Act 2, Scene 2 Summary

Act 2, Scene 2 shows Juan Julian reading from Anna Karenina, sitting apart from Conchita and Palomo as they converse. The now-jealous husband demands to know when and where she meets her lover and what they do together. She describes it candidly, confessing shame and confusion but not repentance. He asks her to show on his body what the lector does to her. The lights dim as she fondles Palomo's neck and shoulders, and Juan Julian closes his book.

Act 2, Scene 2 Analysis

Following a long, dynamic scene of strife in Act 2, Scene 1, Scene 2 is brief and dedicated to a single topic: an open examination of erotic love. The estranged spouses wonder together how they drifted apart. Conchita chides Palomo over how lovers ought to behave and reveals the terror with which she realized that sex with a man other than her husband could...