The Skipper's Wife's Log by James W. Balano The Skipper's Wife's Log by James W. Balano. This diary was originally written in the early 1900s by a young woman from Minnesota. It was later compiled by his son (James Balano) and published. There are many topics covered in this book, the difficulties of a young woman with a man's job in the early 1900s, marital conflicts, dissatisfaction with one's figure, eating habits and the everyday tortures of being a woman . Perhaps the biggest problem in this book was Dorothea's sex life. She was intelligent, witty and had an amazing sense of humor. Her husband was a gentleman and knew nothing other than being a captain, which he was very good at. Dorothea and her husband Fred were so different that it put a strain on their marriage. Sometimes the only thing they seemed to share in common was the bed. Dorothea seemed to love sex, however her husband seemed like a bit of a nymphomaniac from what I understood. She noted several times how he behaved differently with other women, his collection of pornography and how he constantly bragged about his female conquests. It was all very degrading to Dorothea and she recounted much of it in her diary. Fred also felt the need to tell Dorothea that she wasn't up to sexual positions. He claimed that other women he had been with were more flexible and urged Dorothea to become more like them. He treated Dora more like a slave than a wife. I don't think he ever really knew how to deal with women. In one comment, Dorothea talked about how Fred had eaten a ton of scallops and how she was worried about what would happen to her later that night, (scallops were thought of as an aphrodisiac). He said that scallops stimulate the sexual appetite and that Fred certainly didn't need it. The way he talks about Fred in this scene gives me the impression that, in some ways, he almost fears him. That he had forced himself on her and that it wasn't up to her to decide whether to have sex at night or not.