They Never Learn

Dr. Alex Kinnear is the interim chair of Gorman’s English department and Carly’s former abuser. He is the novel’s primary antagonist. As a young professor, he had pursued Carly (Scarlett), using his power as an authority figure to seek out an inappropriate relationship with her outside of class. When he was married to Psychology professor Mina, he was a controlling, manipulative spouse. As a colleague, he is similar: Kinnear subjects Scarlett to sexist microaggressions, steals her research, and favors colleague Dr. Stright—embodying the theme of Misogyny and Sexism in Academia. His botched murder becomes a major plot point, and is the catalyst for Mina’s discovery that Scarlett is the murderer of the list of campus “suicides” she is investigating.

Dr. Kinnear also illustrates the theme of Power Dynamics and Sex Crimes in Academia, as he feigns support to predate on Carly. As Scarlett’s colleague, Kinnear is so brazen about his sexual relationships with students that he often brings them to the Gorman Tap. Weaponizing her sexuality, Scarlett eventually corners and punishes him for taking advantage of students, successfully killing him and burning down his house. Overall, he and the other men in the novel are flat characters, some of whom are simply better at hiding their toxicity. To the end, Kinnear victim blames Carly/Scarlett.

Allison Hadley is Carly’s sophomore roommate at Gorman, a friend and love interest. She strikes Carly as a glamorous actress, who secures a starring role in the school production of Cabaret. She is also impulsive and inconsiderate, escalating her and Carly’s sexual tension without regard for the other’s feelings. Allison’s drugging and sexual assault by fellow student Bash illustrate the theme of Power Dynamics and Sex Crimes in Academia—as authority figures ultimately fail her. She long harbors a crush on Bash, but at a party, he takes advantage of her inebriation and gropes her. Although Carly interrupts the assault, Allison is left with a head injury and goes to the ER at her insistence. Allison’s male doctor dismisses the assault and sends her home, claiming she “won’t have a scar on that pretty face” (159). When Carly urges her to report Bash to their female dean, she is met with similar dismissal: The dean does not want to “ruin” Bash’s life for a “non-assault.” On campuses, predators rely on medical and administrative complicity to avoid consequences. While Allison claims to want to simply forget and move on from the assault, she is clearly humiliated by her visits to the doctor and dean. Unable to cope with her trauma, she continues to flirt with Bash and pushes away her one ally—kissing, insulting, and ignoring Carly as she pleases. Allison and Carly’s relationship ends with the former’s silent rejection, partially due to Carly’s part in high school friend Wes’s death. Fargo deliberately writes Allison as an “unlikeable” female character to dispel the myth of a “perfect” victim: Regardless of her behavior, it is no less indicative of pain and she herself is no less wronged by victim blaming.

Wes Stewart is Allison’s high school friend, an intellect who actively helps and seeks out Carly’s friendship. However, he and the other men in the novel are flat characters, some of whom are simply better at hiding their toxicity. Wes has feelings for Carly, and they share several moments of sexual tension. Late in the novel, he proves deceptive, becoming enraged at Carly for rejecting him; this deception was foreshadowed by his constant framing of Allison as manipulative. Wes acts entitled and ignores consent, and thus becomes Carly’s first kill, as she realizes he is “just like the rest of them”—like Bash, Kinnear, and her abusive father (323). As a whole, these men push her to become the vigilante Scarlett.

Dr. Samina “Mina” Pierce is a professor in Gorman’s Psychology department. Being methodical and poised, she is put in charge of the investigation into the school’s “suicides” (murders). Once married to Kinnear, she has grown in the years since their relationship ended, and now sees her ex-husband and professors like him as arrogant, sexist abusers of power. As Mina unknowingly pursues Scarlett the killer, she romantically pursues Scarlett the colleague. When she identifies Scarlett as the campus killer, she is both horrified and impressed by her form of vigilante justice. When Jasper is killed by Mikayla, Mina is the one who suggests they frame the murder as an accident; she even goes so far as to tell police of his (nonexistent) suspected part in Kinnear’s murder. By the novel’s end, she becomes Scarlett’s partner in crime, helping her prepare future kills.

A PhD student at Gorman, Jasper Prior is Scarlett’s graduate teaching assistant and love interest. The pair is engaged in a sexual relationship, with him exhibiting “boyfriend” behavior and possessing a key to her house. Like Scarlett, he is critical of professors like Kinnear, who make sexual advances toward students. However, Jasper is later revealed to be a hypocrite, as he has been coercing undergraduate Mikayla and only provides Scarlett with a false alibi as leverage. He illustrates the theme of Power Dynamics and Sex Crimes in Academia: Although in a sexual relationship with Scarlett, who wields more power as his graduate supervisor, he wields power over Mikayla as the TA of her advanced Shakespeare seminar. Jasper is eventually killed by Mikayla, his murder covered up by Scarlett and Mina. Overall, he and the other men in the novel are flat characters, some of whom are simply better at hiding their toxicity.