Adultery in Books #2

 

Last March I posted about how I’m fascinated by the topic of adultery in literature, after reading Madam Bovary and Anna Karenina. As I said in that post, I’ll be circling back to this theme from time to time as it’s a topic that is rather common. The question that mainly came to mind was, “What is the difference between how men and women write about adultery? 

Since last spring, I’ve read quite a few books that either feature an adulterous relationship or briefly mention one. Here, I’ve selected four books that raise interesting questions. 

Stoner by, John Williams - Stoner’s marriage is a massive flop and he develops a relationship with a woman at the university in which they both work. Stoner’s life is incredibly melancholy and this brief relationship is one of his only moments of happiness. As a reader, I was incredibly sympathetic towards Stoner and this created an interesting internal tension between his infidelity and his need for someone who truly understands him. 

Someone at a Distance by, Dorothy Whipple - I adore Whipple’s writing and her novels I’ve read thus far. Someone at a Distance is from a wife’s perspective and how destructive adultery is to the family. Her husband is unfaithful to her with a young women and Whipple expertly writes how this family falls apart at the seams. As much as I really disliked what the husband did to this family, through his actions, Whipple made it so that I still wanted this family to work it out. Whipple’s novel also reminds one that no one is immune to situations like this - no matter how happy the family was initially. 

The Odyssey by, Homer- This is an interesting one, because Odysseus is being help captive, against his will, by Calypso. Odysseus longs to get back home to his wife and son, but Calypso’s desire for him technically results in unfaithfulness against his wife. It’s evident that Odysseus does not like being with Calypso and doesn’t have much choice in the matter; Homer gives us images go Odysseus crying and looking out at the sea. Can he really be blamed in this situation when he’s own free will is pretty much non-existent? 

The Weather in the Streets by, Rosamond Lehmann - I just reviewed this a book a few posts ago. Olivia Spencer and Rollo, who is married, begin an adulterous relationship and Lehmann excellently evokes a subtle sense of paranoia throughout the novel. Lehmann doesn’t make excuses for people’s behavior; she’s writing realistically about things that happen and the complexities of relationships and the consequences of the decisions that people make. Like with Stoner, I felt an internal tension because Olivia and Rollo work as a couple, but infidelity is infidelity, plain and simple. 

All of this being said, it continues to fascinate me how complex and interesting adultery in narratives can be. I have noticed that when women write about it, there is a heavier focus on the detriment it does to the family unit and how these women do their best to fight for their marriages. Lehmann’s character Olivia really portrays the emotional turmoil these types of relationship have, even on the mistress. In short, with women, one could argue a more significant focus on the domestic. One does not have to agree with a character’s action to sympathize. In Stoner, we see a man who is so utterly unhappy, in a way we can over look that he’s being unfaithful to his wife and we are more compelled to give him a “pass.” Actually in a lot of the novels focusing on the male, written by the male, the male is incredibly unhappy in his marine. Lehmann actually portrays this with Rollo very well. 

Have you noticed any interesting features in these types of narratives and a difference between how men and women write about them, beyond how narratives like Anna Karenina and Madam Bovary show the hypocrisy between how men and women are treated, who do the same thing. Do you ever feel a bit awkward for rooting for a character or a relationship that is morally wrong? 

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