Sex and Vanity: A Novel

Lucie Churchill’s romantic and sexual feelings for George Zao put her in conflict with her family, culture, and social contexts. Before Lucie meets George in Capri, she has devoted herself to “being the dutiful daughter” and always “deferred to her mother” (21). She’s grown up understanding that a lady of high society should be collected and contained. However, George awakens her desire for exploration and excitement and thus compromises her controlled version of self. She fears that she’s “too uptight and proper,” “believe[s] too much in decorum,” and unconsciously longs to challenge these facets of her character (37). George spurs Lucie’s desire and creates tension between her internal and external worlds. Lucie finds herself constantly torn between pursuing what she wants and meeting others’ expectations, whether those of her family or social circle. Lucie’s competing desires incite the narrative tension and ignite complex questions about the consequences of doing what one wants versus disappointing others.

The narrative style and form shift whenever Lucie feels caught between her desire to be with George and her desire to conform to her social circle’s expectations. In such passages, the narration from Lucie’s point of view reveals her harried state of mind. The narration often shifts into long strings of questions that capture Lucie’s confusion. The narrative establishes this pattern in Part 1, Chapter 4, when Lucie runs into George in the gardens. Their conversation makes Lucie feel “strangely annoyed” and makes her wonder, “Was he somehow criticizing her? Was she being unobservant or obtuse, or, worse, being labeled a conspicuous consumer herself?” (46). Lucie grapples with the tension between what she wants to do and what others expect her to do. She questions herself whenever she’s around George because he symbolizes her unrealized desires. In other passages following Lucie and George’s encounters, the narration meanders with lengthy passages containing elliptical, repetitive sentences that reflect Lucie’s struggle to identify what she wants and pursue these wants without judgment.

Lucie ultimately defies societal expectations by ending her engagement with Cecil Pine and eloping with George. Lucie spends years after Capri trying to reconcile her desires with pleasing her family and community. However, after George resurfaces in her life shortly after her engagement, she realizes that she is unwilling to conform to others’ expectations. In doing so, Lucie risks their love and approval. At the same time, she discovers that her family, friends, and community care less about what she does than she believed. The novel suggests that societal expectations, often an unspoken construct we impose on ourselves, can limit self-discovery and fulfillment if we do not question them.