In the many years I have been reading short stories, one of the most common scenarios is that of a character at a conference and the sex with another attendee that ensues. This is probably because most short story writers (or novelists) attend conferences on their own and have the opportunity to engage in this activity or at least to observe it in others. The first story in this collection uses this theme. But the second, the title story, also about infidelity, has a more novel theme. What if a character mistakes clever party banter between two people as something more. How humiliating does the response to her overture have to be before "she" gets it. Sittenfeld is a very clever writer (and I have enjoyed three of her novels) although I am hoping not all of these stories are about extramarital affairs. Death or sex themes seem to be very common.
A story I read in THE NEW YORKER by Sigrid Nunez also trod this ground. I would like a percentage on how many short stories have this theme. I am betting over 50% either as its main subject or as a secondary one. What do you think? Probably short stories in genres are less dependent on it.
11 comments:
That's an interesting question, Patti. I'd say probably a lot of stories are like that - maybe even more than 50%.
No, not all the stories are about it, at least the ones I've read so far. The latest was "A Regular Couple." While on their honeymoon in Colorado, a woman spots what she describes as "a bitch from my high school" who fawns all over her (she has become a very successful lawyer). She is on her honeymoon too. More interesting was the shorter "Bad Latch" about new mothers. I like her writing and might try one of her novels.
I've been alternating the Sittenfeld stories with those of Somerset Maugham - quite the contrast! Maugham, like Winston Churchill, was born in 1874 and died in 1965 (though he was born earlier and died later). He was prolific over his long life, writing 32 plays (we've seen several of them in London revivals), 19 novels (I've read a few), travel books, literary criticism, and dozens of short stories, considered by some as his best work. A lot of the stories I've read this week are set in the South Seas, where Maugham (with his lover, Gerald Haxton) visited several times, observing people and using them in his stories. You get a real picture of what life was like in these minor outposts of the British (once, Dutch) Empire, not colonies like Singapore, but small islands now part of Malaysia, Indonesia, even Papua New Guinea. "Flotsam and Jetsam" is the rather ugly story of a couple yoked together on one of those minor islands, where mail comes by boat once (or twice) a month. The wife was a minor stage actress who thought marriage to a planter would be both romantic and enriching, but he has little. Then a man sick with malaria turns up, and, unexpectedly, she and the man fall in love, only to have a tragic end. "The Force of Circumstance" is almost a more tragic story, as the young couple at its heart, newlyweds of a few months, do love each other and everything seems perfect, though I doubt many of us who find living under those conditions fun. But then the wife discovers that before they were married, he had three children with a native woman, and it just isn't something she can live with. Lastly was the somewhat silly "The Vessel of Wrath," filmed at least twice (once as THE BEACHCOMBER), about a Dutch official, a minister and his spinster sister, and a drunk called Ginger Ted.
I really liked her AN AMERICAN WIFE-somewhat based on Laura Bush. I read many of Maugham's novels in the day. The doc on him is very good.
His nephew Robin was a good writer too, and also gay. He wrote a book on "Uncle Willie" that was certainly a warts & all portrait. His autobiography was ESCAPE FROM THE SHADOWS - his father (who was Lord Chancellor of England) and his uncle. CONVERSATIONS WITH WILLIE was the other. His book on his wartime service was very good too - COME TO DUST.
The hanky-panky at conferences clearly is popular with readers as well as writers. Breaking the rules, cheating, sexual foolery, and risk-taking fit the conference scenarios.
I read a lot of Maugham's short stories in school. Loved almost all of them.
Here's my contribution of the day: Great English Short Stories ed by Reginald Hargreaves (Part 1) https://ahotcupofpleasureagain.wordpress.com/2024/09/04/ssw-great-english-short-stories-ed-by-reginald-hargreaves-and-others-1930-part-i/
Sexual adventure allows, after all, for Reasonably Big Drama in contemporary mimetic fiction.The author can be both Daring and Reflective.
I haven't been reading short stories that long and haven't read enough to have any thoughts on the question of how many focus on sex and / or affairs. I will have to pay more attention to that. My guess is that I do read a high proportion of genre stories, and thus I might not encounter that so much.
I recently purchased Lore Segal's collection, LADIES' LUNCH, suggested by Jeff last year. It should arrive in the mail today. I did read the first story already, in the Amazon sample online.
And I meant to say... I have that book, YOU THINK IT, I'LL SAY IT. At least I think I do, I haven't cataloged it yet. Sittenfeld is another author I haven't read yet. I also have two of her novels.
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