In Wharton's short story “The Other Two” the argument is the various expectations that are placed on marriages and what the society expects of the individuals. The different situations and expectations that are described in the story are explored though a comedic manner.
To begin with, the writer discusses several expectations placed on the character’s marriage. Alice, the women in the short story is closely looked at due to her past relationships. As Alice had experienced two divorces in the past, there are expectations of how she should behave and how she should be treated. Due to Mrs. Waythorn being in her third marriage relationship, there are expectations of her to obey and follow her husband’s requests. For example, when the couple were having a meal together, Mr. Waythorn had noticed that Alice was troubled, therefore he requested her to forget about the
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Due to the expectations placed on wives in relationships, Alice “had obeyed his injunction and forgotten” (Wharton 4). Additionally, Alice had experienced conflicts surrounding her relationship with Mr. Waythorn because of her past marriages with other men. As men in relationships often desire their significant others to not be in contact with the opposite sex, this was a conflict for Alice. Mr. Waythorn was concerned with Alice speaking to her previous husband, Mr. Hackett who is also the father of Alice’s daughter, Lily. As Mr. Waythorn had questioned Alice if she met Mr. Hackett, the day he came over to see his ill daughter, she had told Mr. Waythorn that she did not meet her daughter’s father with a hesitation. However, when Mr. Waythorn chatted with Mr. Hackett, he found that Alice had met her previous husband, which resulted in Mr.