Inclusive Character Analysis by Jennifer Thomas & Robert J. Vrtis

Author:Jennifer Thomas & Robert J. Vrtis [Thomas, Jennifer & Vrtis, Robert J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367358426
Google: 6Xu7zQEACAAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2020-12-15T00:22:26.488524+00:00

Seismic Shifts, Changes in Core Relationships

The core relationship sets the tone and parameters for our interactions with another person. We behave differently with our friends than we do with our parents even if we have deep love for both. Because our core relationships are so central to our interactions with others, those relationships persist in different contexts and most events. A strong bond of friendship weathers a fight, and so Amir and Mabel can argue a great deal and maintain that core relationship. They are playfully sarcastic with each other, they laugh without disdain, and because of their shared history, they can mock each other without damage. They fight as friends. Carmen and Dev meet up outside of work for a party, but have a difficult time forgetting their boss-employee dynamic. Carmen feels she must maintain an air of professionalism and Dev is excessively deferential. They can’t quite let loose in front of each other even in a party atmosphere.

Of course, even a deeply ingrained relationship is vulnerable to significant changes, events in life of such magnitude may alter the conditions of the core relationship and transform it into something else. Amir and Mabel have a falling out over an irreconcilable difference of opinions that came up in one of their usually friendly arguments. They have difficulty forgiving each other for what feels like a deep betrayal and an antagonism grows between them. Slowly, the friends become enemies. Dev’s work has been stellar and revealed talents that Carmen did not initially recognize. Seeing that they share an interest in design, she wants to leave her stifling career and go into business with him as a creative partner. All of a sudden, they go to work as equals.

Over time or in a flash, the terms of a core relationship can change. As a result, the behaviors and interactions must change, too. Now enemies, Amir and Mabel no longer pull punches when they argue. Their sarcasm is venomously superior, they mock each other outright, and because of their previous relationship, they both know just what to do to get under one another’s skin. They fight with the gloves off. Carmen and Dev make plans to meet up outside of work now because they feel more at ease without the boss-employee dynamic hanging over them. They share ideas with alacrity and the joy of mutual respect.

Like a palimpsest, on which text has been erased to make room for something new but the impression of the old text remains, traces of the previous core relationship still exist within the newly reconfigured relationship. These traces further shade the dynamics between people. Going back to Tamara and Sheryl, for example, the sisters behave as sisters throughout most of their young lives. Abruptly, they lose their mother and the depth of that loss requires them, consciously or not, to reconstruct their core relationship. Tamara, the older of the two, begins to act as a mother to Sheryl. Nevertheless, they have a history as sisters that persists in the newly formed mother-daughter relationship.

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