Sexuality is all over The Interestings. We have Jonah, who struggles to come to terms with being gay, and of course, his partner, Robert. But more than that, we have a group of people who come of age, going from their awkward and hormonally-driven teen years, to adulthood, where we see them deploying sex in all kinds of messy ways to navigate who they are.
Perhaps the biggest role that sexuality plays in the book, though, is as a sort of ghost—the tale is haunted by the unresolved matter of whether Goodman rapes Cathy. And while this may not be sexuality in its classic definition, how characters relate to this tells us a whole lot about who they are, becoming a sort of sexual identity in its own right.
Questions About Sexuality and Sexual Identity
- We know that Jonah is out in some sense, so why does he have that strange exchange with Robert that leaves him kind of guessing about Jonah's sexuality?
- In what ways is the group divided or paired up based on sexual identity or sexuality? How about when it comes to how they relate to Cathy?
- What is Jules's relationship to sexuality as a child and an adult? Does it change? What does this say about her?