“Anna Karenina” explores the life of Anna, who seems to have it all—a devoted husband, a respected place in society, and financial comfort. But her life takes an emotional turn when she begins a passionate affair with the dashing Count Vronsky.
The novel shows the conflict between her desire and her family responsibilities, as well as how society views male and female infidelity differently. Tolstoy gives readers a powerful glimpse of the choices Anna faces in a world where her happiness and moral expectations collide.
It’s a timeless portrait of love outside marital bounds.
In “Madame Bovary,” Emma is a dreamer. Married to Charles, a respectable yet dull provincial doctor, she longs desperately for passion and romance she reads about in books. Searching for emotional escape, Emma engages in multiple romantic relationships outside her marriage.
Flaubert describes Emma’s struggle with unrealized dreams, her boredom with small-town life, and ultimately how her desires spiral into tragedy. Emma’s affairs aren’t just physical, they represent her attempt to capture an idealized life that’s continually out of reach.
It’s a novel that beautifully portrays the emptiness of obsessive searching for fulfillment elsewhere.
“The Great Gatsby” introduces Tom Buchanan, a wealthy, arrogant businessman cheating openly and shamelessly on his wife Daisy. Set against the glittering backdrop of 1920s
Long Island, Tom’s affair with Myrtle Wilson illustrates the careless actions of those who feel above societal expectations. Gatsby’s love for Daisy contrasts sharply against Tom’s selfishness and betrayal.
Fitzgerald exposes the destructiveness beneath the era’s glamour, highlighting how deceit and marital infidelity impact lives deeply. Infidelity isn’t just personal; it symbolizes the moral decay hidden behind dazzling wealth in this unforgettable story.
In “The Girl on the Train,” Rachel, commuting daily into London, becomes fixated on a seemingly happy couple whose lives she observes from the train window.
When the wife goes missing, Rachel discovers deeply hidden secrets about cheating husbands, fractured relationships, and betrayals. Paula Hawkins skillfully weaves suspense around suburban marriages that look perfect from afar yet hide severe emotional rifts.
Each revelation makes you question trust, loyalty, and appearances, as infidelity becomes a central thread linking characters together. It’s a gripping exploration of how infidelity can blur reality and fantasy.
“Gone Girl” revolves around Nick Dunne, whose wife Amy disappears mysteriously, throwing suspicion directly on him. Throughout the novel, marital betrayal surfaces as Nick’s past affairs become public, complicating questions around his innocence.
Gillian Flynn builds intense psychological tension within the marriage, showing deceit, manipulation, and dark secrets as the foundation of Nick and Amy’s relationship.
Infidelity isn’t just a plot device here—it defines characters’ motives, decisions, and the terrifying extent to which one can deceive. Flynn delivers a chilling portrayal of marriage based on hidden truths and emotional betrayals.
In “Big Little Lies,” Liane Moriarty looks closely at three mothers whose seemingly ordinary lives hide secrets involving domestic violence, emotional burdens, and cheating husbands.
The discovery of infidelity impacts family dynamics and exposes the complexities beneath suburban life. Moriarty portrays marital betrayal realistically, acknowledging its ripple effects on self-esteem, friendships, and community.
The characters’ responses to underlying deception drive the story forward, showcasing how infidelity challenges assumptions about relationships. It’s an engaging story with believable characters confronting the messy realities and unforeseen consequences of marital dishonesty.
Maria Semple’s “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” focuses on Bernadette Fox, an emotional, intense woman whose mysterious disappearance sends her daughter, Bee, on a journey to discover family truths—including her father’s emotional involvement with a coworker.
Bernadette’s vanishing prompts discussions about betrayal and miscommunication in marriage. Semple presents infidelity subtly yet significantly, revealing its impact through misunderstandings and emotional vulnerability.
Written humorously and insightfully, the novel emphasizes how even emotional infidelities disrupt family unity, compelling Bee—and readers—to reconsider notions of trust, family loyalty, and betrayal.
In “Heartburn,” Nora Ephron tells a semi-autobiographical story of Rachel, a successful food writer pregnant with her second child when she discovers her husband’s betrayal.
Filled with humor, honesty, and Ephron’s sharp wit, the novel confronts the emotional turmoil of infidelity head-on. Rachel tries to cope by focusing on cooking, friendships, and her career, yet struggles to rebuild self-confidence in the aftermath.
Ephron portrays marital infidelity as painful yet sometimes oddly humorous, expressing the complexity and absurdity of betrayal. It’s a heartfelt story capturing all the emotional ups and downs involved.
“The Other Boleyn Girl” takes readers to Henry VIII’s court, vividly recreating his notorious affair with Anne Boleyn while still married to Catherine of Aragon.
Told from the viewpoint of Anne’s sister, Mary, the novel deftly illustrates how royal infidelity shaped English history. Gregory provides intimate glimpses of Henry’s marital betrayals, intrigues for power, and manipulation by ambitious families.
Infidelity in this novel isn’t merely personal—it’s political, carrying huge stakes that affect an entire kingdom. It’s a richly detailed portrayal of the real-world impact cheating husbands historically had on political alliances and family reputations.
Lauren Groff’s “Fates and Furies” unfolds in two contrasting parts, each examining one spouse’s perspective on a seemingly enviable marriage.
Initially, their union appears perfect, but Groff gradually unravels hidden infidelity, secrets, and unexpected betrayals beneath the surface. Lotto, a charismatic playwright husband, has no real grasp of his wife’s emotional depth or private burdens.
Infidelity here isn’t straightforward—it emerges through emotional intimacy, deception, and secrets withheld from one another.
Groff portrays complex emotional betrayals, challenging initial impressions of happiness in marriage, and revealing layers of concealed truths with great emotional power.
In “This Is How You Lose Her,” Junot Díaz offers interconnected stories focusing mainly on Yunior, a Dominican American man continually unfaithful in relationships, resulting in loss and regret.
Díaz candidly captures cheating from perspectives that are painfully honest, witty, and heartbreakingly human. The stories focus on masculinity, sexuality, culture, and the consequences of betrayal.
Infidelity emerges not just as personal morality but as cultural and emotional self-sabotage. Díaz creates raw, lively narratives that vividly explore the emotional aftermath of betrayals, leaving readers reflecting on how infidelity shapes personal identity.
“An Affair,” by Diane Athill, recounts the author’s own experience as she looks back on her youthful relationship with a married man. Her reflections shed light on the emotional complexities of having an affair, including its fleeting joys and lingering sorrows.
Athill captures precisely how extramarital relationships offer brief escapes and intense feelings, while always involving consequences. Her insightful, reflective style shows clearly the conflicting emotions wrapped within infidelity’s excitement and heartbreak.
“An Affair” is an emotionally honest exploration of the powerful, yet ultimately unsustainable nature of relationships born out of marital betrayal.
In “The End of the Affair,” Graham Greene narrates Maurice Bendrix’s passionate yet tortured love affair with Sarah, a married woman. After Sarah ends their relationship abruptly, Bendrix obsesses over discovering why.
Greene crafts an emotionally charged story of guilt, jealousy, and betrayal, in which infidelity deeply affects the spiritual and emotional lives of all involved. Each character wrestles with inner demons and moral dilemmas stemming directly from the affair.
Greene brings attention to the complex emotional landscape both parties experience, exploring how love, faith, and fidelity intersect and clash.
“Fleishman Is in Trouble” presents newly divorced Toby Fleishman navigating life post-marriage, while reviewing his experiences of marital unhappiness and betrayal.