It also automatically brings its own conflict, between the people concerned and between sexual desires and a sense of loyalty.
As marriage and family are often regarded as basis of society, a story of adultery often shows the conflict between social pressure and individual struggle for happiness.
According to the American author Tom Perrotta, the novel of adultery is one of the leading 19th century literary traditions in Europe and in the United States.
He states that these novels often feature women whose unhappy marriages push them into seeking romance and illicit sex.
The main topic of these novels is the rebel-woman who seeks salvation for her unhappy public love-life.