One of Minot's major themes is the gradual disintegration and devaluation of women's souls as they progress from childhood into puberty. As a child, the protagonist had non-sexual characteristics on which to base her self-esteem. Yet this sense of selfconfidence erodes as the protagonist reaches puberty. She explains later that I could do some things well . . . But the second a boy put his arm around me, I forget about wanting to do anything else, which felt like a relief at first until it became like sinking into a muck.
Sex, even more than a vehicle for debasing women, also.....
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