In ancient Rome, adultery ( adulterium ) was defined specifically as a sexual transgression committed by a married woman with a man who was not her husband. For men, sex with an unmarried woman ( stuprum ) was treated less severely unless the woman was a virgin or under paternal authority.
In the context of tragedy, Plautus and Seneca also explored adultery, often as a plot device to explore themes of morality, power, and familial relationships. These works reflect the societal anxieties about the breakdown of family structures and the potential for chaotic consequences when marital vows are broken.
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From the pages of Gabriel García Márquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera to the gritty telenovelas of Televisa, infidelity is portrayed with a specific intensity—one that mixes machismo , Catholic guilt, and explosive passion. Unlike the often-clinical portrayal of infidelity in Western European or American media, "Latin adultery" is steeped in duende : that dark, burning authenticity that turns a mistake into a tragedy.