Did you expect us to be peaceful?
Not only the interviewer but many other people couldn’t help wondering why Miss Evanson ventured into “such absolutely unknown territory” unarmed “with anything except a piece of string.” The man asked her, “Did you expect us to be peaceful?” He found that peacefulness of her funny, for no one in their right mind wouldn’t have done that! “You should have armed yourself,” he said. “An armed person” was more “formidable” than one who was “helpless.” The man couldn’t understand that Janet didn’t want to be “formidable.” Her main goal was to learn.
Is this friendship? Is this politeness?
Janet was unpleasantly surprised. That world was so different from the one she knew. Both men and women behaved strangely, said insulting and offensive words, tried to manipulate her, or mocked her. Of course, Janet wasn’t weak, she could easily put an end to any act of harassment, but it didn’t mean that she didn’t feel anything. On the contrary, that injustice left her confused and sad. She couldn’t help wondering, “Is this friendship? Is this politeness?” Unfortunately for her, people aimed rarely to be friendly. More often than not, they wanted to be entertained by that strange woman whose world had been deprived of men.
What the devil do you mean?
Janet’s story puzzled people, for it contradicted their ideas of the world order, it was so bizarre, so different from traditionalism. She said that there were no men there, didn’t she? Some people thought that she was definitely insane. When people asked her whether she missed “family, sex, love, erotic attraction”, Janet didn’t even know how to answer, for she had all of that! She was “married.” She had “children.” So, “what the devil” did they mean when they asked her those questions? Indeed, Janet failed to understand that strange place.
