They Never Learn

Power dynamics and sex crimes in Academia is They Never Learn’s most overt theme. These issues allow Layne Fargo to discuss violence against women on college campuses and victim blaming, and with them, Scarlett’s motive for vigilante justice. The novel was published in 2020, several years after the height of the #metoo movement, and in many ways, it is a product of the campaign and its seismic shift in feminist discourse. Although #metoo was not limited to gender-based violence in universities, it was a focal point. At its core, the movement is meant to address the very campus culture depicted in the novel—one in which male staff, faculty, and students prey on campus women, and their behavior often goes unpunished by administration due to their fixation on reputation rather than justice. Although the novel includes several examples of predatory men, Gorman University’s dean, a woman, illustrates the systemic nature of gender-based violence on campus, as she blames Allison for sending mixed signals to fellow student Bash and suggests an official report would “ruin” him for a “non-assault.”

It is this accepted violence against women that propels Carly/Scarlett to seek accountability as both student and professor. Her commitment to vigilante justice begins during her freshman year at Gorman, after her roommate Allison is assaulted by Bash.