Kaitlin answers “Could someone explain to me what happened...”

Miki asked this question about My Dark Vanessa:

Could someone explain to me what happened between Vanessa and Henry Plough, and why? And what happened between Henry Plough and Strane? I feel that I didn't properly understand what was going on in this part of the book.

Kaitlin Strane's abuse of Vanessa shaped her identity. She started to define herself uniquely through their "relationship" and through her self-identification…moreStrane's abuse of Vanessa shaped her identity. She started to define herself uniquely through their "relationship" and through her self-identification as a "nymphet" - a young girl who seduces older men. She reads novel after novel about such relationships and repeatedly seeks out the attention of older men (in the bowling alley, online, etc) because Strane's manipulation made her feel like this was her superpower, her way of feeling special and different. This fixation on age-gap relationships and specifically student/teacher forbidden relationships immediately led her to fixate on Henry. She was both drawn to him and repulsed by him; deeply disappointed that his special treatment of her (praise of her work and intellect) could possibly be simply based on her "nymphet allure" and thrown when she found out he was married and to a former student nonetheless (so she's not special, just the fixation of another man like Strane).

Henry obviously behaved better than Strane, however he was also a problematic character. His wife was a former student of his and additionally, he knew of Vanessa's abuse and was secretly reading her blog in which she detailed her fixation on both Henry and Strane. He keeps his wife a secret while continuing to read her blog and meet with Vanessa when the appropriate thing to do would have been to encourage Vanessa to seek help and distance himself. To me, it seems that if Vanessa would have actually made a physical step forward to start something he would have gone with it and it was only her pulling away as a result of the encounter with Strane that stopped it from happening and not Henry's moral fortitude.

The interaction between Plough and Strane was a combination of jealousy on both sides, fear of being exposed on the part of Strane and anger over what Strane did to Vanessa on the part of Plough who, despite some ambiguous behavior, did still care for Vanessa to some extent.(less)

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