The Importance of Being Seen in Relationships

Being seen is demonstrated in this novel as being an extremely important aspect in forging and maintaining relationships. Red, herself, is taught this both through characters like The Mom who does not see her and through Celine and Ms. Anders who do see her. As a child in foster care, Red does not get as much opportunity to establish relationships with adults that other children do. Her relationships with adults are often temporary. She has been to many schools in the last few years presumably meaning she has been in many different homes. When the boys at The Mom’s house pinch Red and leave bruises, The Mom does nothing about it. When they steal her notebook, The Mom just calls them inside. The Mom understands what is happening in these situations, and yet she does not do anything about...