Hi. You forgot to mention that this question is about "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge".
Answer:
1. It represents domestic leadership that Farquhar is dispensing with.
2. He rejects that leadership because he believes that defending the confederation is more important. In this scenario she represents the security of the home and coexistence with someone peaceful, sweet and submissive.
Step-by-step explanation:
Farquhar is a staunch defender of the confederacy and believes that fighting alongside the confederates and suppressing the forces of unity is the most important thing in the world and he will abandon anything to achieve that goal, even his family and his wife .
His wife is a sweet, gentle, kind and submissive woman, who is ready to serve all his wishes, which allows him to be a domestic leader and establishes a place of comfort and security for him. His obsession with the confederation makes him reject all of this, in the name of a lost cause, which he believes to be honorable and correct.