Adultery in literature  

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divine jealousy, sex in literature, illegitimacy in fiction, thematic literary criticism

The theme of adultery features in a wide range of literature through the ages. This is hardly surprising, as the fact of adultery has been a part of the human existence for as long as there has been marriage. As a theme it automatically brings its own conflict, between the people concerned and between sexual desires and a sense of loyalty; it brings intense emotions into the foreground, and has consequences for all concerned.

As marriage and family are often regarded as basis of society a story of adultery often shows the conflict between social pressure and individual struggle for happiness.

In the Bible, incidents of adultery are present almost from the start. The story of Abraham contains several incidents and serve as warnings or stories of sin and forgiveness. Abraham attempts to continue his blood line through his wife's maidservant, with consequences that continue through history. Jacob's family life is complicated with similar incidents.

Shakespeare wrote three plays in which the perception of adultery plays a significant part. In both Othello and The Winter's Tale it is the (false) belief by the central character that his wife is unfaithful that brings about his downfall. In "The Merry Wives of Windsor," an adulterous plot by Falstaff prompts elaborate and repeated revenge by the wronged wives; the comedy of the play hides a deeper anxiety about the infidelity of women.

In The Country Wife by William Wycherley, the morals of English Restoration society are satirised. The object of the rake hero is to seduce as many married ladies as possible, while blinding their husbands to what is going on by pretending to be impotent. The scheme is very successful, and it is assumed that he goes on adding more notches to his belt after the final curtain.

The theme of adultery has been used in a wide range of literature through the ages, and has served as a theme for some of the greatest works ever written, such as Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary. As a theme it brings intense emotions into the foreground, and has consequences for all concerned. It also automatically brings its own conflict, between the people concerned and between sexual desires and a sense of loyalty.

As marriage and family are often regarded as basis of society a story of adultery often shows the conflict between social pressure and individual struggle for happiness.

In the Bible, incidents of adultery are present almost from the start. The story of Abraham contains several incidents and serve as warnings or stories of sin and forgiveness. Abraham attempts to continue his blood line through his wife's maidservant, with consequences that continue through history. Jacob's family life is complicated with similar incidents.

The following works of literature have adultery and its consequences as one of their major themes. (M) and (F) stand for adulterer and adulteress respectively.

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Major examples

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Drama

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Fiction

"...Yet in his preoccupations, the indulgent sage of the East Coast perhaps had more in common with Mortimer. Not for nothing was he known as a "chronicler of suburban adultery". Updike's most famous novels - Couples, the Rabbit tetrology, The Witches of Eastwick - were peopled by characters, such as Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, who were lax-conscienced pleasure-seekers barely troubled by illicit sexual adventure."

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References


Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Adultery in literature" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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