Patty does not experience love from either of her parents, and she desperately seeks this love. When it is not given to her, she comes to believe that she is a bad person and that her parents are right for not loving her: The problem must be her own, not theirs. The novel suggests that her father, at least, may not simply be a bad person, though. Anton overhears Patty’s father repeating to himself that no one has ever loved him after he beats Patty, so there appears to be a cycle of neglect or abuse reproducing itself. It is less clear why her mother is superficial, manipulative, and cold toward Patty.

Attempting to secure her parents’ love, Patty invents stories and embellishes facts, hoping that her parents will value the stories and information she provides, and they will in turn value her as a person. Patty spends so much energy trying to “feed” her parents what they can easily consume that she loses her own literal appetite, and Ruth is constantly trying to get her to eat. Patty gives, and her parents refuse to take, starving their daughter of the love she tries to cultivate in them.

This dynamic is in contrast to Patty’s relationship with Anton, who tries to teach Patty that she is a good person, giving her his ring to symbolize and remind her of her own value.