The Perfect Marriage

Sarah Morgan is the protagonist of the book. As a highly successful lawyer, her career success outshines that of her husband, Adam, who describes her as a “powerhouse” and their marriage as “a one-woman show where I just happen to be cast as an extra” (11). It is heavily implied throughout the book that Sarah and Adam’s marriage may have always suffered from skewed power dynamics, with Adam perpetually weak and dependent and Sarah obsessed with control.

Sarah’s independence is inspired largely by her mother, who relied on her husband to provide for her and then descended into addiction after he passed away. Sarah remembers arguments with her mother, telling her, “You were so pathetically reliant on one man that you now have nothing and know how to do nothing. You are weak and pathetic” (273). Sarah’s past has shaped her to become independent and controlling to a ruthless extent. Her needs come above everyone else’s, and it is clear that she has often struggled to develop the more emotional and vulnerable aspects of her character, which in turn affects her interpersonal relationships.

Sarah’s need for dominance and control is most prominently displayed in how she deals with Adam’s infidelity.