Unfaithfulness

The central plot of Silver Sparrow, in addition to a number of the subplots, are based on different characters being unfaithful to their romantic partners. The primary example is James, and his unfaithfulness to his first wife, Laverne. Ironically, James first meets his second wife, Gwendolyn, as he is shopping for an anniversary gift for Laverne. (Gwendolyn, at the time, worked as a gift wrapper at the mall.) Even though James only had a brief, halting conversation with Gwendolyn, he buys her perfume, in addition to his anniversary gift. And, on top of that, the gift that James purchases for Gwendolyn is more expensive than the gift he purchases for Laverne, a strong signal of his intentions from the start.

Because Dana knows that Gwendolyn is James’ secondary wife -- James visits them once a week instead of regularly living with them -- she immediately learns...