Fear of Flying

Isadora fears that her feelings for Adrian are forcing her to disintegrate. She feels torn between Bennett and Adrian, claiming they represent parts of herself that are in conflict. She laments the impossibility of balancing exuberance with stability. One night, after a party, Adrian drives Isadora and Bennett back to their hotel, and she wishes they could all be honest about what’s going on. Instead, she feels hypocritical for going upstairs with a man she doesn’t want to sleep with, leaving the one she does want to sleep with behind, then having sex with the first while thinking of the second. Ironically, she understands, society calls this “fidelity.”

The next night, the Congress formally opens, and when Adrian arrives, he and Isadora abscond to the parking lot to kiss and fondle each other. Later, they drink too much and act indiscreetly. It occurs to Isadora that all her fantasies include marriage, that she’s unable to imagine herself without a man. However, she also recognizes that being married is only slightly better than being single—mostly because society has made being single so unappealing—and that marriage is never what it’s made out to be. After the reception, Isadora, Bennett, Adrian, and another man and woman go to a discotheque.