Sex and Vanity: A Novel

The setting of Capri, Italy, symbolizes desire. Lucie Churchill’s time in Capri awakens her impulsive spirit, as it grants her new experiences and affords her new relationships. Traveling to Capri is significant to Lucie because it’s “the first wedding she’d been invited to as a grown-up” and “the first real trip she’d been on without her mother and brother” (21). Visiting Capri is a freeing adventure for Lucie, granting her a sense of independence and possibility. Furthermore, Italy’s atmosphere agrees with her observant nature and artistic sensibility. She can’t imagine “how anyone […] could find fault with [the] island” and is constantly enamored with the “undulating hills dotted with white villas, ancient fortress ruins commanding every ridgetop, and the sea sparkling in the golden sun” (24). The idyllic environment contrasts sharply with Lucie’s metropolitan New York home and the puritanical Brown University environment in Rhode Island. Lucie feels freer to think and behave in ways she normally wouldn’t while in Capri because its atmosphere and culture compel visitors to engage with the natural world and embrace the island’s luxurious offerings.

Furthermore, Lucie’s time in Capri inspires her feelings for