The Maidens

by Alex Michaelides

‘Love isn’t conditional,’ Ruth said. ‘It’s not dependent on jumping through hoops to please someone – and always failing. You can’t love someone if you’re afraid of them, Mariana. I know it’s hard to hear. It’s a kind of blindness – but unless you wake up and see clearly, it will persist throughout your whole life, affecting how you see yourself, and others too.’ Mariana shook her head. ‘You’re wrong about my father,’ she said. ‘I know he’s difficult – but he loves me. And I love him.’ ‘No,’ said Ruth firmly. ‘At best, let’s call it a desire to be loved. At worst, it’s a pathological attachment to a narcissistic man: a melting pot of gratitude, fear, expectation, and dutiful obedience that has nothing to do with love in the true sense of the word. You don’t love him. Nor do you know or love yourself.’