Sexus contains some of Miller's most vivid erotic writing, but its most interesting subject involves Miller's deepest probing of the psychic landscape which operates as a parallel world throughout his writing. In this case, his entrance into a mental landscape to avoid the unpleasantness of external reality carries him beyond areas of inspiration for artistic reflection and toward the fundamental psychological framework of his artistic imagination. This is an area he has not wanted to confront because he has suspected that a careful look at the sources of his energy might lead either to insanity or artistic sterility.

However, he realizes that his survival as a human being depends on an understanding of his most deeply concealed urges, and that a mutually rewarding relationship with a woman is impossible without such an examination. As the circumstances of external reality and his interior landscape fuse at the conclusion of...