The Maidens

by Alex Michaelides

A long time ago, psychopathy used to be called simply “evil.”

Psychopathy or sadism never appeared from nowhere. It was not a virus, infecting someone out of the blue. It had a long prehistory in childhood.

Mariana might not be a detective, but she was a therapist, and she knew how to listen. To listen not only to what was being said, but also to everything unsaid, all the words unspoken—the lies, evasions, projections, transferences, and other psychological phenomena that occurred between two people, and that required a special kind of listening.

He offered her an apple. She was automatically about to refuse when she realized she was hungry. She nodded. Fred looked pleased. He selected the better of the two apples, polished it on his sleeve, and handed it to her. “Thanks.” Mariana took it and bit into the apple. It was crisp and sweet.

Callback to Adam & Eve?

Mariana glanced at the onlookers, and suddenly remembered the ghoulish crowd that had gathered on the beach to watch as Sebastian’s body was dragged from the water. She remembered those faces—expressions of concern masking prurient excitement.

She's kind of assigning motives to the crowd. This makes her an unreliable narrator.

I also learned, from a young age, that I did not walk on the ground—but on a narrow network of invisible ropes, suspended above the earth. I had to navigate them carefully, trying not to slip or fall.

ἴδεσθε τὰν Ἰλίου καὶ Φρυγῶν ἑλέπτολιν στείχουσαν, ἐπὶ κάρα στέφη βαλουμέναν χερνίβων τε παγάς, βωμόν γε δαίμονος θεᾶς ῥανίσιν αἱματορρύτοις χρανοῦσαν εὐφυῆ τε σώματος δέρην σφαγεῖσαν.

I guess the author wants us to know she reads Greek.

He went to the sideboard and poured two glasses of dark red Bordeaux. He returned and handed a glass to Mariana. She brought the wine to her lips, and drank. It was earthy, gravelly, and full-bodied. She was already feeling the effects of the champagne on an empty stomach; she should stop drinking, or she’d soon be drunk. But she didn’t stop.

Doesn't she read murder mysteries? I suppose she goes down the cellar to investigate strange noises too. All we need is a thunderstorm raging...