Ghosts

Ghosts addresses the pressure people face to conform to societal norms in their relationships, which can lead to feelings of inadequacy or self-doubt if one does not fit neatly into prescribed gender roles. Through Nina, the novel explores the unique struggles of women, who must reconcile their desires with external expectations. Though she is self-assured in her career and personal life, seeing all her friends partnering off and starting families challenges Nina’s commitment to being single. Moreover, their constant commentary on her relationship status feels like an assault on her character and a chance for them to assert that they are doing it right. She explains, “I’d noticed this was a thing that people did when they got into their thirties: they saw every personal decision you made as a direct judgment on their life” (9). Nina resents that women who want to have children are in a race against time, while men can enjoy more excitement and freedom in dating life without the worry of waning fertility. Compounding the shorter window of fertility is the gendered double standard of age gaps in relationships, something Nina is reminded of when Max dates a woman 14 years younger than him while they are apart.