HL psychological criticism

There is clear isolation to be observed on page 195 when tara says: "I laugh at every word he says, trying to convince anyone who might have been in the parking lot that it was all a joke. I'm walking on a sprained ankle, but the pain barely registers.". She disregards her pain and suffering to protect her brother from being held accountable for the abuse that he inflicts upon her. By protecting her abuser, she simultaneously protects herself because it allows her to continue living in denial. when she ays that "the pain barely registers", it implies that she has suppressed her emotions so much so that she has managed to control physical pain as well. She knows that the abuse is inevitable, so she seeks control where she can. She may not be able to prevent it, but she believes that through isolation and denial, she can decide how badly she lets it hurt her. This is later confirmed when she says: "It's comforting to think the defect is mine, because that means it is under my power.".

Because of this isolation, her reality becomes blurred so when she reflects upon these incidents of abuse we see an element of reaction formation which is born out of self-blame. We see that she blames herself when she says: "I decide that if I had asked differently, been more calm, he would have stopped." The emphasis is on the action of deciding, deciding that she was the one at fault and therefor the one in control. She convinces herself that she didn't communicate properly, and that thats why the situation spiralled. We can see that she proactively convinces herself of the opposite, this is confirmed when she says: "I write this until I believe it, which doesn't take long because I want to believe it."