Italy

Jacqueline
Lyon Bowman

Jacqueline agrees to accompany Bowman to a conference in Italy, where they have an affair. It is not important to either of them, but is rather more like a way to spend the evening.

"I still have an intuition that Hebb was right. Learning strengthens connections. Or makes new ones. It feels right." [p. 164]

Neither Lyon nor Jacqueline care about the sex they have - it is a nice change to have both parties be emotionally uninvolved.

Oxford, 1968

Jacqueline
Luk Lysgaard-Peacock, a biology professor
Marcus Potter
Vincent Hodgkiss, a philosopher

Jacqueline begins to show an interest in Luk and he responds by inviting her to his house in the country for the weekend. He goes to great lengths to show an interest in her. They make love but it is not intense - more like kissing one's sister. Jacqueline is showing that she is feeling old and doesn't want to have life pass her by.

"They should have been unable to keep their hands off each other, and were sitting politely apart, at breakfast, in the car." [p. 179]

Jacqueline is genuinely confused about what she wants in life.

Oxford, 1968

Jacqueline
Luk Lysgaard-Peacock, a biology professor

Jacqueline discovers she is pregnant. She tells Luk and they decide to get married. However she then has a miscarriage and immediately calls the wedding off

"I want to want to get married, but I don't. It was all a mistake." [p. 185]

Jacqueline is genuinely confused about what she wants in life.

The story appears to be centering on two woman, Frederica and Jacqueline, and the difficulties each is having trying to decide what they want to do with their lives.

It has been awhile since I noticed a sentence that really caught my attention.