Part 20
This Subchapter is called "The Logic of Love"
A man assumes that the money he's spent and which his date has accepted freely seals a
contract for sexual services between them. He has no hallucinations about "romance": the
clarity of his logic tells him that he has participated in a straightforward business
arrangement. But he is treading on treacherously slippery ground. Even though he might
not have any illusions about the nature of the transaction, nevertheless women have
taught him that he must dissemble. If he wants to get laid-get his money's worth-he must
act out a starring role in his partner's drama of lies. He must pamper her like the spoiled
child she is, compliment her on her intelligence and independence, tell her what she
wants to hear so that she can play out her role of "virtue". He knows the sham is
ridiculous: while he's picturing her naked and spread-eagle on the bed, she has climbed
up upon her pedestal of illusion, having visions of the two of them strolling hand-in-hand
under the rattling palms on the beach of some exotic resort, where any imagery of sex is
symbolized by a cut to the crashing surf. He, however, has both feet in the real world; he
understands that someone must pay the price. Her fantasies somehow fail to include
scenes of her partner opening the American Express bill a month later.
