Francis Foster

It might not work.

You get involved in a career.

You might get fired.

You get knocked back.

You get rejected.

So in a way, isn't every character just responding to the perverse incentives of our society?

I was going to say as well, because focusing on the men in the book, particularly Nico, his constant search for comfort has meant that he has become demasculinized.

When you compare him to the immigrants coming in who've had a much harder, tougher way of life,

they're far more masculine than he is.

They're far more assertive.

They're far more, not only are they mentally dominant, they're far more physically dominant.

So what you show is this comparison between somebody who's been raised in the West and you look at him, you go, this isn't a man, this is a glorified pet.

Yeah.

It's a glorified pet.

No, because it's an insult to women to say that, because it's not feminine.

It's something deeply pathetic that can only be maintained if someone looks after them.

That's not a woman.

That's a pet.

Let me say this because I know I'm not alone.

At some point, your body just stops bouncing back the way it used to.