Marriage

To Have and Not to Have pictures a number of marriages. Harry and Marie Morgan enjoy a fulfilling sex life after twenty years together, despite economic setbacks and the loss of his right arm. A lusty woman past her prime, Marie enjoys hearing Harry say that she is the best. She loves his stump and does not care if the children hear their lovemaking. She wonders if loggerhead turtles really "coot" (mate) for three days straight and how they feel doing it. By contrast, under the stress of unemployment, Albert is regularly bawled out by his wife. In a brief scene, Big Rodger hassles Hayzooz about getting married a month ago and already having a baby; how can he be sure he is the father?

Tourists in Key West, FL, provide much of the novel's sexual tension. Mrs. Laughton ogles Morgan in Freddy's bar and is offended when...