As soon as the last wedding guest left, the newly married couple hastened to be alone in their new home. Amidst their excitement, they forgot to shut the door. The bride then asked her husband to close the door. He was surprised and somewhat bothered by the request, and suggested that she do this herself. She was taken aback and promptly refused.
Not having faced this kind of problem before, they finally agreed on a test of wills. They would not speak to each other at all, and the first one to break the silence would have to shut the door. So they sat in silence in their wedding outfits all night long. And the door remained open.
During the night, thieves were delighted to see the open door and entered. The bride and groom
marshaled all their will power and remained silent. The thieves helped themselves to whatever they could carry and left. In the morning, the police looked in and saw the ransacked house. Checking on the trouble, they tried in vain to get one or the other to tell what had happened. But neither one would speak. Frustrated, the police threatened to strike the husband if he did not answer.
The wife broke the silence, begging the police not to harm her new mate. Thereupon the triumphant husband shouted,
" I won! You have to shut the door!" |
This scene, which begins right after the wedding, reveals much about the nature of marital conflict. Unlike courtship, where two young people have the same aims and try to please each other, these recently married spouses become immediate rivals for control of the household. The husband seems to be a fool and the wife a stubborn woman, and we may be tempted to dismiss the scene as the idiocy of a spoiled young couple.
But this story is widely distributed and told in many areas of the world. Therefore, there may be more to the message than so superficial an interpretation.
Several aspects of the new relationship need attention. First, the scene takes place as soon as the wedding party is over. Obviously, even before the physical consummation of the marriage, the psychological transition from
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