On our return from Oxford, no further reference was made to the morning’s episode. In the family tradition, it was brushed under the carpet with many other dusty remnants of psychological and emotional detritus, regarded as being too insignificant to merit any consideration in that rarified atmosphere where emotional issues were never discussed because of the threat they might pose to the intellect. It was therefore a surprise, just before the onset of Finals, to receive a letter from Philippa, addressed to me in a minuscule hand. She regretted the differences that there may have been between us but looked forward to a better relationship in the future, assuring me that she respected my desire “to try to love Stephen”. Although I responded wholeheartedly to this olive branch, I was as perplexed by that comment as my mother had been some months earlier when the rumour had reached her ears that the Hawkings were thinking of moving to Cambridge to set up a home there for Stephen. Did they not expect the marriage to last, she asked indignantly. I was confused by these undercurrents and wondered why Stephen’s family, of all people, seemed so intent on undermining our relationship and our happiness, especially when he was dependent on me for so much of his everyday existence.
— Travelling to Infinity (Jane Hawking), Loc. 1343–52