"The Cactus" is a cautionary tale which demonstrates the negative effects which hubris and complacency can have on a relationship. The protagonist, Trysdale, displays these characteristics; a privileged and over-confident young man, he has always taken the regard and admiration of his peers for granted. This complacent assumption also extends to- especially extends to- the young woman whom he has been courting. He never has to work for her good opinion... she has always looked up to him and adored him. When he does not understand her response to his proposal, he is too proud to ask her for an explanation. As they drift apart, he waits for her to come to him to explain. He has never had to exert himself for her, and it doesn't occur to him to do so now, even to win her back. He remains self-deluded by his ego even as she becomes engaged to marry someone else. Subconsciously, he assumes that she still loves him until, at the wedding, he sees the look which she gives her fiance: full of the warmth and admiration which was once reserved for him. It is then that truly sees himself for the first time: "He saw all the garbs of pretense and egoism that he had worn now turn to rags of folly." What "The Cactus" also makes clear is the deleterious effect which a lie- even a small one- can have on a relationship. Trysdale allows his girlfriend to believe something about him that isn't true without attempting to correct her assumption, because it makes him appear in a good light. It is a lie of omission, but still a lie, and it has unexpected and- for Trysdale- disastrous consequences. Just a little too late, he learns the cost of selfishness and egoism coupled with dishonesty. He could still have had the woman he loved, if only he had loved himself a little less.
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