Nancy Brace

By contrast to her husband's powerful personality, Nancy's personality does not develop very clearly in this story. However, she admits she can imagine his war experiences because he is able to describe them so vividly. This statement cannot be taken too seriously, though, because Nancy's understanding shows nothing close to an understanding of the horrors of warfare: several times, she comments on how “marvelous” it must have been.

Tom Brace treats his wife's support in a fond but belittling manner. When she makes a point of mentioning the Silver Star that he won, he acts as if her interest in the medal misses the more serious aspects of the story, attributing her lack of understanding to the fact that she is a woman. During much of the conversation, Nancy is gone to retrieve drinks for both couples, having heard Tom's stories over and over already, but she...