one another to “have and to hold”, from the day of their marriage onward, until death shall “do them part”. It is sometimes the case however, that two individuals grow apart before parted by death. A couple cannot stand the trials and tribulations, the wicked outweighs the worthy, and partners discover intolerable behaviours, secrets, and sometimes, infidelity. The promise of, “Until death do us part” is never broken, and the marriage is ended as cause of “irreconcilable differences”. The following composition will compare and contrast the spousal relationships in “Great Falls” by Richard Ford and “To Room Nineteen” by Doris Lessing. “To Room Nineteen” is a third person limited omniscient retelling of Susan’s marriage to her husband Matthew. Susan’s perspective gives the reader insight and a deeper understanding of her emotions, reactions and thought processes as the story unfolds. In contrast, fourteen year old Jackie, the only child of the couple in “Great Falls” gives a first person narration of how the marriage of his parents fell apart. Jackie’s perspective allows the reader to be a witness to the events while Susan’s perspective allows the reader to be a part of the events. The common feature amid the two stories is infidelity. Both relationships are altered when one half of each marriage commits adultery. The contrast however is that in “To Room Nineteen” the unfaithful partner is Susan’s husband Matthew who confesses to sleeping with another woman following a party (Lessing 70). The unfaithful partner in “Great Falls”