Connie, her nineteen-year-old husband, who had married a plump, passionate hoyden, was still frightened and bewildered at the change in her; for there were no more cat fights in bed, biting and scratching with muffled giggles and final tears. There was a balanced, careful, wise creature who smiled shyly but very firmly at him. Connie was proud and fearful of Rose of Sharon. Whenever he could, he put a hand on her or stood close, so that his body touched her at hip and shoulder, and he felt that this kept a relation that might be departing.
– John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 10. Connie Rivers’ reaction to his pregnant wife Rose of Sharon is a mixture of bewilderment, fear and regret that he is missing out on sex. At nineteen, he is very young and it is understandible that he may feel a bit intimidated that by his wife being transformed from a high-spirited, saucy girl to a wise and mysterious woman. In this passage we learn of his worry that her growing connection to their baby will weaken their relationship. He often touches her in order to preserve his relationship with her.