Their marriage was a notoriously stormy affair, fuelled by alcohol and infidelity. Caitlin once famously described their relationship as "raw, red bleeding meat". Despite their fiery marriage, she jealously protected both Dylan and his reputation, and tried to protect him from others and himself. Although Caitlin was known for her belligerent personality, some writers have shown sympathy for a woman who was at the receiving end of Dylan's sometimes foul-mouthed abuse and pouting silences. She became more and more resentful of her role as a stay-at-home mother, compounded by the run-down nature of their home, the Boat House, which had neither electricity nor running water.