Marriages suffer all the time like the Pontelliers, sadly theirs doesn't look like it'll get any better. Their relationship is anything but that, it's more like an ownership. “He thought it very discouraging that his wife evinced so little interest in things that concerned him, and valued so little his conversation” (Chopin 48), this shows how Mr. Pontieller only cares for himself because he doesn't view his wife as the same as himself. “...looking at his wife as one who looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage” (Chopin 3), this also shows how Mr. Pontellier views his wife as the equivalent of a chair or some piece of old used property. This is also foreshadowing to how Mrs. Pontellier feels towards Robert and how her husband's neglect brings her closer to Robert. Now Mrs. Pontellier has to choose between love and what the norm is for her time period.