Meta commentary behind this tag
In canon, Chris's trauma is severe and protracted, ruining any chance of completing secondary and tertiary education and leading to him becoming - outwardly, at least - something of a shell, refusing to show much vulnerability to even his closest adult friends. A principal reason for this is he had no one to confide in about what was an intense, at times genuinely loving but ultimately destructive and unhealthy relationship. I recently read a Masters thesis describing Chris as a "deeply troubled" individual, which is a fair assessment, but I argue that Stephen, although he hides it well, is also profoundly damaged and remains so into middle age. Both boys share similar backgrounds that don't readily equip them to form secure, mutually supportive romantic relationships: older Chris states explicitly that his parents never demonstrated a loving, affectionate relationship and Laura confirms her marriage was unhappy; Stephen's parents live overseas, he appears to be an only child, he spends most of each year in England at school or with an aunt in Scotland, there's a strong suggestion that his childhood and adolescence in Hong Kong is characterised by benign emotional neglect, he tells Chris he was exposed to sexualised behaviour at the age of nine, and when he's seventeen his mother dies tragically (one of the most poignant things he says is that Chris's house and family is "home, Kit. I'd give anything to have it"). Counselling and student welfare weren't really a thing. Young Chris doesn't think his mother would understand; at the time, he's probably right. The only person who knows about his relationship is his best mate who is - like almost everyone else - homophobic, and although it turns out Nigel was right to be concerned, his ingrained prejudices make it easy for Chris to reject what he's saying and push him away. The love of Chris's life is manipulative and abusive - physically, sexually and emotionally - at critical points, something Chris rationalises away even as an adult; the concept of trauma bonding characterises much of young Chris's behaviour in the latter stages of the relationship. It's interesting that many reviewers of the book seem to elide this aspect or ignore it altogether, dismissing him as "unable to get over a brief love affair" or describing the boys' excruciating break-up as "losing touch". Even the author of the thesis I refer to above (who analyses the novel as demonstrating a form of unrequited love and its effects on the person trapped in it), while acknowledging the impact of his attachment patterns and affection-starved childhood, and presenting the book as illuminating a complex psychological condition, doesn't appear to fully appreciate the effects of what for anyone (especially a teenager in his first sexual relationship) would be deeply traumatic experiences, even before Stephen's ultimate rejection.
It's fascinating that Chris undergoes the biggest shift after meeting Jimmy (through whom he finally finds Stephen) again, discovering that the annoying little kid who couldn't stop giggling when he saw him a) was actually in love with him, and b) is the only one who understood what he was experiencing and wanted, but didn't know how, to help. This revelation helps Chris begin to overcome his self-imposed silence, fear and unwillingness to trust, though it takes the final confrontation in Granada to make him see the real Stephen and let go of his idealised version at last. That Jimmy doesn't just ring him after visiting his partner in hospital but turns up in person suggests that he's not only curious, but still cares about Chris and is worried about him. The knowledge that Jimmy was attracted to him when they were kids (and, he implies, still is) prompts the nascent development of reciprocal feelings - just as young Chris developed, or became aware of, his attraction to Stephen after Stephen made his move, although, as with Stephen as a kid, Chris registers adult Jimmy's good looks as an objective fact - which seem to confuse Chris enough that he holds off responding to Jimmy until the end of the book. Unlike adult Nigel or Chris's family, Jimmy's also physically demonstrative and affectionate, suggesting his parents modelled healthier, secure attachment when he was growing up. Though you might think, "Well, he starts to move on at the end but not by much," I can't see how it could've been with anyone else.
So I wondered: what if as a teenager, Chris was offered and accepted the support of the only person who knew and understood what happened, then developed friendships with other gay boys who - despite societal prejudices and the pressure to stay closeted - accepted themselves and their sexuality? How might his life have been different?
