John: what makes him perfect for Elly.

[dreadedcandiru2]

As I mentioned yesterday, I've noticed that the Pattersons tend to choose marriage partners to make up for a perceived defect in one or both parents. The example that I gave was John; as you will recall, it seems to me that he married Elly because she tends to yield to him on most issues; he's willing to put up with a lot of aggravation in order to have a much more submissive woman than his mother in his life. Not for him the existence of Will "Mind your mother, imbecile" Patterson; he gets to be king of his split-level castle without having to do much aside from buy the occasional bookstore or two. This leads me to why Elly thinks of him as the best friend she ever had despite his being a patronizing turd who stands around bleating about how he shouldn't take his obvious contempt for her to heart. What makes him a wretched husband is exactly what she's looking for because about the only thing he really has in common with Jim is a certain measure of conservatism. Not only can he be counted on to share her discomfort with children and not only can he afford all the nice things that she likes, he doesn't expect nearly so much of her as Jim does. Jim, you see, was able to look beyond his very understandable need to have a traditional home life after the Second World War and keep in mind that the white knight on a steed that Elly pinned her hopes on might not arrive as quickly as she might like. You and I see a man who wanted her to cover her ass; she sees a man who lacked faith in her ability to land a husband. John is thus ideal because he doesn't expect much from her and doesn't get it.  Instead of a grouch who can adapt to circumstances, Elly clearly wants a reliable and incorrigible buffoon to rail against so she can pretend that she can change him; a man who was amenable to her pleadings wouldn't be man enough for her. Her idea of a man dislikes her lecturing because he doesn't want to have the little wifey in his face; Jim hates her lecturing because she doesn't know what she's talking about.