Essay Questions

Explore the character of Isadora Wing as brought out in Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying

Isadora Wing, the protagonist of Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying is brought out as an unfaithful character. Despite being married to Bennet, Isadora has multiple affairs with men other than Bennet to whom she is married. Additionally, following the fact that Isadora has had several therapy sessions, an argument of her being troubled can be made. On the other hand, even though her relationship with Adrian is extra-marital, Isadora is not embarrassed of showing off. She and her lover want everyone to know they are sleeping together, almost like they are flaunting it. In this way, she can be argued as carefree. Additionally, Isadora is also a promiscuous character as she has relationships with multiple men outside of her marriage to Bennet.

How is sexuality tackled in this novel?

Sexuality as a subject has often been treated as taboo in most literary works. In this work, however, Erica Jong the novel-write employs explicit language in the presentation of the concepts related to sex and sexuality as well as promiscuity. Jong employs the character, Isadora Wing, who becomes an emblem of sexual escapism used as a backdrop to the presentation of feminism. Throughout the novel, Isadora engages in several sexual escapades with men outside of wedlock both willingly and unwillingly. First, there is Adrian whom she has sex with willingly and she is also later raped by a sexual predator. For a topic that has largely been considered a no-go zone, Erica does an excellent job presenting both sexuality as well as feminism.

How is abuse highlighted in Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying?

Isadora’s husband Bennett becomes erratic and suffers schizophrenic misconceptions of sumptuousness. He becomes violent towards Isadora even assaulting her. Bennett sexually molests Isadora which becomes the height of abuse explored in this work. Isadore enrolls him into a mental institution and later divorces him. Isadora is also molested by a sexual predator, an event that becomes a significant point in her discovery of her misguidance in the fetish of being raped.