Sexy

The story “Sexy” follows Miranda in the exploration of her identity and growth as a young woman in a new environment. Miranda’s affair with Dev creates a plot device through which the story can examine Miranda’s sense of self and who she wants to be, as she is challenged to think in new ways about her moral, sexual, and cultural identity. The structural and thematic nature of the narrative creates a tension between a variety of opposing parallel forces, bringing them together to create the emotional climax of the story.

The story opens with the line “It was a wife’s worst nightmare” (83). This in fact refers to Laxmi’s anecdote about her cousin’s marital breakdown but could equally be applied to Miranda’s affair with Dev. From the very beginning, the story creates a parallel between the two affairs, one told from the perspective of the mistress and one concentrating on the wife and family. This theme of Perceptions of Infidelity is at the heart of the narrative. The emotional interest and tension is supplied by watching Miranda try to navigate and separate these two mutually exclusive perspectives until the scene with