Thesis and Project Narrative

So far, the one thing I've written most frequently about, the one thing I've felt most strongly about, is my beef with Therese.  I talked a lot about Richard, but mainly I wrote about Therese; I always tend to focus on character flaws in the main character, since sometimes they can harder to pick up on, so it's no surprise that's what interested me.  That said, I should probably focus my thesis on the subject of Therese's character and the significance of such. Therefore, I have come up with

The immaturity displayed by Therese both in her relationship with Carol and her interactions with other people illustrates Patricia Highsmith's view of lesbianism as frequently a childish mentality.

I phrased it in this way because I don't think Patricia Highsmith actually thinks lesbianism in general is childish, but I think she may be arguing that girls sometimes pursue queer lifestyles mainly because they aren't mature enough to know where they are emotionally and psychologically.  She also may just be showing the way in which society at the time saw lesbianism, as young girls who become overwhelmed and proceed to act irrationally and selfishly.  Either way, Therese ends up changing a lot in the last chapter or so, and still remains in love with Carol, so clearly Highsmith has no real qualm with lesbianism in general.  I intend to include some of this dialogue in a brief intro/conclusion

 In order to make this argument, I'm going to first show all the flaws in Therese's persona once she becomes enamored with Carol in regards to Richard as well as some other minor characters like Mrs. Robchiek.  In the next paragraph, I would talk mainly about the problems with her relationship with Carol, and believe me, they're there.  In both of these paragraphs I'd try to show after all of my evidence how these things depict lesbianism in a childish light.  In my conclusion (in as much space as I have left) I'll be most likely pointing out that although these things suggest Highsmith sees lesbianism as childish, she certainly doesn't believe it's always that way or can't change into something more grown up, using the final pages as evidence.

I'm definitely very open to suggestions on this since to me it's very hard to pinpoint Highsmith's motive in making Therese the way she is.  I know there is a significance and I have a lot of evidence for it, but I can't be sure that my interpretation is 100% correct.  Therefore, I'm looking for any kind of constructive criticism, mainly towards that aspect of my thesis.  Thanks in advance, see you next time.