After their meeting, almost immediately, Harriet and David moved in together as they felt "they were made for each other." (11).
After their marriage they begin their quest for the perfect life. Which would eventually include "Even four, or five or six"(13) They started this perfect life by purchasing the perfect house outside London, as they did not feel it was "possible to find the kind of house they wanted, for the life they wanted, in London" (13). We, the readers, are told that for the young couple to buy such a house is illogical. They are only able to purchase a large home because of the generosity of David's father. David's father is responsible for the mortgage payments as well as providing them with additional money to support their "perfect" lifestyle. This provides the reader with the first indication that the perfection they seek is out of accord with reality. Lessing also makes this apparent when we are told that they cannot share with anyone their desires to have six children . We see that the perfection they find in one another is more fragile than the reader may have first believed after Harriet and David first make love in their new home: "He laughed. A loud, reckless unscrupulous laugh, quite unlike modest, humorous, judicious David. Now the room was quite dark, it looked vast, like a black cave that had no end his eyes gleamed with thoughts she could not guess at. She felt she did not know him he gripped her upper arm with a hand she had not believed could be so strong, insistent" (16). This relationship, however, between Harriet and David returns to their normal perfection after this incident. Only to be further disrupted in the future by unforeseen events.
Lessing makes it very clear to the reader almost immediately after Harriet and David move into the perfect home of the imperfections that are unavoidable in life. Others consider the sort of perfection that Harriet and David seek unachievable around the young couple.