“You wanted to know if people closer to the mice got transformed more dramatically,” Clayton says with even greater respect. Chaya is annoyed that he’s clearly raising his opinion of her. Men tend to do this: treat her like a Strong Woman, because she’s tall and fit and works with her hands, but then express some silent surprise when it turns out she really does possess initiative and insight and perseverance and all that other stuff. In her experiences, men are disappointed by one another’s failures, but surprised by women’s success.
