Romanticism in "The Kugelmass Episode."
             A romantic story is one that has qualities such as a quest for "pure beauty", far-away and non-normal references, and shows and interest in nature. "The Kugelmass Episode" by Woody Allen contains many of these characteristics. Remoteness of setting in time and space and improbable plots are all techniques used by romantic writers. They are also techniques that Allen uses in this short story.
             The quest for "pure beauty" is quite obvious in "The Kugelmass Episode." The main character, Sidney Kugelmass, is looking to have an affair with someone who he can be romantic and flirtatious with. He wants to make love in Venice and have romantic, candlelight dinners. This is all that Kugelmass wants because he doesn't want to get a divorce from his wife because he knows that it will cost him a lot of money. His dreams are answered when he meets Persky, a magician, who can project people into any novel of their choosing. He says he wants a simple woman who is attractive because his wife, Daphne, isn't very easy going and he says that she has "let herself go." Kugelmass wants to go into "Madame Bovary" because he wants to have an affaire with a French lover and he finds Emma Bovary to be just the one.
             Far-away and non-normal elements are very present in this story. It is very odd that Persky has a way to project people into a novel. He had a cheap looking cabinet that, when containing a person and a novel, could send that person right into the novel with three taps of his magic wand. Another far-away and non-normal characteristic is an interest in the past. Kugelmass shows this because he wants to go into "Madame
             Bovary." He could have picked any book or story from the present, but he felt like his needs would be better satisfied with a lady from the past. Kugelmass also has non-normal feelin
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