Esch is the story's main character. She lost her mother at a young age and is raised has soley been surrounded by men her whole life. Her father is an alcohlic and lacks presence in his parental role. With no parental figure in her life, Esch has developed the desire of attention and affection. This is displayed in her dealings with men as she seeks their affection through sex and uses her body to feel as no one taught her how to deal with emotions.
Manny is described as a handsome young man and is often depicted in a play boy-esque manner. We learn he commonly has sex with Esch and almost any time he is mentioned is has to deal with women. We tend to fall for people with an avoidant attatchment style and give them the chase and given Manny's dealings with Esch and other women, it may very well be the case that he too has an avoidant attatchment style.
When a child is essentially abandoned by their caregivers it can lead to tremendous trauma that takes form in the effects on relationships that the abandoned and other party must endure. You can spot this in many people through various observations.
Healthy human development depends on physical and emotional care.
If these needs are not meant then it can result in feelings of abandonment
Children:
Children are attached to their parents since birth because they need a person that gives them love, they sense safety and home.
Signs that a child has attachment issues include:
Clinging or separation anxiety, worrying, fear of being alone, getting sick more often, and difficulty in concentrating
Affects:
Abandonment can be traumatic for a child and develop as the years go on.
They can develop anxiety issues, trust issues, and overall insecurity.
Some key identifiers are:
- Bad social skills
- Isolation
- Bad coping mechanisms
- Addiction
- Eating issues
*In boys*
- When their father leaves, some boys tend to have a low masculinity.
- Father-absent boys will have a feminine gender identity due to identification with the mother during childhood.
- Father-absent boys will have masculine behavior as a reaction against this socially inappropriate feminine identity.
boys whose parents were divorced and had been raised by their mothers (were father-absent) engaged in significantly greater rule-breaking and delinquent behavior during their teens than boys with intact families or with dead fathers.
*In girls*
- Giving too much or being overly eager to please
- Jealousy in relationship or of others
- Having difficulty in feeling intimate emotionally
- Needing to control or be controlled by your partner
- Settling in unsatisfactory relationships
- Outburst of anger
- Self destructive
*Treatment*:
- Recovery is slow
- Therapy and self care are very important
- Talking with someone, family member, friend, therapist etc.