It seems that Zuleika is the ultimate distraction to everyone she meets...especially those at Oxford.  The Duke is much like Jude was at the beginning of Jude the Obscure, and they both become distracted by the first time by a (seemingly) lovely young woman.

Zuleika reminds me of many young women that go to this school, which suggests that modern people have things in common with those in the Victorian era.  A young lady will often make suitors (or just anybody) wait for them.  Indeed, at dinner, the Warden finds himself saying "I cannot think why she is not down yet" (24) in reference to Zuleika taking her time in showing up.  This reminds me of college life today, because it seems that all parties begin very late.  I would be happy if a party started at 9:00 and went to 12:00.  However, if you start a party at 9:00, people will not begin to show up until 11:30, and the party will still go on until 2:00, so there is no reason to start parties earlier.  People have the conception that cool people show up very late for planned engagements, and it seems that this is something that was going on in the Victorian era.

Distraction is mentioned often in The Illustrated Zuleika Dobson, but one that struck me particularly was the mention of sleep.  Beerbohm says that "[f]or a young man, sleep is the sure solvent of distress" (37).  Sleep helps relieve stress, but it also creates it.  For instance, if you have a book to read so you can write a required journal (this is all hypothetical), but it's late and you're very tired, you may put off reading until the last minute, therefore causing much stress.  So, while sleep makes you feel better, it also passes time rather quickly.

Another distraction mentioned by Beerbohm is that of eating.  He says that "Zuleika and the Duke were ravenously hungry, as people always are after the stress of any great emotional crisis" (56).  I also find myself eating when there is work to be done.  When I'm writing papers especially, I will take frequent breaks to eat something.  I think that I am eating out of boredom and lack of inspiration; I would rather eat than do my work.

The ultimate distraction is love.  The death of the Duke through his heartbreak from Zuleika can be metaphorical for the death of any person's work through love or heartbreak.  Both love and heartbreak can be huge distractions--love makes you want to dance and sing and do just about anything but work, and heartbreak makes you want to mope and loathe.  Love is a distraction for most young people (those in college).  I would love to discuss distraction and love forever, but now I have to go eat something.