To understand the power of incest literature, one must also understand the symbolic power of the act and then develop a clear concept of how it applies within the structure of the story. Cain's, "The Butterfly", is a work that took the author several years of sporadic work to complete. Incest is more than simply a sexual act between members of the same family; it is a representative of the betrayal of the self and of the violent division of the body from the mind. We understand, from the archetypal Oedipus Rex, that incest, whether it be imagined or real, does not find its true power to destroy through its physical side. Instead, incest is an absolute betrayal of the soul and abuse of the mind. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the major themes and intent of James Cain's "The Butterfly".
