10 books that changed the way we look at adultery

Adultery is now considered controversial. Earlier it was clearly considered a terrible thing but as the world has started questioning traditional relations, laws and perceptions are changing. Here are some books that explore adultery and its implications and have managed to leave a lasting impact.
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Tolstoy's famous book on adultery, 'Anna Karenina' is a timeless classic. It follows the story of the sophisticated Countess Anna Karenina, who has an affair with Count Vronsky, at the expense of her relationship with her husband and son and her social position, to fulfil her passionate wishes. One of the greatest novels ever written, the book has a very tragic ending.
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The novel is set during the First World War and is a touching story of love, obsession, faith, and betrayal. The book follows Maurice Bendrix who is writing a novel about a civil servant. While researching for it, Maurice befriends a woman called Sarah and her civil servant husband. Not long after, Bendrix and Sarah indulge in a tumultuous, illicit affair. The affair also ends abruptly and the novel charts how Bendrix gets mad with jealousy.
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The debut novel of French writer Gustave Flaubert focuses on how a woman tries to escape the clutches of a provincial life and finds purpose in her mundane existence by indulging in an affair outside her marriage. Considered as Gustave's masterpiece, the novel was heavily attacked for obscenity when it was published.
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The bestselling author of 'The Alchemist', in this provocative novel, explores how it is to live freely and happily, without thinking of consequences. The book follows a woman who somehow gets tired of her seemingly perfect life, husband and children, and gets into an affair with her former boyfriend. The novel focuses on her trying to conquer her passion and to move on with reality.
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D.H Lawrence's explosive book got a lot of backlash when it published due to its frank portrayal of sexuality and an adulterous affair. It was even banned as pornography until 1960! 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' follows Constance Reid, wife of a wealthy, paralysed war veteran, who indulges in an affair with their gamekeeper, Oliver Mellors. The novel basically focuses on Constance's realization that she cannot control her mind and respect alone cannot satisfy her physical need.
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This bestselling book did tremendously well and received rave reviews. This book is told from the perspective of three women and it shows us how toxic relations of an adulturous relationship can get. It's a psychological thriller and the mystery is engaging and the end is a revelation.
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This book has many characters and explores marriages and adultery through them. The book is also a thriller. A husband has written a letter for his wife, to be read only when he dies. However she reads it while he's alive and the contents of it affect not only her, but several others.
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Set in Prague and Zurich, this book shows how adultery is viewed by different people. Tomáš and Tereza are married but Tomáš views love and sex as separate so he womanises despite his marriage. His wife Tereza doesn't have a very positive image of her body and worries that she is just another body to her husband. However their marriage evolves throughout their life. We also see the perspective of one of Tomáš' lovers and her other relationship.
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Considered to be Nathaniel Hawthorne's masterwork, it is a moving tale of a woman.
Though it was written in 1850 the story is set in the 1640's and it explores the social stigma of adutery. Adultery was crime then and the tale starts with a pregnant woman being punished for her crime. As the tale goes on we learn about her long lost husband, her lover and his guilt. It's a tale of love, lust but mostly public sentiment and how that affects relations.
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It is a clever tale that deals less with love but more with the power struggles of men and women. Three women sharing a meal see Zenia, a classmate they thought long dead. She had 'stolen' all of their men at one point and had given each a different version of her biography. Now as they each confront her, she gives them all a different version of why she faked her death. This story takes place in both the past and present and explores how some women can use traditional roles to their advantage.
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