The Fullness of Life and loving your wife

“You were married,” said the Spirit, “yet you did not find the fullness of life in your marriage?”

“Oh, dear, no,” she replied, with an indulgent scorn, “my marriage was a very incomplete affair.”

“And yet you were fond of your husband?”

“You have hit upon the exact word; I was fond of him, yes, just as I was fond of my grandmother, and the house that I was born in, and my old nurse. Oh, I was fond of him, and we were counted a very happy couple. But I have sometimes thought that a woman’s nature is like a great house full of rooms: there is the hall, through which everyone passes in going in and out; the drawing room, where one receives formal visits; the sitting-room, where the members of the family come and go as they list; but beyond that, far beyond, are other rooms, the handles of whose doors perhaps are never turned; no one knows the way to them, no one knows whither they lead; and in the innermost room, the holy of holies, the soul sits alone and waits for a footstep that never comes.”

“And your husband,” asked the Spirit, after a pause, “never got beyond the family sitting-room?”

“Never,” she returned, impatiently; “and the worst of it was that he was quite content to remain there. He thought it perfectly beautiful, and sometimes, when he was admiring its commonplace furniture, insignificant as the chairs and tables of a hotel parlor, I felt like crying out to him: ‘Fool, will you never guess that close at hand are rooms full of treasures and wonders, such as the eye of man hath not seen, rooms that no step has crossed, but that might be yours to live in, could you but find the handle of the door?’”

The excerpt above, from The Fullness of Life by Edith Wharton, is both beautiful and amazingly sad. I heard it for a second time while listening to the Audio Literature Odyssey podcast of the short story. I have never read any of Wharton’s works but this story not only entertains but makes me examine my own life. Do I love my wife ‘well’? OK, lets ask it in a better way, Can I love my wife “better”? I don’t even have to ask her that question, the answer is obvious. I am sure there are rooms I have not explored even after almost 30 years of marriage. As a matter of fact, just like this story, how much ‘exploring’ have I done lately? We all grow, adding rooms, alcoves, and other areas to our lives.

My job is to love my wife. To grow with her. To explore life together. And scripture commands it, check out

• Ephesians 5:25 - Give yourself up for your wife.
• Ephesians 5:28-33 - Love your wife as you love yourself.
• I Peter 3:7 - Honor your wife.
• Colossians 3:19 - Never be harsh with your wife.
• 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 - Your body belongs to your wife and hers to you.
• Hebrews 13:4 - Remain true to your wife and keep your marriage pure in every way.
• Proverbs 5:18-19 - Rejoice in your wife. Be intoxicated with her.
• Proverbs 31:28-29 - Praise your wife.
• Proverbs 18:22 - Be thankful for your wife and realize the favor you have received from God.
• Song of Solomon 4:7 - Tell your wife how captivated you are with her.
• Song of Solomon 7:1-8 - Let your wife know how much you enjoy her.

Give the story a listen and let me know what you think.

• Genre: Short Story
  
• Duration: 00:32:31 (about 30 minutes)
  
• File Size: 22.5 MB
  
• Download: The Fulness of Life by Edith Wharton - MP3

Recording Copyright 2006 Nikolle Doolin