The first time Henry reads Inside, what do you think goes through his head lol? He’s probably thinking this author understands my mom better than me 🥰
hmmmmmmmmm I don't know? that he would connect it to his mother at all?
like, the characters of Inside are, because they are characters in a novel, inherently suspended in time, and the tim ethey are suspended in is as the people Dan knew when he was 17-20 years old, and, speaking as a former teenager, the person I am now versus the person I was a decade ago are very different people. and I like to think I know my parents pretty well, but if I were to read a fictionalized portrayal of their teenage selves, would I recognize them?
If Henry were to ever read Inside, I don't think he would make that connection on his own, or try to understand Blair as Claire, because his mom is a different person, yk? But that being said, I think he would read the care and compassion the Dan put into Claire's characterization, and understand that as tenderness. if that makes any sense.
