59 pages • 1 hour read
Jeneva RoseThe Perfect Marriage
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Sarah Morgan
Sarah Morgan is the protagonist of the book. As a highly successful lawyer, her career success outshines that of her husband, Adam, who describes her as a “powerhouse” and their marriage as “a one-woman show where I just happen to be cast as an extra” (11). It is heavily implied throughout the book that Sarah and Adam’s marriage may have always suffered from skewed power dynamics, with Adam perpetually weak and dependent and Sarah obsessed with control.
Sarah’s independence is inspired largely by her mother, who relied on her husband to provide for her and then descended into addiction after he passed away. Sarah remembers arguments with her mother, telling her, “You were so pathetically reliant on one man that you now have nothing and know how to do nothing. You are weak and pathetic” (273). Sarah’s past has shaped her to become independent and controlling to a ruthless extent. Her needs come above everyone else’s, and it is clear that she has often struggled to develop the more emotional and vulnerable aspects of her character, which in turn affects her interpersonal relationships.
Sarah’s need for dominance and control is most prominently displayed in how she deals with Adam’s infidelity. She refuses to divorce Adam after she finds out about the affair, because he would have a claim to half of all she has worked for. Instead, she seeks revenge by killing Kelly/Jenna and framing Adam for the murder. In Sarah’s mind, this is fair. She notes, “I’ll make sure Adam gets the justice he deserves” (127, emphasis added) and, later, “Adam may not have murdered Kelly Summers, but he is paying for his crimes” (315, emphasis added). Although she is a lawyer, Sarah holds few ideals about justice and instead regards the legal system as a means of pursuing her own personal vendetta.
While Sarah deceives those around her by pretending to be the wronged but loyal wife, by the book’s end she has revealed herself as the murderer. It is also revealed that Sarah killed her own mother, suggesting that Sarah’s conception of “justice” is even more skewed than it first appeared. Her final taunting of Adam on his execution day and marriage to her co-conspirator, Bob, immediately after Adam’s death emphasizes that Sarah remains ruthless, cunning, and unapologetic to the very end.
Adam Morgan
Adam is the counterpoint to Sarah’s strong and successful character. Weak and overindulged by a mother who still calls him “cubbie-bear,” he is an incompetent and unsuccessful man who struggles to come out from his wife’s shadow (162).
In contrast to Sarah’s calculating and controlling nature, Adam is impulsive and driven by his emotions. He does not think through the consequences of his actions and is perpetually indecisive: He even alternates between thinking he will leave Sarah for Kelly/Jenna and considering breaking off the affair entirely, all within the span of 24 hours. After his arrest, he breaks his house arrest, hires an investigative reporter to look into his case, and writes a tell-all book about the situation. While Sarah’s selfishness is displayed in her ruthless behavior toward others, Adam’s selfishness is shown in more subtle and indirect ways. For example, when Sarah makes it clear that their marriage is over, he wonders, “Is our marriage over? [...] I know I had an affair, but just because I slept with someone else doesn’t mean that I stopped loving my wife” (161). Adam cannot accept responsibility for any of his actions, including his infidelity, regardless of the effects his behavior has on those around him.
Adam’s immature and self-absorbed tendencies are indulged by Eleanor, who makes excuses for her son and blames Sarah’s lack of attention for the affair. When Eleanor learns Adam is accused of murder, she says, “My boy would never!” (94). When she learns about his book deal, Eleanor says, “Oh, honey. That’s amazing. I’m proud of you” (196). Adam’s life has therefore been shaped by two dominant, overweening women: first his mother, who spoils him, and then Sarah, who destroys him. While Adam seems to sense this at times, he never succeeds in freeing himself from the influence of either woman.
Adam remains in denial about his situation and ignorant of Sarah’s scheming until his execution day, when she gloats about her revenge. Like Sarah, Adam does not change significantly over the course of the novel—he remains at the end much as he was at the novel’s opening. However, he does gain a flash of insight right before his death, acknowledging the extent of Sarah’s control over his life and his own inability to truly understand her.
Kelly Summers/Jenna Way
Kelly Summers/Jenna Way appears to be the counterpoint to Sarah’s character. Whereas Sarah is a high-powered career woman, Kelly/Jenna is a waitress. Kelly/Jenna’s character is defined by conformity to a more traditional feminine role, at least outwardly. She is introduced bringing Adam baked goods from her work, and appears subservient and vulnerable toward men. Kelly/Jenna even takes on the role of mother, which Sarah has long pushed off, when she becomes pregnant with Adam’s child, thereby fulfilling his wishes for a family. Kelly/Jenna’s presentation of more passive, traditional femininity is also emphasized in her repeated assertions that she is under the control of a more dominant male partner. She accuses her first husband of abuse, and then does the same with her second husband. Her claims of abuse disarm Adam, making him feel powerful and protective toward her in a way he never could feel with Sarah.
However, Kelly/Jenna and Sarah end up having more in common than it first appears. It is revealed that Kelly/Jenna likely killed her first husband, Greg Miller, and only evaded conviction due to a technicality. It is also implied that Kelly/Jenna may be lying about being a victim of domestic violence. Like Sarah, Kelly/Jenna is deceitful and full of lies. While having an affair with Adam and professing her love for him, she also sleeps with Sheriff Stevens and does not tell Adam about it.
Therefore, while Kelly/Jenna and Sarah seem to be polar opposites, they share unsavory traits that enable them to mirror one another in significant ways: They are both deceitful and, possibly, murderers. While Sarah uses her strength and cunning to get her way, Kelly/Jenna manipulates others through her performance of more traditional femininity.
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By Jeneva Rose
