Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1998. [Vol. 5.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 25)

Studies - László Dányi: Interpretations of Sexuality in William Styron's Sophie's Choice

moral code that he does adapt when projecting his own personal conduct in the future. Individuals interpret everything as it is the most convenient for them and as it serves their purpose. Beyond regarding sexuality as satisfying lust, Stingo longs for establishing a family which he imagines as the stereotypical family based on the partners' mutual love and understanding, in which the mother, the father and all the other family members live up to their stereotypical roles imposed on them by the moral code of a Puritanical society. He ignores the contrary images of the family as a violent community where children are abused, wives and husbands divorce, beat and kill each other. The young girls around Stingo make him remember the absence of 'real' heterosexuality in an office with "all-male clientele, mostly middle-aged or older" (SC 11). In the office the managers and heads are all men and the secretaries are women. The women in the office work under male management, under male conduct. This situation makes it possible for feminist critics to interpret the organization of labor in the office as a nice example of male chauvinism and misogyny. For Stingo the office job was monotonous, and he could be anything but a misogynist. The office is just the place where he is surrounded by women and his desire is aroused, as it usually happens to a man with a heterosexual flair. Later on in the novel it is sexuality that brings Sophie, Nathan and Stingo together. In Yetta Zimmerman's house the innocent Stingo, who is a newcomer, gets to know about his neighbors, Sophie and Nathan, in an unconventional way. He "looked up at the ceiling in alarm. The lamp fixture jerked and wobbled like a puppet on a string" (SC 43). Stingo is accidentally exposed to Sophie and Nathan's sexuality even without first knowing or meeting them in person. This sexuality is faceless, he does not know his neighbors personally. From what he can see and hear he realizes that they are making love. The situation seems to be exotic to Stingo and it is because the words he can hear are "exotically accented" (SC 43). He cannot make out the words exactly, he can only hear sounds. For Stingo the accent of the words is enough to stimulate desire. The accent has a meaning to Stingo and not the word as a linguistic unit. This situation demonstrates that it is not necessary for words to have meanings and 41