Love Versus Lust

One theme that is prominent throughout this novel is the difference between genuine love, and the sex that goes with it, and the sex that accompanies lust. Angel has been exposed to sex for her whole life, far longer than healthy, as she was sold into prostitution as a child. She is sure that by the age of eighteen, she knows everything there is to know about men, and so far, she has not met anyone who has contradicted her expectations. The advice she had been given by Duke, the man who stole her innocence and her ability to trust a man, was "`Love is a trap, Angel. Stick to pleasure. It doesn't require any great commitment" (chapter 21, p. 277). All of Angel's experiences have taught her that men do not want anything from women except for their bodies, and that a skilled woman can use her...