What does it mean?

I’ve been keeping up with the Alice blog and I just wanted to ask you what do you mean when you tell some of your fans that as readers they need to be the ones to figure out how a character really feels about a certain subject or other character? because some of the questions that have been asked like “Who did Patrick like more” about the whole Alice, Patrick and penny situation and you said the reader has to figure out how Patrick really felt about penny. Does that mean that whatever WE think that’s what the answer is? Like I think it was just like penny said in “Incredibly Alice” that she and Patrick were attracted to each other but they didn’t have anything real, would I be right if I thought Patrick was only attracted to penny but really liked Alice and that’s why the two broke up after only a few months? Could you explain it to me? Thank you.

I think you are correct.  But here’s the deal:  a story requires both an author and a reader.  And whatever each of them brings to the story can be their truth.  Haven’t  you ever disagreed with a friend about a movie?   About a book?  About a person?   So who’s right?  If a character in a book seems conceited to you because you have known someone who acted in the same way, does that mean that your friend is wrong in believing the character is really just insecure?   Could it be both?  Perhaps the author had something else entirely in mind but never managed to  make it clear on paper.   I’m getting the feeling that all these questions coming in about Patrick either means that I wasn’t clear enough that he truly loves Alice, or that nothing short of “and Patrick and Alice lived happily ever after” will comfort you.  (He really really really really loves her!)