Thursday, December 29, 2011

Deception Between the Covers: Literary Infidelity

AbeBooks: Deception Between the Covers: Literary Infidelity: Crimes of passion, adultery, extra-marital activities, cuckoldry - call it what you will but there's no denying that illicit affairs and infidelity is a prevalent theme in literature. The way that authors portray marital unfaithfulness extends from the predictable unhappily married couples to love triangles and the murderous plotting of injured spouses.

Some of the most famous stories ever written are centered on the theme of unhappy people struggling to find love at whatever cost. An excellent example of this popular storyline is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy which is considered by some to be the greatest novel ever written. The story focuses on Anna, the married aristocrat and socialite, and her affair with Count Vronsky. Anna eventually moves away with Vronsky but becomes increasingly paranoid about his imagined infidelity and eventually she takes her life. Madame Bovary, The Great Gatsby, Lady Chatterley's Lover all involve characters who participate in illicit affairs and extra-marital activities.

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