The Courts of the Lord

by Fay Zwicky

Life is full of high points and low points, so are relationships. Fay Zwicky explores unhappiness and hardships in relationships in The Courts of the Lord, as well a touching on mental health and the impacts it can have on relationships.

‘Growing older they have decided to separate. He thinks that he loves her … She knows that anything would be better that the way they live together,’ are common thought in many unhappy marriages often ending in divorce or separation. Zwicky illustrates how peoples relationships and bond can end, whether death do us part or not. The separation of this couple exhibits how people often make decisions based on their search for happiness, and one common way for many couples to do this is by separating. The unhappiness this couple feels causes them to question their love for each other, ‘He thinks he loves her … Does she love him?’ Zwicky uses this to demonstrate how at some point in a long-term relationship people often reevaluate and look for reasons that cause their unhappiness. 

Zwicky also demonstrates how this can have serious negative affects on your mental health, through the wife and her depression, and how her depression affects her (ex) husband, ‘The spectacle of this self help saddens and irritates him.’ 

Zwicky also explores how the bond you create with people can stay even if you separate, ‘He will buy her a present this afternoon,’ which he does to make her happy. This illustrates how caring for those closest to you is a part of human nature.