Essay Questions

Both Carol and Therese are in some way in denial about their sexuality. What are the ways in which this denial is manifested?

Therese is not necessarily in denial to herself about her sexuality; she seems comfortable in the knowledge that she is sexually attracted to Carol, and is quite put out when Carol insinuates that her feelings are nothing more than a schoolgirl crush. Therese is the driving force in the relationship as she was the one who reached out to Carol, a stranger at the time, on a whim. However, she denies her sexuality on a societal level, dating a man, Richard, because she is aware that this is what is expected of her, and that dating a woman might be socially frowned upon in her circle.

Carol, on the other hand, goes to great lengths to deny her that her relationship with Therese is anything more than a friendship, even though she has already explored same sex attraction with her best friend Abby. This, she explains to herself as something particular to that friendship rather than a statement about her sexuality in general. When she is beginning to have stronger feelings for Therese she denies them to herself by calling Therese's feelings for her a schoolgirl crush. As a crush is generally a one way thing she is hiding behind Therese's feelings in an attempt to deny her own.

Why does Therese expect Carol to choose her over Rindy?

To expect Carol to choose her lover over her daughter is entirely unreasonable, yet this is the power of Therese's extreme feelings of abandonment. The demand is also ironic in that as a child, Therese felt that her mother abandoned her, yet she now expects Carol to inflict that same abandonment upon her own daughter, Rindy. Therese's abandonment issues mean that she feels the need to make anyone she loves prove their own love to her. She wants Carol to prove that she is the most important person in her world, and feels that she has been abandoned when Carol is understandably unable to give her that.

Therese expects Carol's love to be as intense as her own, and is not emotionally unselfish enough to understand that Carol can love her intensely but still need to put her own relationship with her daughter first.