Workaholic Natasha’s Characteristics a. Independent

59 For Natasha being an introvert person, Sophie and others feel pity of her. They want to help Natasha solve her problems but they do not know what they have to do on her because she barely tells her problems and her private life openly. It is verified from what Sophie and other Natasha’s friend said about her. “She’d avoided discussing her love life foe so long, it was like speaking Vietnamese. But her need to talk over-whelmed her.” 154 “Lainey grinned. Everyone knew Natasha never had a boyfriend, and even she did, they would be the last to know, so unwilling was she to discuss her private life.” 114 Natasha is used to being an introvert person because she is not confident enough on her appearance and her skill to attract people on her. Actually she doesn’t like being compared with Sophie by others. She considers that Sophie is better than her in appearance and in holding relationship with others especially with men. She hardly sees her strength and good points on her that she is cleverer, more prosperous than Sophie, and as elegant as her. She doesn’t like someone examines and criticizes her life or what she does. “Tasha Live a little, girl. Come on Why can’t you be more like Sophie,living for the moment instead of always worrying about appearances?” “Sophie can dance,” Natasha said with a mysterious smile. “I can’t.” …. “I do enjoy my self,” Natasha said calmly. “I just don’t like dancing. So piss off Nikolai.” 90-91 Sometimes Natasha cannot enjoy the time when she is with her friends because she is used to being quiet. Therefore many friends of her rarely know her deeply. For example, when they played their favorite game If I were You, and asked about country which describes each person, they preferred that Natasha be described as Switzerland which was actually different from what Natasha thought of herself. 60 She can’t believe why her friends don’t recognize what kind of person she is actually. “Everyone continued chatting and laughing while Natasha sat there feeling as if she’d been slapped across the face. Switzerland. She always thought of herself as somewhere like Italy, or maybe Ireland. Artistic and full of depth. But Andy associated her with the land of cuckoo clocks and banks, a land where, she’d read, there was a byelaw preventing men from peeing standing up after ten at night.” 69 It is hard for Natasha to be an introvert person that she actually does not mean to be. She only wants that everyone will understand her as what she is, and allow her to keep for herself what she wants to.

f. Dishonest

Being an introvert person makes Natasha be a dishonest as she gets difficulties in telling and sharing all of the things she is experiencing and vise versa. Natasha starts to be dishonest since she had met Alastair, a man whom she loves. She knows that he is not a proper man for her and that her friends don’t give good admiration on him because he actually has been engaged with somebody else. And as her best friend, Sophie knows that Natasha is suffering on her relationship with him even Natasha always tries to pretend and be quiet on it. It is described on what Sophie said to Natasha: “Yes I bloody well do. You’ve always tried to pretend you don’t need everyone, Tash, but you do. We all do. So just let me be there for you.” 343- 344 “He hasn’t called me for the past few days anyway. When he does, if he does, I’ll say I’ve got flu.” The determined look that Sophie despaired of passed over her face. “Tashie You can’t do that. He has to know” “Why? He hasn’t been in touch anyway. It may all be over. Why upset him by 61 telling him about something that was never meant to be?” 387 Natasha knows that it will not be good not to be honest to others and more over to herself. She feels guilty of being dishonest because she does not know the better way that she can do. She doesn’t want that everyone will have laugh on her because of her relationship with a man who has been engaged. She only wants to have a boyfriend, someone whom she can trust her life on. Natasha is very mad of Alaistair that she does not want to broke her relationship with him even it isn’t good for her. She always keeps in touch with him. It is described in the quotation below: “I’m sorry I didn’t call you, you know, the morning after,” he said. “But you have called me, you know.” “Oh, I was going to. I just didn’t get around to it. Anyway, I’m not much of a one for the phone.” Even drunk, she knew what he wanted to hear. 189 Natasha also knows that Alastair does not want to have serious commitment with her and asks her to understand his difficult situation if public know their relationship. He asks her to hide their relationship. And what shouldn’t Natasha do is agreeing what he asks. But then she does it and pretends that she doesn’t want to have marriage because she knows that it will make him get satisfied. It can be seen from what she says to Alastair: “Sure.” Her voice was breezy, upbeat. “I understand, Alastair. And I’ m cool about it. I’ m not looking for a boyfriend.” …. “God no. I’ m not into all that – commitment, marriage, babies,” she laughed. “You know me, Alastair. All I want is to have fun.” 218-219 Natasha always tries to raise Alastair’s heart up. She is willing to do everything as well as pretending that she will not be dependent on him and can be