They Let Us Read This Stuff in School?

            Sexual imagery is everywhere in literature. They can be very subtle, like a bowl with a key inside of it or they can be not so subtle, like a curtain blowing in the wind. But I was surprised that Shakespeare was not mentioned with the examples in the chapter; his plays are filled with sexual references. An example of one is in The Taming of the Shrew when Kate and Petruchio meet for the first time. They have a very quick witted exchange that has subtle hints of flirting woven in. In the exchange, Kate calls Petruchio “a join’d-stool,” which has three legs implying that the third leg is Peturchio’s penis. Since Petruchio is a well-educated man, he immediately understands the meaning and asks Kate to sit on his lap because he is a stool. So, just in this part of the exchange, there is one implication about having sex.

            Another example is in Flowers for Algernon when Charlie thinks back on his childhood and his mother. He remembers his mother threatening him that if he did anything to his sister or any other woman she would “cut off his peanuts.” She is seeking to prevent a taboo (incest) by promising to emasculate her own son who has the mental abilities of a toddler. His sexual instincts are just that, instincts. But when he gains intelligence, and wants to pursue a relationship with Alice, his former teacher, he is emotionally crippled by the memories of his mother which is prompted by seeing a knife on a table.
            Often considered one of the greatest romantic novels in American literature, The Great Gatsby contains no real love scenes. There are implied love scenes, but there aren’t any written in the novel. Tom has a “woman in the city” which is code for a mistress, but rather than cover it up he flaunts it like a trophy. Nevertheless, Tom’s mistress, Myrtle, is very earthy in comparison to Daisy. Fitzgerald never specifically describes Tom and Myrtle’s sexual relationship, but, in the scene where Nick accompanies Tom to the city with Myrtle to their apartment, Tom buys Myrtle a puppy. Since Tom and Myrtle can’t have children together, the puppy serves as a substitute baby. Later, when Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, discovers the dog leash and collar he now has proof of Myrtle’s sexual infidelity.
           The “great romance” of the novel is between Daisy and Gatsby. Their affair is only implied by Gatsby when he dismisses the servants and stops his famous party to spend time with his lost love. There is no big consummation scene as all of the movie adaptations feel obligated to add in. But Gatsby’s illusion of Daisy is ultimately shattered when he is introduced to Daisy’s daughter. He pictured Daisy as an untarnished flower that had waited for him to come back, but her child is tangible evidence that she had sex with her husband. Ultimately Gatsby is killed by Myrtle’s husband Wilson who is convinced that it was Gatsby who had killed her in order to cover up their affair, and he is convinced by Tom who was actually having the affair with Myrtle. But Myrtle was really killed by Daisy, who was having the affair with Gatsby and unknowingly killed her husband’s mistress. So really, The Great Gatsby isn’t about the American Dream, it’s all about sex.