That's an interesting point you make, Cristina, about the different perceptions that men and women might have about Michael's faithfulness, etc.

I used the term "straitlaced" only because that was the one used in the book.

As I think further about Michael's attitude towards women, though, I would say that Appolonia was the true love of his life. It was her "thunderbolt" that hit him, after all.

Kay, I think, was a compromise.

When Michael returned home, he had to marry someone. He wasn't about to start hitting the singles bars, and there was no internet to meet women on.

He and Kay had a prior relationship, and I always got the feeling from their first meeting after Michael's return that he was feeding her a line of bullshit.

As far as the tenderness he displayed towards her goes, I always felt that there was some insincerity there as well. Like Kay was his baby machine, and he was just going through the motions, saying and doing the right things just to keep her happy.

His faithfulness, as depicted in the Vegas hotel suite scene, where he chose to forgo an evening of Fredo-style two-at-a-time fun, was, I think, more a function of his compartmentalized existence - he was there strictly for business, he was leaving in the morning, nothing was gonna get in his way - than any faithfulness he felt for his wife.