The Kugelmass Episode
By Woody Allen, first published in The New Yorker
A professor conceives a plan with a magician where he can be transported into the world of fictional characters. He tries to have an affair with Emma from Madame Bovary, but when he brings her into New York, things go awry.
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A professor is in his second marriage and unhappy. His first wife costs him alimony, and he doesn’t like his second wife anymore. He asks his therapist what he should do if he wants to have an affair, and his therapist says that he doesn’t believe he should have an affair. The therapist comments that if that’s what he wants, he should hire a magician, not a professional. The professor agrees and fires the therapist, and finds a magician who can transport him into the world of fictional characters. He goes into Madame Bovary and has an affair with Emma. He enjoys his time with her and agrees to show her New York. However, when he tries to send her back to the book, the magician is unable to send her back. Things derail as she leaves the book entirely and other professors are confused as to why she is no longer in the story. Eventually, the magician figures out how he can send her back. She gets sent back, and the professor promises to never have an affair again. Later, the man returns to the magician and asks if he can have an affair with someone else. The magician says that he hasn’t done this work since the previous issue occurred, but he’d be willing to help the professor. The magician sends the professor into a new world, but then the magician has a heart attack and dies. Instead of the correct fictional book, the magician had accidentally sent the professor into a Spanish textbook where the professor is chased by the word “tener,” unable to escape.
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