In "The Devil and Tom Walker," what is the relationship between Tom and his wife?

“The Devil and Tom Walker” is an 1824 short story written by Washington Irving and appearing in his Tales of a Traveller collection.

Tom and his wife have a combative and secretive relationship, driven mainly by their miserly personalities. Misers care only about attaining wealth and will often live unhealthy lives as they avoid spending money at all cost. We see this later in the narrative when Tom’s horses nearly starve to death even though Tom has more than enough money to feed them.

Tom and his wife live in a dilapidated house because they refuse to spend money on repairs. The couple constantly hide money from each other and constantly conspires to raid and steal the hidden money from their partner. These actions led to fights which turn physical and passersby can hear these altercations.

When Tom is offered the deal with the devil, he tells his wife he is having second thoughts, which shows he has some degree on conscience to weigh the positives and negatives. On the other hand, his wife’s greed is the clear driving force in her decision making as she immediately pressures him to accept the deal. Interestingly, this causes Tom to balk further because he does not want to share the money with his wife if he moves forward with the deal.

In "The Devil and Tom Walker," what is the relationship between Tom and his wife?

Tom Walker and his wife behave very spitefully toward one another, and both are extremely greedy. Their arguments have turned physical, and the narrator makes no mention of love or caring between the two of them.

Tom's wife urges him to take the deal with the devil so that they will get Kidd's treasure.  She has no qualms about Tom spending eternity in Hell as a result. When Tom initially refuses, it is not because of the prospect of the devil owning his soul, but because he does not want to do as his wife wants--or share the fortune with her.

After Tom's wife disappears while trying to negotiate her own deal with the devil, Tom finds evidence of her murder:

"He looked and beheld a bundle tied in a check apron and hanging in the branches of the tree; with a great vulture perched hard by, as if keeping watch upon it. He leaped with joy, for he recognized his wife's apron, and supposed it to contain the household valuables. "Let us get hold of the property," said he, consolingly to himself, "and we will endeavor to do without the woman."

Tom is thrilled when he thinks he is going to get the valuables back--things his wife had tried to bribe the devil with--and thinks that it won't be very difficult to get along without her. He is unmoved by the sight of what is apparently her heart and liver wrapped in the apron.

In "The Devil and Tom Walker," what is the relationship between Tom and his wife?

Tom and his delightful wife don't have a very good relationship; in fact, it is downright contentious and hateful.  In the second paragraph of the story, we learn that they are such money-grubbers that they are always trying to steal each other's money, and that they "conspired to cheat each other," and "many and fierce were the conflicts" that they had.  They fought constantly, pretty much hated each other, and the atmosphere in their house was describes as "wordy warfare" and a "den of discord."

Their contention plays a major role in the story after Tom is propositioned by the Devil.  His wife wants him to accept the terms--so, she basically tells him to sell his soul to satan.  But, simply because she wants him to, he refuses.  He wants to--yes, he's greedy and wants the money--but because his wife wants the money too, he refuses, just to keep her from sharing the wealth.  They fight even more about this, and she goes off to try to get the deal for herself.  When Tom discovers her dead, he "leaped for joy."  Not the most kind reaction to discovering your spouse has died.  It just goes to show how much they really cared for each other, huh?  I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

In "The Devil and Tom Walker," what is the relationship between Tom and his wife?

After hearing Tom's report of the deal he had been offered by the devil, whereby he could basically "sell his soul" in return for great wealth (the gold buried by Kidd the pirate), Tom's wife goes into the forest to make her own deal since Tom refuses to do so.  She is never heard from again.

Various reports in town offer differing theories for what happened to her: some say she lost her way and sank in the slough; some say she ran away with the household valuables; and others say she was misled by "a great black man, with an ax on his shoulder" into a quagmire, where her hat was later found.  Some said they had seen such a man late at night leaving the sawmp, "carrying a bundle tied in a check apron, with an air of surly triumph."

This last report seems to be confirmed by what Tom finds upon entering the forest to look for his lost wife - or rather, his lost property.  After much searching and calling of her name, his attention is drawn to some noisy crows in a cypress tree.  When he looks up, he sees "a bundle tied in a check apron," and he immediately recognizes his wife's apron.  However, when he takes it down and unties it, he does not find his household valuables; instead, he finds "nothing but a heart and liver tied up in it!"

The reader is left to assume that his wife has been killed - that her deal-making with the devil did not work out.  Unfortunately, Tom does not take heed of this warning.  Instead of feeling sorrow at his wife's demise, he feels liberated, and therefore goes on to make his own deal with the devil, happy that this time any wealth he gains will not have to be shared with his wife.  His ill-gotten wealth, however, only leads to a life of regret and a miserable end.

In "The Devil and Tom Walker," what is the relationship between Tom and his wife?

The story that Tom relates to his wife is about how he took a shortcut through the woods, and there encountered the Devil, who offered to give Tom a fortune in exchange for "certain conditions", which are not mentioned, but which apparently require some thought and consideration on Tom's part. Tom intends to think about this and then return to the Devil with his answer.

The narrative has some elements of a just-so story; things are exactly what they appear to be and explanations are shallow and matter-of-fact. Tom and his wife appear to be horrible people, and they are - there is no complexity to it. Thus, we may  not be surprised that Tom displays none of the emotion that we might imagine accompanies meeting the Devil, and neither does his wife when she hears Tom's story. Instead, she fixates on how to secure the treasure, and bullies Tom to accept the terms set forth, whatever they are.

Tom's wife eventually becomes fed up with Tom's hesitation, and determines to gain the treasure for herself. However, her bullying nature is not taken well by the Devil, who apparently kills her for attempting to pick a fight with him.

In "The Devil and Tom Walker," what is the relationship between Tom and his wife?

Tom and his wife fight constantly; sometimes verbally, sometimes physically. They never seem to be able to agree on very much, and are at a point where they do contrary things simply to spite each other. Tom, upon meeting Old Scratch and bargaining for and old pirate treasure, becomes inclined to pass up the opportunity for no other reason than to anger his wife, who wants the bargain sealed and the treasure secured. 

Getting frustrated, Tom's wife attempts to make the bargain herself. The first time she goes into the swamp, Scratch sends her back. The second time, she leaves with an apron full of expensive silverware, as an offering.

The text makes clear that the fate of Tom's wife is uncertain, besides that she was never seen again after departing the home this second time.

However, there are several rumors, such as that she ran away to another county, or that she got lost and sank in the swamp. The rumor which the story gives the greatest credence, and the greatest detail, is that Tom goes looking for her (and the silverware), discovers evidence of a fight, and then fights a heart and liver tied up in his wife's apron, suggesting that Scratch killed and dismembered her. 

In "The Devil and Tom Walker," what is the relationship between Tom and his wife?

I am sorry--even though this appears as one question in your book, it is clearly more than one and so I have had to edit it accordingly. It is clear that Tom and his wife are very suitable partners for each other. Note how they are introduced in the text as being similar in a number of key ways:

He had a wife as misery as himself: They were so miserly that they even conspired to cheat each other. Whatever the woman could lay hands on, she hid away; a hen could not cackle but she was on the alert to secure the new-laid egg. Her husband was continually prying about to detect her secret hoards, and many and fierce were the conflicts that took place about what ought to have been common property.

The defining characteristic of both of them seems to be their miserliness and their avaricious nature. Note the element of irony in this description - so misery are they that they even argue and fight with each other over their possessions, that ought to have been held in common.

How did Tom and his wife "cheat" each other in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

As was mentioned in the previous post, Tom and his wife share a very contentious relationship. They are continually trying to "cheat" each other by hiding valuables from one another.  Tom and his wife are both greedy individuals who purposely hoard items without their partner knowing. Irving describes Tom's wife by writing,

"Whatever the woman could lay hands on she hid away: a hen could not cackle but she was on the alert to secure the new-laid egg" (1).

Tom also goes out of his way to pry so that he can detect her secret hiding places. The two characters are also continually arguing over what should be considered "common property." These verbal arguments often turn physical, and there is a significant strain on their relationship because of their greedy personalities. Throughout the story, Tom and his wife's relationship is described as being miserable. Following Tom's first interaction with Old Scratch, he is hesitant to tell his wife about the offer. However, his wife takes it upon herself to drive a bargain with the devil and travels alone into the swamp. 

How are Tom and his wife similar in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

Tom Walker and his wife are both miserable, greedy individuals, who enjoy arguing and upsetting each other. Tom's wife is described as being a termagant woman, who continually hides valuables from her husband. Similarly, Tom is a rather antagonistic person and is constantly trying to discover his wife's secret stash. The most prominent character trait that the two characters share throughout the story is their avarice. Tom Walker willingly exchanges his soul for wealth after meeting Old Scratch in the swamp. Upon hearing the news of Tom's meeting with the devil, his wife encourages him to sell his soul and even visits Old Scratch on her own in hopes of making a deal. Community members also go out their way to avoid both characters and they are known throughout town for their miserable personalities. They also enjoy provoking each other and Tom purposefully refuses to immediately sell his soul to spite his wife. Overall, Tom and his wife are both greedy, malicious individuals, who live miserable lives and are willing to sell their souls for money.

How are Tom and his wife similar in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

They are two of the most miserable human beings ever known. They live to make one another's lives miserable. The only reason that Tom does not take the devil up on his proposal is to spite his wife, not because he has any conscience or worry for the state of his soul.

His wife is equally uncaring of her husband. She had planned to go out for herself, and gets herself killed. Tom does not mourn his wife's grisly death, but it would be a fair assumption to say that she would not have spent any time mourning his death, either.

How did Tom and his wife cheat each other?

Tom Walker and his wife cheat each other because they are both so miserly, as individuals, that they are constantly trying to keep things from one another and hide them away for themselves. To be fair, it is clear that they live in poverty and do not have enough to eat. But their situation does not make them softer and more generous with one another; instead, they become all the more greedy and selfish. The narrator describes the way Tom's wife, who does not have a name in the story, will run out to the hens whenever she hears one cackle so that she can collect its egg for herself. Tom, on the other hand, is always trying to find where his wife keeps her secret hoard of eggs and the like so that he can claim them for himself.

These attempts to cheat one another lead to some "fierce" conflicts between husband and wife, and, from Tom's face, it even seems that Mrs. Walker becomes physically abusive when she is angry; she is not only "loud of tongue" but also "strong of arm." No one ever attempts to interfere in these altercations, however, and it's probably because her temper is so infamously terrible. Whenever a bachelor happens to pass by their pitiful home as they are having an argument, he rejoices in the fact that he is single and has been able to avoid such a life as Tom's.