ALSO, I could go on about it for days, but let’s please talk about that fact that Henry’s so physically strong.
More specifically the fact that a man whose interests aren’t things you need to be particularly strong to do is so strong.
He likes to read. He likes to think of ancient times, to debate, to translate texts. He likes to garden, which is the most physically taxing thing we know he enjoys. But just that couldn’t bring him to the level of physical strength he has. You have to work out more than that to be able to get in a fight and break someone’s bones, to be able to pick a grown adult up.
Why would someone who didn’t necessarily need more strength than he would’ve gotten from his hobbies and a healthy amount of physical activity strive to become so strong? Because he felt like his body wasn’t right and he needed to fix that. To be stronger despite his disability. To prove that he was more than the weak kid he once was oh my godd
(And yes, I think he also took into account the fact that exercise can help reduce pain, but we’re not focusing on that right now.)
Tartt didn’t just make him strong for shits and giggles, Henry put this pressure on himself to not be weak and this was one of the results of that.
By the way this popped into my head again and drove me crazy for a short period of time once more because of what @spookedstarzz said in the tags to my post about Henry being disabled:
