You gave my hyacinths & The girls in their summer dresses

Two short stories You gave my hyacinths by Janette Turner Hospital and The girls in their summer dresses by Irwin Shaw explore serious human sexual desires. Both stories share a tone of desperation in them. The main characters carry external conflicts with the minor characters. In both stories the main characters go through a situation in which they are to bring a change to themselves by changing the minor characters behavior and attitude but end up learning something from them and living normal lives.
In each of the stories the main character tries the change the minor character's attitu…