The Adulterous Woman - Response

   Albert Camus' "The Adulterous Woman" is romantic in the most melancholy way. The feelings of disillusionment that Janine feels are certainly bleak, and the reoccurring themes of lost youth and dormancy contribute to the reader's woe. After finishing the story, I found myself thinking back to the title of the story. Janine is seemingly given the title of adulterous, even though she does not commit actual adultery. Is the want to commit the act equal to the act itself? Has she committed adultery in the eyes of society by daring to become more than an extension of her partner?

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