Also I imagine there's got to be different levels of separation between Philip and Clark. I almost want to use the terms Doylist and Watsonian here.
It's from the Doylist perspective that Clark is doing horrible things to Martha. That's what Philip would see when he looked at the situation as Philip, who is controlling what Clark does.
But the Watsonian perspective--Clark's perspective--is different. From his pov he's a government agent who's secretly married this woman and just loves her and wants to be with her and is worried they'll get caught. When Martha says she's thinking of applying for a job in a non-espionage department, Philip is alarmed because it will make her useless. So he directs Clark to make sure she stays where she is.
That then gets translated into a different motivation for Clark--doesn't Martha want to be in a more important department? I mean, Clark takes his job so seriously and part of his attraction to Martha, although he wouldn't want her to know this, is that she's doing Important Work. So he genuinely does feel like she's selling herself short if she's just making more money in a department that doesn't excite him as much.
But this is more difficult if Clark's having an affair, because now it's reversed. Philip doesn't really want Clark to be bothered by it at all, but Clark knows he had an affair and has to deal with it as cheating on Martha in ways Philip wasn't cheating.
Iow, currently Clark isn't doing anything bad to Martha, Philip is. But if Clark cheated on her Clark would be hurting her.
Re: Philip as "Clark"
It's from the Doylist perspective that Clark is doing horrible things to Martha. That's what Philip would see when he looked at the situation as Philip, who is controlling what Clark does.
But the Watsonian perspective--Clark's perspective--is different. From his pov he's a government agent who's secretly married this woman and just loves her and wants to be with her and is worried they'll get caught. When Martha says she's thinking of applying for a job in a non-espionage department, Philip is alarmed because it will make her useless. So he directs Clark to make sure she stays where she is.
That then gets translated into a different motivation for Clark--doesn't Martha want to be in a more important department? I mean, Clark takes his job so seriously and part of his attraction to Martha, although he wouldn't want her to know this, is that she's doing Important Work. So he genuinely does feel like she's selling herself short if she's just making more money in a department that doesn't excite him as much.
But this is more difficult if Clark's having an affair, because now it's reversed. Philip doesn't really want Clark to be bothered by it at all, but Clark knows he had an affair and has to deal with it as cheating on Martha in ways Philip wasn't cheating.
Iow, currently Clark isn't doing anything bad to Martha, Philip is. But if Clark cheated on her Clark would be hurting her.