The sin axiom of John Patterson

As I said earlier, Elly’s go-to sin is quite obviously envy. We see this when we look at the long, sad and pathetic joke Connie Poirier’s life is only to turn around and watch Elly’s eyes light up when imagining Connie as having a life of freedom and excitement she does not get to enjoy. We see it when she looks at her husband and children and envies their being to come and go as they please while she sees herself as being the anonymous organic adjunct of the family home. We see this when she bitterly complains about how Mira is a pain because her son’s mother in law is better at throwing her weight around than she is. What we don’t see is her quite understanding what it is that makes John act in a manner that inconveniences and confounds her.
While John has a fair amount of envy in his own heart (as is evidenced by his being upset that Santa is more generous to his children and grandchildren than he was to him), it’s fairly clear that a different sin drives him forward. Choosing a random example of his being an active hindrance to a harmless suggestion that affects him not at all, let’s look at why he became a panicky wet blanket when Elly talked about the possibility of having their third child at home. He wanted her to be sensible and not think about things because he’s worried less about her feelings, hopes and dreams and a damned sight more about what random strangers who don’t actually have a vote might say about this. Were Elly to have her child at home like some kind of primitive, his reputation would be damaged and that would be the worst thing ever. What this tells us is that John is driven mostly by the need to maintain face. While the need to preserve credibility exists in Elly’s heart as well, it doesn’t dominate to the extent it does her husband so we find ourselves contending with
Axiom 2d:
John Patterson is mostly concerned with trying to prevent damage to his public image owing to his being a very proud man without not a Hell of a lot to actually be proud of.