The Silent Wife

Jodi is a reserved woman in her mid-forties. A therapist, she is attuned to the emotional complexities that shape behavior. Jodi is also a childhood sexual abuse survivor who copes with the trauma by repressing the experience. In her adult life, Jodi similarly represses her feelings about her partner’s infidelity, deliberately overlooking his affairs and seeking vengeance through petty retribution. Jodi begins the novel complacent and entrenched in her comfortable life. She knows that Todd has affairs. She also knows that he’s been longing for children to carry on his legacy. Despite this, Jodi feels secure in their domestic arrangement.

Jodi’s need for control expresses itself as skillful household management. She keeps a meticulously clean home and maintains strict routines for herself and Todd. She prides herself on her acceptance of Todd’s flaws, including his infidelity and his carelessness about household labor. Jodi has the tendency to perceive the world in a way that allows her to maintain the illusions she holds precious; this is evident throughout her years with Todd, but also in the perspective she develops on her own involvement in Todd’s murder. This is also seen in her ability to suppress memories of childhood sexual abuse in favor of a story about a happy, well-adjusted family that holds up in her mind throughout many months of psychotherapy.