I thought Sara's presentation of the family systems theory in class was absolutely fascinating and, for me, it definitely sheds a new light on "Parker's Back." Chelsea discussed in her blog the struggle for power that exists between Sarah Ruth and Parker and how "it's the main reason they stay together." I think it's interesting that neither one of them seem to be happy with their situations, but they don't even seem to consider any other options such as divorce, separation, or counseling. Sara said in class that, according to this theory, families will favor consistency. Even Sarah Ruth and Parker's initial encounter was entirely centered around power. As Chelsea pointed out, immediately after meeting Parker, Sarah Ruth slaps him in the face in order to "assert her power." They seem to have established roles in this first encounter, and apparently don't deviate from those roles even after they are married. They are favoring consistency, even though it is clearly detrimental to their marriage.
I think it was Chelsea (the other one) who suggested in class that perhaps the "real" problems arise when Parker steps out of his role by permanently placing the image of God on his back. Sarah Ruth clearly does not give him the response he was hoping for, and Chelsea said that perhaps this is because she was indignant because she feels that he is attempting to take over her role as the religious one, when his role is clearly that of the heathen. Also, along these same lines, perhaps Sarah Ruth reacted the way she did was not only because her husband was not fulfilling his role as "heathen," but also because he broke the consistency of the power struggle. He went out of his way and got the tattoo in order to try and please his wife. I saw this act as an attempt to equalize the marriage, but, in fact, it did just the opposite. The power struggle was their "thing" and when he tries to connect with her on equal grounds, she doesn't know how to respond.