“At least what I do is with … persons!”
The narrative raises the question of what are the social limits of what is considered forbidden, distasteful or simply taboo. In this regard, the story handles the subject of sexuality and what is considered acceptable by societal norms. Billy utters the statement to his father after he berates him for being homosexual, in an attempt to show the line his father has crossed. In that, his father cannot judge his sexuality while he himself is engaging in bestiality. The narrative aims to challenge the social conventions that restrict certain social behaviors by showing hypocrisy on the part of the characters. The play does not necessarily speak on the permissibility of bestiality in society but rather the societal confines that have been placed to ascertain what is ‘normal” or not.
“Knowing it—knowing it’s true is one thing, but believing what you know … well, there’s the tough part. We all prepare for jolts along the way, disturbances of the peace, the lies, the evasions, the infidelities—if they happen.”
Stevie utters the statement to Martin to express how she was not prepared for a scenario where his husband would be into bestiality. The assertion alludes to more than the current predicament the wife is facing trying to wrap her head around the truth about her husband. It speaks on the complications in a marital relationship, in that she divulges the usual or what would be considered usual in the relationship between spouses. Supposedly Martin finds something pure in his relationship with the goat that is probably missing in his marriage with Stevie. Thus, fostering the notion that a union that would normally be considered perfect or healthy could be toxic than that which is considered unnatural or taboo.
