Infidelity in Zenith

Infidelity in Zenith
Infidelity is common in America today, as it was common 80 years ago in the book of Babbitt by Lewis Sinclair. Adultery was committed by George Babbitt and his best friend Paul Riesling, upon their wives. Back in the day divorce was not common so the men decided to take it upon their selves to fulfill their needs. Babbitt’s wife was “mature” (p.13) and all Paul’s wife did was nag (p__) In Babbitt, there are similarities and differences in why both men cheated; there are also differences in the outcome for both men.
In Babbitt, both men cheated on their wives somewhat for the same reasons.   George and Paul both cheated with widowed women, Tanis J. and May A. They were married to more “mature” women.   When George Babbitt discovered that Riesling was having an affair, he preached the value of maintaining one's good social standing in the community, which makes him a hypocrite because he later cheated. George cheated on Myra because he felt she was “as sexless as a anemic nun”(p.14).Paul cheated because he just wasn’t happy. Neither man was satisfied with their wives, causing them to commit adultery.
Even though both mean committed the same “crime” they went about it differently. Paul was more open about not being happy and feeling resentment for his controlling wife Zilla and suggesting that "this sweet, clean, respectable, moral life isn't all it's cracked up to be" (p. 57). George’s situation went more easily with dealing with Myra after he cheated. Paul on the other hand had a confrontation with Zilla after cheated in which he shot her, being sent to jail for 3 years. . Babbitt dreamed someone would come and take him away. Unlike Paul, George cheated on his wife with two different women, in which one was a prostitute. Babbitt felt the pressure of obligation to satisfy Tanis while keeping the affair a secret, he is suddenly resentful of Tanis and of "women and the way they get you all tied up in complications!" (p. 312). At the point he... [continues]

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