History Literature / FearOfFlying

* BettyAndVeronica: Bennett and Adrian.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/c1761163b54bf826149995040e2e41a6.jpg]]

* BigApplesauce: While much of the "front story" in the novel takes place in Europe (particularly Vienna), Isadora is from the "Upper West Side." Her family are PolishJews and well-to-do from their business selling "tchotchkes." Her husband, Bennett, is from a less posh area and seems to resent her background.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnaTrueStory: Some parts of the novel are autobiographical, but fictionalized. Jong's sister complained that events in the novel were based on the latter's life in Lebanon, but Jong dismissed the complaints.

''Fear Of Flying'' was a 1973 best-selling novel by Creator/EricaJong. It was both criticised and lauded for its frank portrayal of women's sexuality and, rather than stereotypical romance, the breakdown of the protagonist's several marriages (for various reasons including her extramarital affair).

Some tropes associated with Fear Of Flying include:

* VeryLooselyBasedOnaTrueStory: Some parts of the novel are autobiographical, but fictionalized. Jong's sister complained that events in the novel were based on the latter's life in Lebanon, but Jong dismissed the complaints.

* AbusiveParents : Isadora's mother is [[JewishMother nuts]]. Isadora [[FreudianExcuse theorizes]] it comes from being the artistic daughter of a successful artist (who at one point ''paints over'' her canvases!). Without artistic expression as a release, that creative urge builds up into a "great black fart of rage."
* AttemptedRape : At one point, Isadora is on a train with a man who grabs her and pushes her down. She gets away from him, then realizes the setup is her very own fantasy of the "zipless fuck," and it ''terrified'' her. This, of course, is the heart of the MadonnaWhoreComplex, and it complicates her sex life, both inside her marriage and out.
* BettyAndVeronica : Bennett and Adrian.
* BigApplesauce : While much of the "front story" in the novel takes place in Europe (particularly Vienna), Isadora is from the "Upper West Side." Her family are PolishJews and well-to-do from their business selling "tchotchkes." Her husband, Bennett, is from a less posh area and seems to resent her background.
* CatchPhrase : Along with a PrecisionFStrike in the term "zipless fuck." Isadora relates a fantasy of two beautiful strangers meeting on a train, having a perfect sexual encounter with no emotional or personal entanglements, and then never seeing each other again. It's described as "zipless" because nothing gets in the way, not even their clothing ("Underwear blows apart like [[VaporWear dandelion fluff]].").
* DoubleStandard : Isadora is having an affair with Adrian, yet she gets jealous when Bennett puts the moves on another woman.
* FunnySchizophrenia : A strong aversion. Isadora divorced her first husband after he attacked her during a psychotic break. The scene starts out amusing, then becomes more [[MoodWhiplash harrowing]] as his psychosis progresses.
* IvyLeagueForEveryone : Isadora is a Barnard graduate. She dates a Harvard graduate at one point, who looks down on her for not having attended Harvard.
* SophisticatedAsHell : Jong puts her Master's in literature to great use, citing Chaucer, the Romantics, varying takes on psychoanalysis, and Greek mythology (for starters). Then there's the "all-weather [[CountryMatters cunt]]" and the aforementioned "zipless fuck."
* ThereAreNoTherapists : Subverted. Isadora's husband is a psychiatrist, so the story is full of psychological debate. The kicker is that every therapist is just as maladjusted as his clients. Finally, Isadora fires her therapist and indulges in some RetailTherapy. She buys new shoes, which make her feel better and cost about the same as a session.
* VeryLooselyBasedOnaTrueStory : Some parts of the novel are autobiographical, but fictionalized. Jong's sister complained that events in the novel were based on the latter's life in Lebanon, but Jong dismissed the complaints.

* CatchPhrase : Along with a PrecisionFStrike in the term "zipless fuck." Isadora relates a fantasy of two beautiful strangers meeting on a train, having a perfect sexual encounter with no emotional or personal entanglements, and then never seeing each other again. It's described as "zipless" because nothing gets in the way, not even their clothing ("Underwear blows apart like [[VaporWare dandelion fluff]].").

* CatchPhrase : Along with a PrecisionFStrike in the term "zipless fuck." Isadora relates a fantasy of two beautiful strangers meeting on a train, having a perfect sexual encounter with no emotional or personal entanglements, and then never seeing each other again. It's described as "zipless" because nothing gets in the way, not even their clothing ("Underwear blows apart like dandelion fluff.").

* ThereAreNoTherapists : Subverted. Isadora's husband is a psychiatrist, so the story is full of psychological debate. The kicker is that every therapist is just as maladjusted as his clients. Finally Isadora fires her therapist and indulges in some RetailTherapy. She buys new shoes, which make her feel better and cost about the same as a session.

* SophisticatedAsHell : Jong puts her Master's in literature to great use, citing Chaucer, the Romantics, and Greek mythology. Then there's the "all-weather [[CountryMatters cunt]]" and the aforementioned "zipless fuck."

* ThereAreNoTherapists : Subverted. Isadora's husband is a psychiatrist, so the story is full of psychological debate. The kicker is that every therapist is just as maladjusted as his clients. Finally Isadora fires her therapist and indulges in some RetailTherapy. She buys new shoes, which make her feel better and cost about the same as a session.