There are many aspects in a relationship that affect how it functions. There are both positive and negative parts that will determine its value. In the stories "Two Blue Birds" and "Tickets Please" there are many problems that arise. In comparing the husband's secretary's relationship to that of Johns and the women we start to see similarities in these problems. Elements such as brutality deception and sexuality are seen throughout the two stories and lead to the downfall of the different relationships.
In relationships individuals usually know what is right but sometimes have a problem following through with it. The story "Tickets Please" is a perfect example of this. Many of the women that John had made advances at were well aware of his intentions. Most if not all the women knew they were not getting into a long lasting relationship. They knew not to expect anything more than a physical relationship with him.
Ernest Hemingway in Milan, 1918
Five Stories (short story collection)
"Jealousy and Flirtation" depicts a woman jealous ...However they were later angry at the way they were treated by him. By doing this they set themselves up for disappointment. The same problem can be found in "Two Blue Birds". The husband had a relationship with the secretary quite the opposite of that found in tickets please yet the outcome is the same. His secretary has also set herself up for disappointment. She works so hard for him and does this willingly knowing she will receive little in return. The men in both stories seem to be the beneficiaries of the relations.
While intimacy plays a large role in relationships today it is not always the most important factor. In the story "Two Blue Birds" there is very little intimacy in contrast to that of "Tickets Please". It seems that in the story "Tickets Please" the relations were worse because of the sexual relations. These sexual relations led to the harsher outcome of the story compared to that of "Two Blue Birds". It seems that when sexual relations occur that someone is more easily hurt. John situation is a perfect example of this. Once he used the women they were hurt and therefore wanted revenge. In contrast to the story "Two Blue Birds" there was somewhat of a healthy relationship between the husband and the secretary. The problems caused by the sexual relations in the story played a major role in the downfall of the relationships.
Revenge tends to be a motivating force throughout both of the short stories. The women in "Tickets Please" were undoubtedly motivated by revenge. Since they felt used they wanted to make John pay for his actions. They wanted him to feel the hurt that experienced. By doing so they took on a somewhat immature way of doing things. The secretary however did not seem to care that she was being used because she still kept company with the husband. She however may have acted out of jealousy that she had towards his wife. She wanted to be part of his life and if being his secretary was the only way that's what she would do. This theme of revenge and jealousy that plays throughout the story leads up to the unstable relationships seen.
Brutality was unfortunately a problem in the relationships of "Tickets Please". The women in this story had an extreme anger that built up over time causing them to think irrationally and act in a hash manner. They let their problems get the best of them. By doing so it might have made them feel better. The attack the women made on John was the only way they saw things in their rage and didn't provide them with a positive outcome. It however was an immature way of handling things. The wife of the husband in "Two Blue Birds" took a different approach. She instead moved away from her husband and her problems. This difference was a better way of dealing with things. It ended up not totally destroying her relationship. However she was very jealous of the secretary's relationship with her husband. The wife's way of dealing with her problems was much more effective than that of the other women in tickets please.
The relationships in these two stories "Ticket Please" and "Two Blue Birds" tend to suffer from many different types of problems. Looking into them we then see the many similarities between them. The author seems to be showing us his perspective on how things work in relationships. Including all the positives and negatives that come with it. There tends to be a problem with commitment throughout the stories and looks as if that's how the other sees relationships. By analyzing his stories we see the same problems and differences still happing today.
Short story collection
The Miracle of the Jealous Husband