This is a story, I suppose, about a failure in intelligence: the Rawlings' marriage was grounded in intelligence.

"So here was this couple, testing their marriage, looking after it, treating it like a small boat full of helpless people in a very stormy sea. Well, of course, so it was... The storms of the world were bad, but not too close--which is not to say they were selfishly felt: Susan and Matthew were both well- informed and responsible people. And the inner storms and quicksands were understood and charted. So everything was all right. Everything was in order. Yes, things were under control."

--excerpt from Doris Lessing's "To Room Nineteen"