“Rope” by Katherine Anne Porter tells the story of a quarrel between a husband and wife; their fight begins with something minor but is soon blown far out of proportion. The central conflict is quite relatable, as it reflects the nuance and complexity of relationships that linger beneath the surface of the simplest arguments

The story starts on the third day after a husband and wife move to the country for the summer. The husband returns from the village with groceries and one extra purchase: a “twenty-four-yard coil of rope.” He is hot and dusty from the walk, but he must go back, as he has forgotten to purchase coffee and, in doing so, upset his wife.

After she scolds her husband for forgetting the coffee, the wife notices the rope. She wonders aloud what on earth they will use it for, as they already have a clothesline. The husband thinks that it could come in handy for something; the wife agrees but snidely adds that it is a strange purchase during a “time when every penny counted.”

At this point, the husband begins to get upset. He feels that he should be able to buy things simply because he wants them and not for any other reason. Again, the wife agrees, though she still cannot think of any reason at all to buy a rope.

Then, the wife notices that the eggs are broken and angrily asks her husband if he set the rope on top of them. He vehemently denies it, but she is not placated by his words; now, she will have to cook those eggs for supper when she meant to have steak. There is simply no way to keep them. Worse, she cannot cook the steak, either, because warmed-over meat is horrible.

The husband tries to soothe his wife by rubbing her shoulder. However, she does not playfully purr as she sometimes does; instead, she hisses and very nearly claws him, adding that if he tells her “they could manage somehow she would certainly slap his face.”

They now argue about where to store the rope. The wife does not want it in her kitchen because there is already a hammer and nails on the top shelf, which her husband was supposed to use to fix their window sashes. Of course, he has not gotten around to that—she doubts he ever will. She might as well throw them down the well for all the use they are.

The husband’s anger mounts, and he complains that his wife always takes her anger out on him. In response, she reminds him that forgot the coffee, after all, and bought that useless rope. In a burst of anger, she tells him that she just wants him to go away. He agrees, adding that perhaps he should just stay away.

This makes the wife angrier yet, and she brings up the previous summer when he stayed in town, leaving her to do all the work in the country. He argues that he was making money to send to her, but she refutes his claim with hints that perhaps he was doing something else, too—something with another woman.

The husband complains that his wife had actually said “those two weeks alone in the country were the happiest she had known for four years.” She answers that she merely meant she was happy because she was getting things ready for him. Now, all she wants is her coffee.

Disgruntled, he agrees to go back. Before he can set out, however, his wife complains that she needs his help airing the mattress...