What do you think Pascaline means when she describes Daniel as someone who is "different on the inside from how they are on the outside"? Do you agree? Do you think this is true of most people?

Pascaline describes Daniel as "someone who is so ... different on the inside from how they are on the outside" (page 134). What do you think she means? Do you agree? Do you think this is true of most people?

The saying "what you see is what you get" rarely describes anyone. Many people try to get beyond a tragedy in their lives; however, it's possible that it is just below the surface. The person may even feel that he/she has resolved the issue and moved on, but there was no resolution...just a slim cover.

I agree with Tired Bookreader's explanation; however, Pascaline's description of Daniel took place before she actually knew why Daniel decided to go to London after being to the US.

The tragedy TB may be referring to might be concerning Daniel's birth family's circumstances, or her answer refers to the general statement and agreeing with the last part of the question. I think Pascaline was describing that she believed there was a woman involved with his diversion, a feeling she felt didn't coincide with his reputation as the solid husband of her daughter.

Daniel presents himself as charismatic on the outside yet he has a self-destructive streak on the inside. He does not feel that he is worthy of all that he has.

I do feel that many people put on their "mask" to meet others wearing their "masks".

Daniel is handsome, tall, and seems to be a free spirit on the outside and very attractive. On the inside he is insecure, afraid he is unlovable, and takes things very hard. I felt he slept with the other woman after the abortion because he was angry about the abortion.

I believe it was the author's intent to give Daniel a depth of depavity that this statement can infer in some real-life characters, but I found Daniel very one-dimensional. He was given the job, the loyal friends, but even Todd's narrative gave extreme details about Daniel's dark side and seemed to indicate these dark places were no secret.

I think we are all capable of presenting an image. Our true thoughts and feeling are seldom revealed at first. I think to reveal our true selves takes trust and confidence

Pascaline actually describes what she means, “on the surface, Daniel is so charming, yes, so charismatic, but underneath it is a whole other matter,…….I have always felt that Daniel has
a …strong streak of destroying himself.” I do agree with her, not necessarily true of most people.

I think Daniel learned how to design a mask for his life from his mother who also had a shadow life that no one except Daniel ever knew. Many people have a public persona that is projected to the world to protect and hide their true, inner being. Daniel has built a cocoon around part of his past that he cannot reconcile and the person he projects to the world is a non-functioning man with deep passions and intellect.

I think Pascaline -- with the alertness of a threat to one's child that mothers often have -- sensed that Daniel was really inwardly troubled, as indeed he was. More than just the way one person can be more or less outgoing depending on how comfortable they are in a particular relationship, more than just someone who's charming and sociable but inwardly reserved... it is normal to hold back some of ourselves, and to play different roles with different people.

But beyond those normal ways, Daniel is repressed and feels fragmented by the occasions where he acted (or failed to act) out of motivations he didn't really understand. On a deep level, he does not know who he is, whether he is a good person or a bad person, whether he can forgive himself. He doesn't feel worthy of his loving marriage or of any of his children, and despite how well he can play the part of a happy man, he can't quite feel that way inside. Pascaline picks up on that. I think Pascaline was very finely tuned in the same way as Claudette, of whom Daniel said she could always detect when someone was lying. I think this was why she didn't like him, fearing this would end up hurting her daughter, who had already suffered from a bad relationship.

Daniel's insecurities caused him to put on the mantel of confidence - but I believe that his life experiences dashed his inner confidence to bits and that he resorted to playing a role as opposed to being able to trust others enough to be authentic.

Many people do the exact same thing while many others crumble under the weight of their issues and never even begin to play a role. It's all they can do to exist.

I agree with the others, but most especially with the thought that as a mother, she could sense the key parts of him that did not gel with what the world was allowed to experience of him. I don't know that Daniel even really stopped long enough in his headlong life to examine how many different people he was inside ... maybe he was afraid to address any of the darker parts in detail because it would be too difficult. I don't know that he ever truly understood how much his inability to manage his soul affected others until it was too late. Even then, he was unable to muster enough gumption to do anything about it.

I agree with Navy mom, Daniel seems very insecure, has a hard time communicating his thoughts and has so much anger at himself when Claudette leaves. He lives with so many regrets and keeps self destructing. He always regrets his past choices; at the end he seems to have finally figured out that he needs to change himself.

I feel like most of the other readers that Daniel appears on the outside to be a charming, fun loving , "frat boy" type. He slept around due to his insecurities that were hidden in the inside. I felt those were a side effect of his family life as a child. I feel like that is a pretty common characteristic in a lot of people. We all have a way we would like to appear, but this is not always consistent with the scars we carry on the inside.