Thanks again for Unmasked. Quick clarification question: did we ever find out about Peetaās other lover? He mentions two that happened while he was drunk, yet it seems that his affair with Olivia was sustained (though maybe he was drunk every time they were together?). Anyways, I was just curious if I missed something. You did a great job portraying Katnissās retroactive jealousy and I could really feel what she was going through in the portrait room. #unmasked #miskdnfb
Hey there, Anon! I donāt think you necessarily missed anything other than Peeta being seriously crafty with his words. There are really only two lovers before Katniss. One is Ophelia and the other was a one night stand. Hereās the passage in question:
āNo, Katniss. I have never been married before, and before you ask again, I have lain with two others before you. One was due to the stupid impetuousness of youth, the other lasted only one night and happened because I was feeling sorry for myself, certain that I would die alone a crippled soldier. They were both well over a year ago, several years ago in the case of the first.ā
āOh,ā I say, a strange lightness lifting my spirits as our eyes meet, my hands still full of him. āDid you remove her corset at least?ā
He laughs then, full and hearty. āI honestly do not recall enough of the encounter to remember such details. I was not in a fair state of mindā¦ to be frank, I was drunk.ā
** Okay, Iāve used bold on the words that are your important clue here. The encounter, singular. He only refers to one encounter that he doesnāt really remember, only one during which he was drunk. That whole second quote from him, Peeta is talking only about the one night stand with an unnamed person that happened because he was drunk and lonely and feeling sorry for himself shortly after losing his leg.
So hereās the thing. Later on, in the portrait hall in de Vale, he admits to having slept with Ophelia on more than one occasion. It was, as you said, a more sustained affair. He doesnāt give Katniss the lurid details because he doesnāt want to hurt her or make her feel jealousy. He tells her whatās important about it and hopes thatās enough to set her fears and jealousies at ease.
But in this passage above, theyāre still new and figuring things out. Heās in love with Katniss, although he hasnāt said it outright yet. Heās smart enough to know that laying out the details about his affair with Ophelia in this moment probably isnāt wise. So yes, he admits to it, calls it what is was ā an impetuous, youthful affair that was āstupidā I.e. doomed ā and then primarily focuses on the other one. The one that Katniss is much more easily able to dismiss from her worries. Yes it happened, itās part of who her husband is and his past, but it has no negative bearing on their marriage nor on their relationship to one another.
Ophelia does have that potential, if they let it, so Peeta here is actually kind of diverting the talk away from Ophelia by really only talking specifically about the other one while making it sound like Katniss has no reason to worry about either. Heās in a difficult spot because he doesnāt want to hurt her or make her feel jealous but he also wants to be honest with her. Make sense? Sorry if I wasnāt very clear in the writing of it.
