“The path of least resistance”
Dr. Death“The path of least resistance” is the phrase Eric Doss uses to describe what he sees as Stacy Doss’s habitual compliance. In his account, going to Stanford University would not resolve their estrangement: pressured by Richard Doss, Stacy might agree to go, seek Eric’s company, and then begin to resent him again.
Meaning in Context
Eric introduces the phrase while questioning whether he should interfere in Stacy’s therapy. He says he should not be intruding in the first place, and dismisses the reassurance that Stacy is comfortable with his involvement: he expects her to say everything is fine before anger emerges. The expression condenses his prediction of that pattern into an image of choosing the easiest course rather than openly resisting pressure.
The Sibling Pattern
Eric describes himself as a shadow in Stacy’s life and believes his departure was the best thing that ever happened to her. He imagines that Richard Doss will lean on Stacy to visit him at Stanford University, and that she will comply despite his view that it is the last place she should go. In his forecast, compliance leads not to reconciliation but to a renewed cycle: Stacy comes to spend time with him, then starts hating him again.
When asked whether she stops hating him while they are apart, Eric answers, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” The familiar saying gives his bleak prediction a wry turn: distance may soften the conflict temporarily, but his account offers no assurance that closeness will last. Here, the path of least resistance is not a solution to the siblings’ estrangement; it is the route by which Eric expects their unresolved feelings to recur.
