Duplicitous Lives in Marriages (“Requiem for a Glass Heart”)
‘The glass wife’ and ‘the stone thrower’ act as if they love each other; however, they are aware that their lifestyle is a falsity that could crumble at any moment like a glass would. Their lifestyle is dissembling due to the pervasiveness of the image of the glass all over the house and their body organs. The glass is predisposed to disintegration; thus, it is handled judiciously.
Self-Deprivation (“The Mark of Twain”)
The narrator accommodates a polyandrous set-up that is injurious to her equanimity and a gratifying marriage. She is cognizant that the two brothers are devoted to each other more than either of them dotes her. Her marriage is neither stable nor congruous as she is obliged to put up with the dynamic comportments of the twin brothers.
Polyandrous Entanglement (“The Mark of Twain”)
The Narrator, Cassie, Caleb, and Jacob are tangled in a convoluted, unreliable relationship that is not emotionally worthwhile for the narrator. The polyandrous relationship enchants the egos of Caleb and Jacob at the peril of the narrator.
