Response to Theme: David McGlynn

            One theme I noticed through David McGlynn’s short stories is that people who associate with a faith or religion strongly are still prone to slip up, a sin as its usually called. Commonly this sin was sexual in nature, such as adultery or pre-marital sex. This also brings about the fact that humans are sexual in nature; sex is a need that must be satisfied. The characters that commit these sins are disgusted with themselves and what they’ve done, but some still find the need to continue, such as Lee in Sweet Texas Angel.

            Jonah in Seventeen One-Hundreths of a Second is a clear example of someone who represses his sexual urges, probably due to his religion although he may not want to admit it. But each and every time he sees Abby, these urges get the best of him. His late best friend’s wife should be off limits, as it would be to most people. But secretly he was always in love with her and only her, and during the course of this story was his first real chance to be with her. He strayed off the path that he was supposed to follow as a Christian. As he describes in the beginning, I think it is possible that seeing Abby naked when he was younger may have led to the development of these feelings over time. When they eventually do have the sex that he clearly desired, he was a bit timid at first. But immediately after, he revealed a secret about Charlie that he knew she would be disgusted by, his lust for other women. He may have thought it would bring them closer together because they already had sex, but it seemed as if he weren’t in a healthy state of mind to say what he said. It was almost as if sex corrupted him.

            In Sweet Texas Angel, Kay’s sexual adventures with random men portray this need to fulfill sexual desires. However, Kay does not seem to be religious in nature and therefore has no moral qualms in doing so. However, when she begins sleeping with Lee, he realizes what he is doing is wrong, more-so because its with his blind wife’s caregiver with whom the family has spent the past fifteen years with. But under the assumption that there is sexual frustration boiling within Lee, which would probably be due Cory’s blindness and tumor, he does what he feels he needs to do. Kay fits what he is looking for: someone who he has known for a very long time, and he likely has lusted for her from the very beginning. Now, while there is a lack of sex, the beast within Lee emerges and he feels the need to commit adulterous acts not because he hates his wife, but because it takes over him. Sex, after all, is a need that, when presented, must be satisfied. And who better than someone he has known for so long, and possibly even loves?