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Don’t you mess wid mah business, man. You git in yo’ clothes. Ah’m a real wife, not no dress and breath. Ah might not look lak one, but if you burn me, you won’t git a thing but wife ashes.

Early in the story, Missie May and Joe often banter back and forth to reveal their playful and loving dynamic. When Joe orders Missie May to get dressed for the ice cream parlor, however, it reveals a resentment in Missie May that is not immediately obvious until her betrayal later in the story. Missie May uses colloquial language of “dress and breath” to tell Joe she is not merely a dress full of air, but a well-rounded human being. This statement shows she does not feel seen by Joe. Coupled with calling herself a real wife, the quote reveals that Missie May’s statement is ironic because she subconsciously worries she isn’t a real wife at all. Missie May’s insecurity about not being seen as a real wife and her discontent at not being seen as an individual by Joe is one factor in her betrayal of her marriage vows when she goes to bed with Slemmons.

Halfway between her house and the quarters she met her husband’s mother, and after a short talk she turned and went back home. Never would she admit defeat to that woman who prayed for it nightly. If she had not the substance of marriage she had the outside show.

After the climax of the story when Missie May finally discovers that Slemmons’s gold coin was merely gilded, her pride takes over and she decides to leave Joe. However, she is immediately thwarted by her mother-in-law, whose unspecified comments get Missie May to change her mind. The quote indicates a previously unknown tension between Missie May and Joe’s mother and reveals another aspect of Missie May’s insecurity in her status as Joe’s wife. Missie May’s reaction to suffer through a loveless and broken marriage rather than give her mother-in-law the satisfaction of seeing her fail reveals Missie May is both stubborn and prideful.

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