Physical Attractiveness

For these characters and the ones surrounding them, being attractive is a symbol for one's ability to be loved. Like an adolescent, the characters that are focused on their looks are focused on being loved, which is somehow supposed to help them navigate their difficulties. Straub spends countless sentences describing what people look like, especially regarding the efforts they go to in order to appear more attractive.

Sex

In The Vacationers, sex is currency. It is used either to trade up or down a social ladder; it is used to exchange a bad relationship for a good. More often than not in this novel, sex is a transaction. Only a few times does it occur in a safe, joyful environment. .

Money

For the Post family, money is a status symbol. From the rapturous descriptions of Gemma's Mallorca home to the family's shock over how financially...