How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Helga knew I kept the peculiar diary. I kept it as one of many devices for keeping our sexual pleasure keen. The book is not only a report of an experiment, but a part of the experiment it reports—a self-conscious experiment by a man and a woman to be endlessly fascinating to each other sexually—. (23.4)
Okay, so Campbell made a porno. Not just any porno, but a living document that both chronicles and enhances his sex life with Helga. He calls it an experiment, though. Curious. It's almost like they're both specimens in their own sex lab.
Maybe we're reading too much into this—hey, it's why we're here—but it kind of makes us think about the emphasis on reports, experiments, and scientific documentation prevalent during WWII. Remember all those creepy experiments the Nazis did? Maybe it's nothing. But maybe this is also supposed to walk the line between "Aw, he loves his wife," and "Ew, why is he taking 'clinical' notes?"
Quote #8
We had been apart for sixteen years. My first lust that night was in my fingertips. Other parts of me...that were contented later were contented in a ritual way, thoroughly, to...clinical perfection. (23.12)
Here's more of that "clinical" documentation, and it is not hot. We repeat: not hot. Like, what? You're having lusty times, and the way you write about it is super off-putting. In fact, we'd probably like to nominate Campbell for a bad sex in fiction award. Vonnegut probably would love that that's our reaction. He spends a lot of time poking fun at Campbell, after all.
Quote #9
'I don't know,' I said. I shook my head. 'What is this strange crime I've committed?'
'I'm the one who's committed the crime,' she said. 'I must have been crazy. When I escaped into West Berlin, when they gave me a form to fill out, asked me who I was, what I was—who I knew—'(24.12-13)
Campbell's worried he committed a crime, because sleeping with his sister-in-law feels kind of incest-y, even though by modern legal standards, he's in the clear. Resi recognizes, on the other hand, that by performing a bed trick, she's committed a crime: having sex with Campbell without his consent. It's not a healthy start to a new relationship.