Sexuality in Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow Essay

Throughout the novel, there are instances of both violent and more refinedsexual references. While an obvious reason for these is the titillating effectsof them, there are deeper, more relevant reasons for them. There are three maingroups within which the sexual activity takes place Father and Mother, YoungerBrother and Evelyn Nesbit, and Harry Houdini and Harry K. Thaw. Some are moreobvious and explicit than others, but they all have great purpose. The sexualactivity between Father and Mother is used to define their relationship, sexualactivity by Younger Brother is used as a replacement for violence, and the onescene between Houdini and Thaw is used to elucidate the difference between theclasses. The sexual activity that is most relevant to the story line occurs inthe relationship between Father and Mother. While these scenes definitely implysexual activity, they are definitely not as intense as the erotic scenes betweenother characters. After their relationship has been analyzed, one can see thatthe relationship between Mother and Father is one that seems to be held togetherpurely by sexual desire. The first reference to this is at the very beginningof the novel. Doctorow writes, "On Sunday afternoon, after dinner, Father andMother went upstairs and closed the bedroom door"(p 4). Their marriage is happyas long as they continue to have a good physical relationship. Whereas in thebeginning of the novel Mother and Father's relationship was good, by the end ofthe novel "He felt it had been stupid to leave his wife alone"(p 233). Mother'sdisdain for Father is conveyed to the reader when he tells her that he will betaking their boy to the Baseball game on the following day. Doctorow writes, "she was checked in her response, which was to condemn him for an idiot, and whenhe left the room she could only wonder that she had had that thought in thefirst place, so separated from ant feeling of love"(p 226). Mother obviouslyhas lost her love for Father. The reason for this is outlined in the...

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