Kathleen MacMahon’s novel Other People’s Lives uses the metaphor of a motorway tunnel
to explore how women’s lives are shaped by others’ needs.
The quote, It’s a universal fact that women’s lives conformed to other people’s needs, while the lives of men ploughed straight through them, like a motorway tunnel,
appears in MacMahon’s novel. The author stated, You think it’s true, and you really have to question that.
A Novel of Diverging Paths and Unspoken Truths
Other People’s Lives follows the lifelong friendship of Iseult and Justine, whose contrasting personalities and life choices highlight the complexities of female relationships. Justine, a counselor and mother of three, begins to question the sacrifices she makes for others, while Iseult, who marries a man disliked by her family, retreats into solitude abroad. The novel’s structure, described by MacMahon as “complex,” required her to cut it up and spread it all over the floor
to piece together its narrative.
The author drew inspiration from personal experiences, including her mother’s death in 2010, which revealed how deeply unspoken truths can shape relationships. My mother used to talk all the time,
MacMahon said, but after she died, I realized she had never talked to us about anything important that had happened to her.
This insight influenced the novel’s exploration of what women withhold from their closest friends, such as the unspoken rifts in marriages that define the characters’ lives.
The Weight of Unspoken Expectations
MacMahon’s work examines how societal expectations pressure women to prioritize others’ needs over their own. Justine’s character, in particular, embodies this tension. She’s a great mother with a pretty happy marriage, but she starts to question why she does so much for other people,
the author explained.
The author also discussed the challenges of writing such a dense, character-driven narrative. There are so many characters, and there isn’t really a structured narrative,
she said. I had to cut it up and spread it all over the floor.
A Broader Reflection on Gender and Autonomy
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