Happy Wife

“These people are not your friends, and what they think of you is none of your business. At best, they’re a pack of drunken fakes, and that’s the nicest thing I could say about them. Some of the people out there are truly vile human beings. Sociopaths. And that’s just the stay-at-home moms from the country club. Don’t even get me started on the career politicians.”

In this passage, Nora’s friend Marcus takes a hard stance against the Winter Park elite, introducing the theme of The Power of Cliques. This passage spotlights how Nora is an outsider in a community dominated by displays of wealth and a hostile, inauthentic atmosphere. The novel ultimately proves Marcus correct by making Gianna and Fritz Hall into the villains.

“Instead, his phone starts buzzing in his pocket. He looks at the caller ID and then to me. ‘Sorry,’ he mouths. And the moment—the one I had been hoping not to break—shatters. I nod, letting out a heavy sigh.”

From the beginning of the novel, Nora is disappointed by her husband Will’s behavior, especially his tendency to put work above their relationship. This disappointment is designed to mislead the reader into thinking that Nora is responsible for Will’s disappearance. In this moment, Nora reflects on how she hadn’t wanted “to break” their intimate moment, but Will has no such qualms—a difference that reflects the power dynamic in their marriage and how Nora seeks to accommodate Will in a way that is not reciprocated.

“Sometimes I get the feeling the second he sold his company she forgot about the long hours that he undoubtedly had to pour into his job to get to the acquisition stage. And good for her, by the way. Who among us wouldn’t take selective amnesia in exchange for endless amounts of cash? It’s not time that heals the wounds. It’s money.”

Although Nora’s best friend Este is also the wife of a wealthy man, their experiences in the novel are dramatically different. Unlike Will, Este’s husband Beau no longer works, having sold his tech company for millions. This passage suggests that Este has deliberately forgotten the long hours that Beau worked before his retirement, and that Nora would be willing to do the same if Will retired.