What I Wanted to Add to Our Conversation...

 

As mentioned in my last blog, the most prominent message the Magus conveyed to me was that of human nature's constant search for answers instead of acceptance of the unknown.  Another important theme came to me during today's discussion, however, which was the theme of sex.

Why is it that Nicholas becomes so emotionally tormented, so deceived, and so astounded at Lily-Julie-Vanessa's betrayal?  It's because she has sex with him.  Well, she also flirts, kisses, and feeds him all sorts of amorous promises, but the convincing factor for Nicholas of her trust is the offering of her body.  Although Nicholas doesn't treat sex as a sacred act himself, womanizing and even visiting brothels for release, he expects the sacredness from his female partners.  As he explains in his own words, "...no girl could pretend to want and to enjoy such things unless she was a prostitute."

The irony of the situation is that Nicholas uses sex in many of the same ways the young Lily uses sex: to trick the partner into believing in the love of the act for selfish benefit.  Where Nicholas uses sex for pleasure, Lily appears to use it for the game in which Nicholas is the experiment.  However, because Lily is female, Nicholas mirrors societies views that if she uses sex for selfish reasons she must be a "prostitute".  Only a morally corrupt woman could seduce a man outside the boundaries of love, whether it be for a moral test or pleasure.  "Why did she let me make love to her?" he incredulously asks her mother, astounded at how she could use her body against him.  She simply responds, "I understand it was her wish."

For this, I believe the novel is extremely contemporary for its time.  The entire group of the "God Game" treats sex casually, as one sharing their body with another, and for this can use it easily to trick Nicholas.  We find this attitude towards sex more often than not nowadays, used more as a natural connection (and yes, in many cases for selfish reasons) with less sacred or emotional attachment.  Although women still carry the stigma of being "loose" in comparison to men when developing this attitude, the stigma has softened from the time of the novel's publishing in 1965.

Sex is such an important component to human life, it is no wonder that throughout human history the act has been tied with the sacred.  I appreciate Fowles' challenge of it, especially in his decade, for there is no more interesting a theme to ponder than that of sex.