Gwen wonders if her infatuation with Elyse is due to “the idea that our lives were both shaped so significantly by [Abel], yet so different. Some kind of nature-versus-nurture experiment, but more like unyielding exposure to him versus one life-altering moment at his hands.” (p. 194). What do you think of her perspective here? In what ways do you think Abel “created” each of the girls?
They both thought he was dead. Gwen thought she killed him and Elyse watched as it looked like he was being murdered. Gwen often thought perhaps she was like her father, liking death seeing people die. Elyse was left with no relatives. Always hard but if she had had her brother all those years it may have been a bit easier.