Frankenstein's Creature doesn't really "get" gender. For him (or her or they, he has no real preference), gender is about as interesting as a person's height or weight or what bugs they are afraid of. It's definitely not important enough to interrupt the very important exposition he was trying to deliver. The downside to this enlightened indifference is that he can't really anticipate just how not indifferent the Lodgers are when it comes to gender--and to just about everything else. I've been having the hardest time cobbling together a first draft for Chapter 5! I'm not satisfied with my personal writing lately--a couple years ago when I was mainlining Invisible Ink and Film Critic Hulk I was feeling pretty smug about my understanding of story structure, but lately it seems everything I'm writing is obnoxiously long-winded and lifeless. I think I need a new storytelling guru to worship!