The diaphragm represents Neil’s desire to take the upper hand in his and Brenda’s sexual relationship. A diaphragm is a type of contraceptive device; it is a cap that is used during sex to block a woman’s cervix and prevent pregnancy. At this time in the 1950s, diaphragms were usually only given to married women by doctors. In Goodbye, Columbus, Neil insists that Brenda get a diaphragm as a way of demonstrating her commitment to him. Brenda is hesitant, knowing she will have to lie about her marital status to get one, but ultimately relents, giving Neil power over decisions about Brenda’s sexuality and affirming that she is serious about him. However, when Mrs. Patimkin finds the diaphragm in Brenda’s dresser, she is scandalized that her daughter is having premarital sex and sends Brenda a distraught letter. This forces Brenda to break up with Neil, feeling that she will not be accepted by her family unless she does so. Thus, the diaphragm illustrates how the power struggle between Neil and Brenda ultimately ruins their relationship.
Diaphragm Quotes in Goodbye, Columbus
When I began to unbutton her dress she resisted me, and I like to think it was because she knew how lovely she looked in it. But she looked lovely, my Brenda, anyway, and we folded it carefully and held each other close and soon there we were, Brenda falling, slowly but with a smile, and me, rising.
How can I describe loving Brenda? It was so sweet, as though I’d finally scored that twenty-first point.
“Okay,” I said. “I just wish you’d realize what it is you’re getting angry about. It’s not my suggestion, Brenda.”
“No? What is it?”
“It’s me.”
“Oh don’t start that again, will you? I can’t win, no matter what I say.”
“Yes, you can,” I said. “You have.”
God, I said, I am twenty-three years old. I want to make the best of things. Now the doctor is about to wed Brenda to me, and I am not entirely certain this is all for the best. What is it I love, Lord? Why have I chosen? Who is Brenda? The race is to the swift. Should I have stopped to think?
What was it inside me that had turned pursuit and clutching into love and then turned it inside out again? What was it that had turned winning into losing, and losing—who knows—into winning? I was sure I had loved Brenda, though standing there, I knew I couldn’t any longer. And I knew it would be a long while before I made love to anyone the way I had made love to her. With anyone else, could I summon up such a passion? Whatever spurred my love for her, had that spawned such lust too? If she had only been slightly not Brenda…but then would I have loved her?
Diaphragm Symbol Timeline in Goodbye, Columbus
