In one of the early scenes of Fireproof we witness the first of two marital fights which sets up the primary conflict of the movie. Much has been made about the husband’s viewing of pornography, but the movie goes to great pains to make it clear that the real problem is that Caleb isn’t submitting to his wife’s leadership.
He isn’t following her leadership on how they spend their money. He also is failing to do the housework as well as the chores she has set out for him. Here is the dialog from the first scene in the movie where the two are together (modified from this source). Watch it here for full context and to see the amount of contempt Katherine has for her disobedient husband:
Caleb: You have breakfast already?
Katherine: Yes.
Caleb: What’d you eat?
Katherine: I had the last bagel and a yogurt.
Caleb: Are you planning on making a grocery trip soon?
Katherine: Caleb, you work 24 hours and then you’re off for 48. You’ve got more time to go than l do.
Caleb: I asked a simple question. You don’t need to get smart with me. At least save me some breakfast.
Katherine: I never know when you’re coming or going. You don’t tell me.
Caleb: Catherine, what is your problem? Did l offend you by walking in the door?
Katherine: You can’t expect me to work every day and get the groceries… …while you look at trash on the lnternet dreaming about your boat.
Caleb: You chose to take this job. No one said you had to work full-time.
Katherine: We need the income. Especially since you tuck away a third of your salary… …saving for a boat we don’t need. You’ve got $24,000 in savings when things in our house need fixing.
Caleb: Like what?
Katherine: The back door needs to be painted, the yard needs landscaping. And l wanna put more shelves in the closet.
Caleb: Those are called preferences. Those are not needs. There’s a difference. lf you wanna spend your money on that stuff, fine. l’ve been saving for my boat for years. You’re not taking that from me.
Katherine: This is so pointless. l don’t have time for this.
Caleb: Yeah, shut the door on your way out.
As you already know, fortunately the wayward husband is finally brought to heel through the wisdom of modern Christianity and the wife graciously accepts him back.
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