I think Alma was too shocked to react. She saw something new about her husband, and I don’t think that she would have even, in those few moments, thought about what it meant for him, for her, for her family-I think she was just so astounded and overwhelmed that she didn’t have room for thought (or too many thoughts which didn’t allow her to think of one).
When Ennis came home the next day, and she was sitting at the table, I sensed a calmness about her. She didn’t jump up when he arrived; I think she may well have raised what had happened (depending on how he reacted to her). Of course, he arrived in a flurry, storming impatiently in and leaving like a tornado. When she went to the window to see Jack, she looked like she could kill him in her rage.
Over the years her bitterness grew however I saw her character develop a strength that wasn’t present at the start-she would look at the postcard and still leave it out for him, and she stood up to him when she was in bed. And of course, she was the one who filed for divorce.
I don’t think she planned to bring it up with him at Thanksgiving, but I definitely think it was on the cards.
She had reached security with Monroe, who had clearly wanted to be with her from the beginning. She felt stable and loved, and was in a position of strength, knowing that she was a good wife and mother, that she wasn’t to blame.
I think the words she used are the most telling - she told Ennis not to try and fool her no more, she knew what it meant. She had felt stupid, had felt that Ennis thought she was a fool and wanted him to know that she wasn’t, that she knew. Interestingly enough though, she didn’t mention that she had seen them-only that she had known from the note on the case. I wonder why.
