Three Women

Lina

Lina continues to suffer in her loveless marriage. Ed’s refusal to touch her is a metaphorical weight which Lina reluctantly carries; she feels burdened with the “cool weight of untouch” (149) and “bitter rage” about Ed’s refusal to kiss her (156). She represents Ed as a metaphorical cylinder: “something to pass a life through without any accumulation of wisdom or inspiration” (155). Her restlessness in her relationship is made clear in this metaphor, as is the sense that she feels that her life is being wasted. Lina’s infatuation and sex with Aidan has only solidified her resentment of Ed. In Aidan, Lina feels that she has experienced sex and love with a “real man,” and her life with Ed feels even more inadequate and frustrating as a result. Lina resolves to end things with Ed because she’s sick of “constantly missing opportunities for joy” (155). When she has sex with Aidan at the hotel, she looks in the mirror and feels that she finally looks like the “happy and loved woman” she wants to be (182). For the first time in her life, she felt “sated enough” (182). Lina’s experiences with Aidan again foreground her perception of him as the antithesis of all that is bleak and inadequate in her life. He is exalted as a “Lord” in the bedroom and is perceived by Lina as the answer to her life of drudgery and mediocrity (178).

It is telling that when Lina posts photos on Facebook, she posts them for Aidan. Other Facebook friends who like the photo, or who comment on it, feel like “extras in a movie” (170). This reveals the way that Lina’s infatuation comes to rule her life. Lina’s joy in performing oral sex on Aidan also is representative of her infatuation. The feeling of Aidan’s penis in her mouth is “glorious” because she loves “pleasuring this man who is everything to her” (144). Her obsession with Aidan leads her to want to give all of herself to him, however her devotion is not reciprocated. It is telling that after the act, Aidan “begins to zip up almost immediately” (144). Lina is offended with his brusqueness, and her suspicion that he is not as invested as her is confirmed in their subsequent conversation. Lina tells Aidan that she wants them to be together, but Aidan tells her repeatedly, “I don’t want to hurt you so we should probably stop” (145). Lina privately reflects that this is a way of saying “I want to have sex with you, but I don’t love you,” but she is unwilling to accept this reality or to stop seeing Aidan (145). In these exchanges, Taddeo continues to reveal how women, motivated by overwhelming and undeniable desire, actively cause their own subjugation and suffering.

Aidan’s comparative lack of investment is again apparent when Lina and Aidan are exchanging sexual messages on his work trip. Aidan “irately” pushes Lina to send pictures of her body even after she says no, and Lina suspects that “he is using her only when he is in the mood,” whereas Lina’s devotion to Aidan is constant (148). His disrespect towards Lina is foregrounded in this exchange, which foreshadows the breakdown of their relationship.

Maggie

When Knodel calls off their relationship abruptly, Maggie “doesn’t question why it’s only he who gets to decide,” as she “understands that now she has no voice” (157). Maggie understands at this point the extent of the power which Knodel holds in their relationship. Maggie was a child without role models or adults to guide her, leaving her open to exploitation. At one point early in their relationship, she wondered if her feelings towards Knodel were merely reactionary in the face of his persuasive power. She reels from being rejected by the very person who initiated and drove the entire relationship.

It is telling that Knodel is the one to reinitiate contact after Maggie graduates via Facebook and then MSN, and then firmly tells Maggie that they can “never talk again” (166). This exchange symbolizes, once again, Knodel’s power in the relationship. Maggie was desperate to talk to him for months but is only allowed to do so when it’s initiated by him. After being allowed to talk to him for a few hours, Maggie feels that “there’s a sun again” (166). This metaphor speaks to Maggie’s devotion to Knodel, a dynamic which exists because of his age and status as her teacher.

In the years after the relationship, Maggie feels “used,” “like dirty underwear” (184). She realizes, more than she ever acknowledged previously, the extent to which Knodel held the power and the extent to which the relationship damaged her: “He only did what he wanted in the moment he wanted it.” She feels that he metaphorically “plucked her up when he wanted her,” and then “dropped her off […] very far away from home” (186). Her description emphasizes her transformation and isolation.

Taddeo positions the reader to feel frustration at the legal system which seems to privilege Knodel’s truth over Maggie’s. A juror who stated, before the court proceedings, that “a young woman, 17 years of age, should have known better” was not dismissed (200). This juror was clearly not open to viewing Maggie as an exploited minor and potential victim, and her inclusion in the jury is presented as inappropriate. Maggie is characterized as flirtatious and unreliable by former students, and former staff members deny suspicions which they had previously openly admitted to. The defense seeks to emphasize Maggie’s status as a troubled young person and explains away the thousands of hours of late-night phone conversations as Knodel’s selfless support of a troubled student. Maggie is characterized as troubled and unreliable, while Knodel maintains his status as a caring educator.

An individual watching the case says loudly (in relation to Maggie) that “some people will do anything for money” (204). Taddeo explores the way that people seemed predisposed to trust Knodel over Maggie. It is suggested through Maggie’s experience that people are culturally disposed to believe that men, particularly successful upper-middle class men, are implicitly more trustworthy than women. Men are especially more trustworthy, it is suggested, than women with any sexual history, young women, or women from working-class backgrounds.