Bernard–Conrad relationship

The Bernard–Conrad relationship emerges as a family rivalry whose most telling feature is what remains unspoken: Conrad avoids the visits Ester hopes might bring them together, while Bernard treats her interest in his brother as a challenge to her commitment. The brothers’ conflict reaches Ester indirectly, through a question left unanswered on the drive to Ida’s home and a later admission that revenge may have played a part in Bernard’s relationship with her.

Family Visits and Conrad’s Absence

Bernard visits his mother, Ida, once a month. When Ester and Bernard were newly married, Ester sometimes accompanied him, though the visits were stressful for her. Conrad still lived at home, and Ester hoped to see him there; instead, he made himself scarce each time. The pattern turns the family visit into an encounter structured around an absence: Conrad is near enough to be expected, but never appears.

On one drive to Ida’s, Ester asked Bernard whether he expected Conrad to be there. Bernard did not answer at first. The journey continued in silence, and Ester began to wonder whether she had asked aloud at all. Nearing the house, Bernard finally challenged her interest: “Why do you care whether he’s there or not? You’re with me now. Or have you changed your mind again?” His words make the brothers’ relationship a live issue within his marriage: the possibility of seeing Conrad is treated not as ordinary family curiosity but as evidence that Ester might reconsider her choice.

Rivalry and the Marriage to Ester

Ester denied that she had changed her mind, but privately acknowledged that she sometimes wondered whether marrying Bernard had been a mistake. She saw no sign of Conrad during the visit, did not ask Bernard about him again, and Bernard never mentioned his brother. Their silence does not settle the tension; it shows how quickly Ester’s question closes down discussion while leaving her uncertainty intact.

The rivalry is later described in the language of revenge. Ester tells Bernard, “She said you were only with me to get revenge on Conrad for taking her.” Bernard answers, “Well, maybe that was partly true too, at first.” His response gives the accusation some weight without confirming the full story. It suggests that his relationship with Ester may initially have been shaped, at least in part, by competition with Conrad, rather than arising independently of their history.

An Unresolved Past

The identity of the woman in the accusation remains uncertain in this exchange. After Bernard’s admission, Ester lies quietly for a long time before asking who the woman was. Bernard is asleep or pretending to be; when Ester raises the question again the next morning, he becomes annoyed and refuses to talk. The conversation thus exposes a motive but withholds the explanation that might clarify it.

Conrad’s absence from Ida’s home and Bernard’s refusal to elaborate leave the brothers’ rivalry suspended between past and present. The visits establish that Ester still hopes to encounter Conrad, while Bernard’s words reveal that the marriage may carry the residue of an earlier contest. Neither brother’s account is developed here through a direct confrontation: their connection is instead registered in avoidance, suspicion, and a question that Bernard will not answer.