Marriage Quotes in The Corrections

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

His lumbering forces of conventional domestic warfare were no match for this biological weaponry. He cruelly attacked her person; she heroically attacked his disease. (3.692)

Like father like son. Here we see Gary bringing his father's "guerrilla warfare" metaphor into the 21st century.

Quote #8

It wasn't a wonderful life, but a woman could subsist on self-deceptions like these and on her memories (which also now curiously seemed like self-deceptions) of the early years when he'd been made for her and had looked into her eyes. (4.6)

Enid has been in a loveless marriage for as long as she can remember. Was it always this way? Did Alfred love her more before? In the end, there's no way to know for sure.

Quote #9

Her mother had married a man who didn't earn and died young. Avoiding such a husband was priority with Enid. She intended to be comfortable in life as well as happy. (4.273)

Enid wants to have her cake and eat it, too. Even though this is a fundamentally childish viewpoint, we see Enid carry it with her to the present day.