When I Did Not Find Lou's Relationship

As I continued to read Egan’s novel, I discovered a startling pattern amongst many the book’s male characters– they are unsatisfied with their current partners. The first character to exhibit a blatant sense of fickleness regarding his wives is Lou, who has been married several times and, presumably after his marriage with Mindy ends, begins a relationship with Jocelyn, who is still in high school. Described by Rhea as “one of those people wo never stops moving,” I did not find Lou’s flighty nature regarding his relationship as something out of character (50). However, as I continued to read the novel, I noticed Egan recycling the “unhappy husband” trope repeatedly, and with each new character complaining about how his wife is less interesting or less pretty compared to when they relationship first started, made me dislike the characters more and more. …show more content…
After only being in Naples for a few days, Ted who was given an opportunity to momentarily escape his problems in his daily life has already created a more idyllic “version” of his wife Susan, who is at home caring for their three children while Ted lollygags around Naples, purposefully avoiding the mission he was sent to Naples to complete (209). Ted expresses “each disappointment [he] felt in his wife,” but then reasons that he does feel guilty for his current feeling of disappointment, because he himself purposefully destroyed the passion and desire in their relationship. At the end of the chapter, Ted reveals that he is “long divorced,” and I hope that Susan, who “had never not been happy,” found true happiness with someone who actually appreciates her (233,