Infidelity In Literature

Why is adultery so frightening yet so fascinating? In part, its because we recognize the appeal of it. We grew up in triangles, competing for our mother's attention with our fathers and our siblings, and vice versa. That taught us, deep inside, to be terrified of abandonment and to resent sharing. We never quite give up on the childish fantasy that somehow, someday, we'll find someone all our own who wants only us. This destructive …

…ey are each consumed by themselves, and they know and express only their own needs and desires. Neither one makes any apparent attempt to truly understand his wives, which is displayed by Weed's remark to his wife during the fight and Lantin's contempt for his wife's indulgences. Both men share the same illusion that they are the center of the universe, and although they suffered from opposite circumstances, their weaknesses bring about their own failures.