Victoria asked Megan Abbott:

Just finished reading Give Me Your Hand and I'm struck again at your skill in diving deep into symbiotic/toxic relationships and wringing humanity out of even the darkest characters. Do you think females have a specifically different way of interacting with one another? If so, why?

Megan Abbott Thank you so much, Victoria! And what a great question. I think about this so much. And, yes, I do think --- in broad, generalizing terms -- women do have a specific way of interacting. Because, historically, various social expectations about girls and women have made it hard or unacceptable for girls and women to express certain feelings (ambition, aggression, desire, ambivalence about traditional maternal roles, etc.), I think women do often speak (unconsciously) in a kind of code. Gestures stand in for open expression. Aggressive feelings get triangulated, etc. So much is furtive, unspoken. (Not for nothing, I think about this any time I watch the Real Houswives---social codes are all!).

flag