“But what if there was a different kind of risk factor, the risk of being too trusting, not because of gullibility, but because of compassion.”
In the narrative, Morgan falls victim to the lies of a sociopathic partner but discovers the truth after his death. Thus, she buckles to uncover the extent of the deceit whilst psychologically analyzing herself to fully understand the irony of her situation. In the statement, she justifies her inclination to fall for sociopathic partners as rooting from a compassionate place rather than naivety on her part. Since she studies victimhood for a living, Morgan finds it hard to accept that she could be susceptible to deceit.
“Not all sociopaths are psychopaths. It’s not just a matter of degree. The predisposition to violence is high in a psychopath, whereas it varies in the sociopath. In criminal behavior, the psychopath leaves clues, whereas the sociopath schemes to minimize exposure.”
In the novel, Morgan is considerably engrossed in the distinction between sociopathic and psychopathic individuals. As both a student and victim of sociopathy, she is interested to uncover wherein the sociopathic spectrum Bennett falls in. In the quotation, she makes the distinction by affirming the thin line that separates the closely linked syndromes. In that psychopaths cannot hide or maintain a stable social life because their perverted tendencies are more overt. While sociopaths can function normally in society while maintaining their façade since they know they are accountable for their deeds.
“Does a symbiotic quirk in the brain of the abuser also exist in the emotional makeup of the victim?”
As Morgan is exposing the lies that her sociopathic partner used to cover the truth, she learns that her former lovers were mentally unstable men too. Henceforth it prompts her quest in why she seems to attract sociopathic partners. Thus, in the statement, she asserts that there might be a synergetic oddity in both the abuser and the victim that pulls them together. Through introspection and therapy, Morgan admits to herself her tendency to divulge herself to other people who intend to use her.
