But husbands need to realize that anger or discontent is not synonymous with personal attack—their wives’ emotions are often simply underliners, emphasizing the strength of her feelings about the matter. Men also need to be on guard against short-circuiting the discussion by offering a practical solution too early on—it’s typically more important to a wife that she feel her husband hears her complaint and empathizes with her feelings about the matter (though he need not agree with her).
