"Secretary" by Mary Gaitskill

In a way, Diane Lane's character in the movie Unfaithful reminds me of Debby in Mary Gaitskill's short story, Secretary. In one scene in the film, Connie (Lane) is on her way home from one of her sexual encounters with the man who is not her husband. Connie is now fully aware that the affair has gone too far, but while guilt pours from her in the form of tears, and her disheveled look, she simultaneously replays the encounter in her head, smiling because she is so turned on by her new lover. Like Connie, Debby from the story has a similar, even polarizing reaction to the sexual encounter with her boss. After first being spanked on one occasion then ejaculated on by her boss on another, Debby knows that his actions are wrong; she is shocked and appalled by them, but yet it peaks her sexual curiosity and she gets off on the thought of it before physically getting of on it. I think both these characters are overwhelmed by sexual pleasure, so much so, that it will no doubt effect their family life, and self-esteem. It's obvious that these are two different levels of desire (infidelity vs. sadomasochism), but they both equally replace the normal functions of relationships.