Fiona Joffroy answers “What was missing in Vanessa's childhood...”

A Goodreads user asked this question about My Dark Vanessa:

What was missing in Vanessa's childhood that made her such easy pickings? I kept waiting for some psychological explanation from her therapist. Vanessa was an only child and, except for a mother who was annoyingly intrusive and sometimes critical, there was no abuse, nothing to make her crave such intense "adoration," no explanation for her being so easily manipulated.

Fiona Joffroy I wondered the same thing at times, however, I do believe the book reveals this is her childhood. There is a session with her therapist in which Ruby …moreI wondered the same thing at times, however, I do believe the book reveals this is her childhood. There is a session with her therapist in which Ruby attempts to get Vanessa to remember her childhood and life before Strane. Vanessa can't. Throughout the book, they actually do not reveal much about her childhood or time before Strane. While she may be a teenager, she still is a child, she is forming her identity. I definitely think her already-existing insecurities made her a particular target, but those insecurities were not necessarily caused by her childhood. Rather, she happened to be quiet and did not have many friends at Browick. I think the concept of being a teenage girl is reiterated throughout the novel. Teenage girls are crazy, unreliable, and unbelievable. Teenage girls travel in packs with their friends. Vanessa did not have this protection so to say from friendships, She was lonely and felt unrecognized, invisible. Her relationship with Strane is the defining moment in her childhood that makes her more susceptible to toxic and abusive relationships- romantic, friendships, with herself, her family. (less)

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Just Me Not remembering your childhood is often a sign of trauma. It means you had to dissociate for some reason and therefore couldn't form memories. ...more
Aug 12, 2023 09:30AM · flag

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