They Never Learn

“I’ve been counting down the days all summer, but now that I’m here I feel like I can’t breathe.”

This quote reveals Carly’s troubled home life: She has been desperate to begin college and get away from her emotionally abusive father. However, she is still ill at ease among her fellow students, and feels more comfortable studying alone.

“Twenty is young. But if he was old enough to gang rape a girl and get away with it, he was old enough to pay the price.”

This quote reinforces Scarlett’s motive for vigilantism: She seeks justice against perpetrators of gender-based violence at Gorman University. These men escape punishment by peers and university administration, so she acts in their victims’ stead—no matter if her target is professor or student.

“Kinnear takes a seat, looking directly at me with a smile. ‘Scarlett?’ Not Dr. Clark, never that.”

This quote speaks to the theme of Misogyny and Sexism in Academia. Rather than address her professionally by the title “Dr. Clark,” Dr. Kinnear uses Scarlett’s first name. This is only one of his many microaggressions, his general disrespect being part of her reason for targeting him.

“Everything here seems to be red. The school’s official color is crimson, and most of the buildings are the same red brick as Whitten.”

This quote introduces the color red as a symbol of danger. Everything on Gorman’s campus is marked by red because it is a dangerous place for women, rife with gender-based violence.

“Welcome everyone. Those of you who’ve taken my classes before know that I like to keep things casual, so please call me ‘Alex,’ none of that ‘Doctor’ or ‘Professor’ stuff.”

This quote reveals how Alex (Kinnear) grooms the women he targets: He gives off an air of informality to make himself seem approachable. Because he is young, uses his first name, and seeks students outside of class, it is less surprising when he invites them to bars. This lack of boundaries is problematic and pushes Carly to humor him.

“Two years ago Kinnear read a paper of mine on Viola Vance’s rumored bisexuality, gave some insulting notes on the structure of my argument, and proceeded to present a trivialized version of the exact same thesis in a talk he gave at the ALSCW conference the next semester.”

This quote speaks to Misogyny and Sexism in Academia. Although Kinnear criticizes Scarlett’s paper, he steals her research and competes with her for a Women’s Academy fellowship—which he does not need and likely does not even want. He simply takes pleasure in angering her, which is reinforced by his comment about the fellowship not being limited to female applicants.

“Wes stays silent, so I keep going. I tell him about my father’s mind games, his weaponized silences, the way he controls how my mother wears her hair, how she dresses, what she makes for dinner.”

This quote reveals the extent of Carly’s emotional abuse by her father. It provides context for her choice to become a vigilante killer and reinforces that, even before arriving at Gorman, she lived in a setting where sexism was normalized. It also explains her attitude toward women like her mother, whom she later becomes frustrated with for denying her father’s infidelity.

“No one seems to notice how uncomfortable she is, not even Mina, who is putting in her own performance of polite interest as Kinnear points out the finer points of the lion’s wireframe skeleton.”

In this quote, Scarlett observes a student named Ashleigh being hit on by Stright at Kinnear’s party—illustrating the pervasive culture of Power Dynamics and Sex Crimes in Academia. Although Ashleigh desperately wants to escape, she feels unable to rebuff an authority figure. Likewise, Mina is unable to help her because she is trapped in conversation with her ex-husband Kinnear.

“All the cutest girls are bi. Didn’t you get the memo?”

This quote is key characterization for both Allison and Carly, as bisexual characters and roommates. Carly struggles to decode their sexual tension, and is thus uncertain of Allison’s true feelings and motives. For Allison’s part, she plays into this uncertainty by touching and later kissing Carly.

“He leers at me, looking down my top. Can’t be against your religion, dressed like that.”

This quote speaks to Power Dynamics and Sex Crimes in Academia, as Carly is judged for her clothing. It also reflects broader discourse surrounding violence against women and victim blaming, both on college campuses and society as a whole. With this in mind, Carly’s clothing may reflect her fashion sense, but should not be read as an invitation for sexual harassment or assault.

“Do you remember me now, Alex?”

This quote is where Carly and Scarlett’s storylines come together as a single timeline. Although the reader has been led to believe Scarlett targeted Kinnear because of his problematic behavior as her colleague, the two met when Scarlett was Carly, a student at Gorman, and Kinnear was Alex, her professor and abuser.

“You have to take some responsibility too. You knew what you were doing. Girls like you always—.”

Here, Kinnear blames Scarlett for having been victimized by him when she was his student, Carly. This moment reflects the broader culture of victim blaming that Layne Fargo wants to shed light on, and with it, Kinnear’s adherence to the novel’s title—They Never Learn. Despite Scarlett’s 16 years away from Gorman, he hasn’t changed his predatory ways since her days as Carly.

“I’m not going to the police. No way. You heard what the doctor said, there’s no proof, and they’ll tell my parents.”

This quote reinforces Important Quote #13’s discussion of victim blaming. Having been dismissed and blamed for her own assault by a physician, Allison is scared to report her attack to university administration. She also fears her parents finding out, a mentality that could speak to their insensitivity, or the way in which survivors internalize shame and isolate themselves.

“You want to know what she was wearing, too?!”

This quote addresses a common, albeit ignorant, question about sexual assault survivors. Questioning a survivor’s clothing at the time of their assault implies women who dress provocatively are responsible for their own attacks—which is yet another sexist example of victim blaming.

“‘You know you’re brilliant. You know you’re gorgeous.’ And then her hand is on my knee. And then my vision nearly whites out from the heat of my desire.”

Here, Scarlett and Mina’s sexual tension deepens—mirroring Carly and Allison’s own. As Scarlett’s primary love interest, Mina will have to decide whether or not she can handle Scarlett’s vigilantism.

“‘Okay, sure, fine,’ he says. ‘But we can’t go around killing every rapist and baking them into pies.’ ‘Why not?’ Mikayla twists around to glare at him. ‘You scared?’”

This quote, which takes place during a class discussion of the rapists in William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, showcases Mikayla’s outspoken personality. Like Carly, she appears docile, but refuses to bow in the face of injustice. In hindsight, this display of anger is personal, as she was speaking as a survivor of predation herself—having been coerced into a relationship with graduate teaching assistant Jasper.

“Fury flares in my chest again, chasing the tears away. Nowhere is safe, not while guys like Bash are out there taking whatever they want from whoever they want, with no one to stand up for them.”

This quote reinforces the pervasive culture of Power Dynamics and Sex Crimes in Academia (Important Quote #9), with Carly/Scarlett recalling Bash—Allison’s attacker who escaped justice. Because of peer and administrative complicity, men are often free to victimize women without consequences, a fact that Scarlett uses to fuel her anger rather than grief over those she failed to save.

“I want to tell her everything, about Kinnear and Dylan Hughes and all the other men I’ve killed, about the timid girl I used to be and the way she turned herself into a weapon.”

Here, Scarlett wrestles with how much of herself to reveal to Mina. She hides her identity as the campus killer, due to her history with abuse and betrayal (i.e., her father, Kinnear, and Wes), but later confirms Mina’s suspicion after they form a connection (through consensual sex).

“Sure enough she is inside, standing right in front of my desk. She turns towards me and there’s something in her hands: a small red book.”

This is a key moment in the novel, as Mina discovers evidence that Scarlett killed Kinnear, her ex-husband. As the person in charge of Gorman’s investigation, she has to choose between her love for Scarlett and the law.

“‘These men are predators, Mina.’ […] ‘So are you.’”

Here, Mina wrestles with Scarlett’s reveal as the campus killer. Despite their toxic relationship, she was once married to Kinnear and wrestles with Scarlett’s part in his death and the natural fear of facing a murderer. Ultimately, she will side with vigilante justice rather than the law, due to understanding the harm caused by men like Kinnear.

“Men like him, they don’t stop. Not unless someone stops them.”

Carly finds her resolve during an engineered encounter to physically punish Bash on Allison’s behalf. This quote marks the start of her career as a vigilante, for she realizes justice must be taken. However, this is easier said than done, as the encounter causes her to freeze—reminding the reader that for all of her strength, she is no less traumatized by her own history of abuse.

“‘Stop it!’ It’s not a plaintive whisper like in Alex’s office. I shout the words, shoving Wes off me so hard he stumbles back. ‘Stop.’”

In this moment, Carly has to push Wes to rebuff his advances. She realizes her once friend is no different from other abusers—and executes her first kill. Overall, Wes and the other men in the novel are flat characters, with Wes simply being better at hiding his entitlement under the guise of sensitivity and support.

“You have to come right away. He’s going to kill us.”

Here, Mina chooses to cover up Jasper’s death in order to protect Scarlett and Mikayla—even going so far as to implicate him in ex-husband Kinnear’s death. It is a key moment of characterization, as she joins the novel’s other “unlikeable” female characters in continuing Scarlett’s deception, despite initial reservations.