Bessian shows her a church that Diana describes as “beautiful”. (Pg 67) However, initial cracks, or at least hints of cracks in the two-week old marriage begin to show. After Diana describes the church as beautiful, Bessian does not respond. Similarly, slightly earlier on in the chapter, when Bessian figures out what is in the sacks of two mountaineers, “corn”, Diana does not respond. These incidents may seem to be irrelevant or speculative of the future of their relationship, but they are certainly possible hints of the reasons behind the collapse, or destined collapse, of their relationship later on in the novel.
Soon, Bessian’s pompousness and over-dramatic nature comes to light; he talks of entering the “shadow-land”, a place “where the laws of death prevail over the laws of life.” (Pg 69) Now although this is true to a slight extent, Bessian is exaggerating to his wife the enigmas surrounding the Northern high plateau. And although this may be regarded as a sincere effort on Bessian’s part to excite his wife, it is more of a hint of his pompousness, one of the factors that contributes to Diana’s gradual ‘dislike’ of Bessian. Diana, on the other hand, begins to mention her disgust of the Kanun, saying “How terrible!”. Bessian seemingly contests this, saying that it is “tragically beautiful”, once again showing his admiration of the Northern Higher Plateau. Diana’s estrangement, however, begins to come to light as well; when they are close to their destination, “Diana started to smile.” (Pg 69) This means that before, she wasn’t smiling; although this may seem normal, it is expected of her, considering the fact that she is on her honeymoon.
Diana’s estrangement, though, begins just after that. The author points out that Diana “felt as if something were collapsing inside her.” (Pg 71) She later clarifies that it is because of the atmosphere of death coupled with the lives of the local men, that she felt the ways she did. Nevertheless, this is definitely a hint of her future estrangement from Bessian. Subsequently, a hint of conflict is mentioned when she seems offended by Bessian’s failure to respond directly to her question about whether the code, i.e. the Kanun, is “good or bad” (Pg 73). She exclaims “You needn’t be sarcastic!” Instead of answering the question, Bessian condescendingly tells her about the Kanun, asking his wife if she remembers what he had told her earlier about the code, and stating that “the Kanun is beyond good and evil.” (Pg 73) Bessian then apologizes, but continues his lecture about the Kanun, on their honeymoon. He says “the Kanun is universal”, and believes that it has not “forgotten a single aspect of economics or ethics.” His appreciation of the Kanun is apparent, even more than before.
Bessian’s condescending nature comes to light again when he refers to Diana as a “child”, because she laughed at his joke about the Kanun. The Kanun thus affects Bessian, because his obsession with the Kanun causes him to reveal his ‘dark side’ to Diana, and thus contributes to her estrangement later on. His lecture continues, and soon enough, Diana once again hints at a conflict, but more so at Bessian’s pompous nature. She says to him “Don’t make fun of me.” Just before this, she explains her pre-occupation of late to Bessian, who ends up making fun of her, rather than being concerned about her. This is another factor that contributes to the seeming doomed destiny of the relationship between Diana and Bessian.
Later on, though, to the reader’s slight surprise, Bessian is sensitive enough to notice cracks in the relationship. He notices that “it was the first time…they had slept apart.” He also notices the “coldness”, or rather the “certain detachment”, “a kind of estrangement from him”. (Pg 91)
Diana’s interest and admiration of Bessian’s “gift” (Pg 111) is mentioned, and the reader can assume that she is genuine. She refers to the “pale mountaineer”, and Bessian thinks that the word possibly meant “beautiful”. Although he dismisses the idea immediately, he probably suspects the subsequently almost inevitable romance between Gjorg and Diana. Bessian questions Diana, referring to Gjorg, saying “He really impressed you, didn’t he?” Diana nods her head, and this is the first point in the story where Diana directly hints at her infatuation with Gjorg. Unfortunately for her, the romance ends up being, like the Kanun, ‘tragically beautiful’, and nothing else.
Diana then describes the “emptiness” in her chest, that somehow has a certain “sweetness” about it, (Pg 116) after mentioning the name “Gjorg”. The omniscient author then mentions the fact that “never had a man’s stare troubled Diana so much”, and the “beauty of the young mountaineer.” (Pg 117) She is once again, without directly stating it, hinting strongly at her infatuation with Gjorg, which is now quite clear. The reasons for her ‘attraction’ are possibly his proximity to death or his involvement in a blood feud.
Afterwards, in a later chapter, Diana “did not relinquish from her strange attitude”, when Bessian kissed her and expected some emotion or even movement from Diana, neither of which he got. It is at this point where Diana is quite estranged from Bessian, and he has begun to suspect that she is infatuated with Gjorg, given the fact that she was ‘impressed’ by him, and mentioned him a number of times. Later, Diana goes into the tower of refuge. Bessian is completely shocked, and questions his wife after rescuing her from it. He realizes, however, that Gjorg is most likely the reason she went inside the tower, and suddenly “he felt a weariness he had never known”. (Pg 201) It is at this point that the relationship seems doomed, and as “they were leaving the High Plateau” (Pg 202), the reader can speculate the fate of the relationship. The most likely ending will be a permanent separation, or a divorce, between the two. However, they may choose to put this behind themselves, go on another honeymoon, and move on. There is no clear evidence of the possible outcome; however, based on Diana and Bessian’s interactions with each other throughout the novel, the more likely outcome is tragic, rather than ‘forgive and forget’.
Thus, the Kanun, the High Plateau, Gjorg and Bessian’s arrogance contributed to the damage caused to the newly-wed couple’s relationship. Bessian’s adulation of the Kanun remains static throughout the novel; it could be argued and speculated, however, that he may take, or may have taken a dislike to the Kanun towards the end of the novel, because of what it did to his wife, albeit indirectly. Diana’s attitude, as the reader witnesses, turns from one of excited admiration to fearful disgust, and it is partially because of this that she becomes estranged from Bessian.