Each story concerns, in some way, the breakdown of a marriage or a family. In most cases, the couple stays together, resigned to the choices they make despite feeling trapped. Jack, the narrator of “Feathers,” feels that his wife is changed by the end of the story, but he does not see any option other than to stay with her and remain silent. Sandy’s marriage (“Preservation”) falls apart when her husband loses her job, and as she watches him give in to hopelessness and fear, she no longer finds him attractive. In “Bridle,” both Betty and Marge are trapped in different types of miserable marriages. Betty feels bound to her husband and his kids, no matter how far he drives the family into destruction. And Marge is stuck in a limbo of indifference where her husband does not seem to notice or respect her.

In some stories, the marriage breaks up, but the two people continue to return to each other. Wes and Edna (“Chef’s House”) had a very rocky relationship, and Wes’s alcoholism ended their marriage. Yet Edna returns to him and tries again, choosing Wes over a healthier relationship. Similarly, Lloyd’s alcoholism (“Careful”) destroys his marriage to Inez, but Inez still feels obligated to help him with his ear blockage and gives her number to the landlady in case Lloyd has an emergency.