how does the old man feel about the sea?

Santiago has lived and worked with the sea for his entire life. In many ways he feels married to it. The Old Man personifies the sea as a woman with unlimited beauty and wrath. She (the sea) has many moods that can change without a moments notice. Santiago must be patient with the sea because, like a woman, she will not reveal her treasures to a man who does not respect her. At times Santiago loves his mistress (the sea) and at times he loathes her. He is always enraptured by her, Santiago could never leave her embrace.