Sex

Small World is permeated with sexual tension. A repressed, napve young man determined to preserve his virginity until marriage falls in love with a beautiful, sensual teaser. His strong Catholic beliefs torment him when he must descend into the world of pornography seeking his errant cousin and, as he incorrectly believes, his beloved. An older virgin is depicted as choosing this lifestyle because of the perceived ill effects marriage has had on colleagues' careers. For him, writing and publishing provide nearly sexual release. Indeed, middle-aged married characters are universally shown to have lost interest in sex with their spouses (although one couple continues having sex for its therapeutic value and several do it almost impersonally for relief, while thinking of other people and things). Several adulteries are depicted, most in the context of foreign travel to conferences, where traditional mores are stripped away and even intellectual opponents can...