rm woman, yet he stays with a cold woman. Ruth (Jerrys wife) keeps both his anger and contempt alive, but he still stays with her. He looks in turn to his mistress Sally to give him strength and encouragement. However, by sally giving Jerry the support he will truly craves, she allows him to become frustrated and angry at her for threatening to demolish the hatred, which binds him to Ruth forever. By acting in this confusing manner Jerry is pushing Sally away. His dependency on both women is typical of the male characters throughout john Updikes literature.Jerry remains helpless before his need to wound. He is so passive and indecisive that he tries to put Ruth and Sally at odds. Through doing this he removes himself from any responsibility. They also compete to see which womans love will ultimately win the game and receive Jerry as their prize. And all the while this is occurring Jerry is reveling in the fact that both women are mothering him while this fight goes on for him. Jerry wants to be able to think well of himself and let the women become the root of the ongoing problem. Sex is also a very prevalent part in the novel Marry Me. John Updike uses sex in his literature to free men to do other things, but in turn deeply bind women to the men they make love to. Especially, in the case of Jerry and Sally, the man wants to please the woman, however he can not do so due to the problem that what she is yearning for is marriage and a stable life with the love of her life. As Sally watches Jerry leave the bed and prepare for the day, only to dash out to play the role of another man in his public life; she feels lonely and left behind, almost forgotten.Jerry in return to his uncertain future was overwhelmed with a sense of death anxiety. This reflects his fear of being punished for the damage and betrayal he is inflicting on both his wife and his mistress. Jerry staggers throughout his life unable to come to terms with what each of the wom...
