The Affair

In this paper I will try to explain to you why Deborah Bronski had an affair with

Christopher de Monti when she knew it was wrong.  Deborah and Christopher are both

characters in the book Mila 18  by Leon Uris.

In Deborah's childhood there were some reasons that could have caused her to

have an affair.  Her childhood is outlined below with some of the things that may have

caused her to have this affair.

Deborah Androfski married Paul Bronski at the age of eighteen.  Deborah stepped

into the world too fast, she had not experienced it enough.  She had never really been

with any other man.  It seemed throughout their marriage that what Deborah's mother

told her about men was true.

Deborah's mother told her to be careful of those boys.  She told her that they

would make her pregnant.  Deborah first became pregnant, and recalled what her mother

said to her.

Deborah also recalled her mother telling her that sex was ugly and painful.  Paul

Bronski asked Deborah to get an abortion because she was so young.  This was very

painful for her.  When in bed Deborah served her sentence. The guilt of  sex was deeply

implanted in her.  She practiced pretending to enjoy love-making so as to not offend her

husband.  Deborah didn't experience either fulfillment or the smaller pleasures of

love-making. She was totally unemotional.

When Deborah met Christopher she said she was drawn to him like a little girl

that took his hand and was led through the black evil forest to the golden castle that sat

on a cloud.  The time when they had done everything but go to bed came.  Deborah threw

a tantrum, and Chris understood completely that it was her fear of an inability to perform.

Deborah opened herself to Chris and he understood her problems.  He unlocked all her

years of frustration and drove them from her.

Deborah had an affair in part because she was told so many things bad about boys

during her childhood.  When she married Paul all of those bad things seemed to be true.

Then when Deborah met Chris she could pour her problems out to him, which she could

not do with Paul.  She felt so good when she was around Chris it was like regaining a

piece of her life she never had with Paul.

Another more technical reason for Deborah's affair was her relationship between

her intellect, conscience, and will.  The relationships were in the correct order (1st -

intellect, 2nd - conscience, 3rd - will).  Deborah's conscience is what she distinguishes

right from wrong with.  She was obviously taught that an affair was wrong, sometime in

her life.  There is another factor though which disrupts this relationship, which is

emotions.  Deborah's emotions were so strong that a cloud formed over her conscience

so she couldn't make the correct decision.  So, the effect of her emotion blinded her and

this is why some people, including Deborah, have an affair even though they have a

perfect conscience.

With the reasons above and my feelings and thoughts on why Deborah Bronski

had an affair with Christopher de Monti, I hope you can understand why she had an affair

when she knew right from wrong.