> Feynman was a brilliant man but it was clear that losing his wife shook him. Perhaps the womanizing was a consequence of that.
I'm having a hard time imagining how the cause you posited could conceivably lead to the effect in question. Let's also remember that when a guy "plays the field", it doesn't always have a deep story behind it! :)
It’s certainly possible there was no cause. I’m just imagining that falling deeply in love with someone and marrying them, only to lose them a short time later could cause one to lose faith in the idea of committing to a single person.
I have zero evidence to back this up, it’s just how I felt after reading his books, and the biography by Gleick.