The refrigerator/stove relationship can be seen in a number of ways - first, as an important aspect of technology that has allowed the human race to survive by preserving and physically altering a number of potential foods that would be unavailable without these twin inventions. Second, these technologies can be viewed ecologically, for the amount of energy consumption and environmental pollution they cause. Thirdly, their relationship can be analysed sociologically and economically, to ascertain how different socio-economic classes of the human family cook their food, and whether or not they even have refrigeration, and why. For example, in many parts of the world, meals are cooked on wood fires, which has led to the deforestion of vast regions in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Seen metaphorically, the relationship between a stove and a refrigerator can be viewed as cooperative or competitive, or simply as a contrast. Stoves are hot and refrigerators are cold, but both are equally important in our daily survival as living mammalian creatures, and in that sense they are complementary.
To view the relationship in man-woman terms is too simplistic, since both sexes share both gender characteristics at different times, while stoves and refrigerators only have the use of food in common and are otherwise completely different. For example, a stove can be regarded as energetic, dynamic, and powerful in its ability to use heat to transform raw meat and tough vegetables into food that is soft and palatable. Or it could be seen as dangerous, explosive, smelly, and a potential suicide device. A refrigerator, however, might be thought of as a coldly protective, quiet, and peaceful refuge from the strife of the world. It protects food and keeps it from spoiling. It may also be seen as a morgue, or a danger to those who accidentally get trapped in one.
Finally, in a human relationship the stove personality would
...