In the provided passage from "A Journey" by Edith Wharton, the contrasting descriptions of health and sickness suggest a profound shift in the dynamics of the wife's relationship with her husband. The wife observes her husband's deteriorating health, marked by his weak voice and increasing irritability. The use of metaphors such as "two faces looking at one another through a sheet of glass" vividly illustrates their physical closeness but emotional and communicative distance.
The wife's reactions to her husband's health reveal a complex emotional response. She expresses restlessness and a constant wondering about his needs, reflecting her concern for his well-being. However, there's a palpable sense of frustration and helplessness as she grapples with his weakened condition. She acknowledges her own impenetrable health, and her self-reproachful tenderness is tinged with the realization that their once shared robust measure of life has become disjointed.
The passage portrays the wife's evolving emotional state, from the initial joy of marriage and the anticipation of an "exhaustless future" to the stark reality of their present situation. The wife struggles with the unexpected role reversal as she becomes the protector, and her reactions reflect a mix of love, sorrow, and confusion in the face of her husband's declining health.