Infidelity

Infidelity is a theme of the novel. Frank and Mamah risk their marriages to be with one another. They work on designing she and Edwin’s house together and become friends. This friendship leads to love. For Mamah, it is a love that is grounded by an intellectual understanding. She married Edwin out of convenience rather than for love. He is not her intellectual equal and cannot give her the cultural nourishment that she needs. In Frank, she finds a kindred spirit.

What starts out as innocent flirtation turns into an affair. Mamah neglects her husband and her children as she attempts to capture what is missing from her life. She struggles with the lies that she tells her family, but she cannot deny the desire that she feels for Frank. This makes her abandon her family to spend time with Frank in Europe where she...