The scene that is the most sympathetic is when Alma reveals to Ennis in the kitchen that she knew what was going on between him and Jack. Before that point, Alma had been reserved and quiet about the whole situation. I felt that she should have revealed her frustration and anger to Ennis the next day after she witnessed them embrace and kiss outside their home.
I don't think that any married woman can withstand her husband embrace and kiss another man or woman in the manner that Ennis and Jack greeted each other. Although her reaction of their scandalous behavior was belated, she was right to confront Ennis. I think that she needed time to heal and gain the courage to reveal what she knew about them.
The reason why I think she needed time to develop courage is because she had never referred to Jack Twist as "Jack Nasty" in the past. Whenever Ennis spoke of Jack, Alma would refer to him as his friend. Despite the fact that she knew what was going on between the two of them, she never referred to Jack or Ennis in a derogatory manner.
Alma knew that Ennis would get angry when she slandered Jack's name. Furthermore, she wanted to let Ennis know that he was never fooling her. I think it angered Alma to know that he perceived her as ignorant and stupid.
What I took from that scene was that Ennis lost his cool and threatened to harm Alma while her husband and their daughters were present. Ennis yelled at Alma and stormed out of the house without giving any explanation to his daughters. This type of behavior would make any parent look bad in the eyes of his or her children.
I think that Alma planned it this way so Ennis can blow up and their daughters, along with her husband, can see that Ennis is temperamental. It serves him right since he committed adultery for such a long time with another man, notwithstanding, she was expected to have his children and work. I'm glad that she unleashed her anger because this may have been her way of gaining some piece of mind after all those years of neglect.
