Acts Of Desire

Acts of Desire is a study of theatrical depictions of illicit female sexuality, from seduction and prostitution to bigamy and adultery, from the beginning of the nineteenth century through to the 1930s.

'Crushing...intensely vital' Observer 'It's impossible to tear yourself away' The Times 'Such brilliant writing about female desire...honest and visceral' Marian Keyes She's twenty-three and in love with love. He's older, and the most beautiful man she's ever seen. The affair is quickly consuming. But this relationship is unpredictable, and behind his perfect looks is a mean streak. She's intent on winning him over, but neither is living up to the other's ideals. He keeps emailing his thin, glamorous ex, and she's starting to give in to secret, shameful cravings of her own. The search for a fix is frantic, and taking a dangerous turn... We're all looking to get what we want - but do we know what we need?

In this volume Van der Auwera attempts to clarify the idea that language reflects both mind and reality and to elucidate the reflection idea by turning it into the cornerstone of a linguistic theory of meaning.

Perfectionism is one of the leading moral views of the Western tradition. Defined broadly, it holds that what is right is whatever most promotes certain objective human goods such as knowledge, achievement, and deep personal relations.

First Published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.