Response to "No One's a Mystery"

The banter between a couple in Tallent's "No One's a Mystery" almost seems commonplace because of how naturally the dialogue flows. However, this banter is strategic enough for me to deeply understand the characters' personality and their relationship and their conflicts, without really paying attention to the descriptions of their appearances and actions. From their speech patterns and their topics of choice, from their speech interactions or lack thereof (when she ignores his comment on Rosanne Cash), I can clearly see the imbalance of power in their relationship. The affectionate condescension in Jack's voice, the way he almost demands her to sit down and his gloomy but surefire view of the future put Jack on a different level of maturity and reliability from the girl. The conflict did become more concrete to me because of the narration and description. However, the mood of the conversation, while seemingly playful and lighthearted, already indicated the inherent conflict - the power imbalance between the couple: Jack mature and experienced and pessimistic, the girl naive and optimistic and hopeful.