Summary

In “Pain Is a Concept by Which We Measure Our God,” a husband and his pregnant wife discuss with a doctor the upcoming procedure the husband has agreed to undergo. The husband will be given a surgical implant that causes him to experience the pain of labor while she gives birth so that she does not have to feel it herself. They read through a brochure about the procedure called “Natal Pain Migration” (108). The husband is anxious about the fact that there may be psychological complications for the him if his wife experiences emotional pain during the delivery. He gets increasingly distraught thinking about the implications of the procedure and finally asks why he should be expected to do this. His wife responds, “Because we're married...Because that's what love is” (112).

In “What...