I haven’t read the book yet, but IMO, based on all of the other info out there, Marion definitely had her flaws. The Little House on the Prairie reference was in regard to her appearance, her hairstyle and clothing, not so much her behaviour.
Agree with
@Candytuft &
@mishy66 on the poor treatment by Marion of her 2 children, moving a new man in to live with them, without even an introduction. But maybe we’re judging her by today’s standards where there is widespread awareness of child abuse. Maybe in those days it could have been considered the right thing to do to give the children a father figure. A single parent family would have been socially undesirable.
Marion had a lot more intimate partners than would have been socially acceptable for a female in those times as well. I wonder, did she ever cheat on any of them? Did she ever take advantage of them, manipulate them?
I think you need to read the book.
I agree with what you have said as this side is what we have heard through inquest, media and SL
In the book it tells a very different side to M relationship with her kids. Especially Owen. Its just heartbreaking and very cruel.
You're right in it was a very different time back then bringing up kids to what it is today.
Which was my point in my post. IMO, Marion made some really cruel decisions based on Owen and what she said to him and what she did to him affected him his whole life and now that Ive read this, IMO what led to his downhill spiral. IMO this would have happened regardless of AH involvement.
It also touches on her relationships with men while married both to the kids father and also to JW and in between marriages.
My reference to her being described as "little house on prairie " lady is how much of the public view her thanks to the media and who have never really followed the case aside from what is written in the papers. The majority of the public you might say. Poytrayed as a kind nurturing teacher who was swallowed by a monster.
In my view she had two sides to her personality. The teacher stage side and the real M that her family saw each day. M could look after herself. She was in no way a meek and mild woman.
The book shares a very different side to M. One that, after reading it, convinces me she was as manipulating and as feisty as he. She would have put up a fight thats for sure. In her eyes she had nothing to lose as far as family was concerned because she had burnt her bridges. JMO
I agree with what you say also about "coercive control is very much about breaching trust in another human being, to gain an advantage for yourself". M herself did the same.
IMO after reading this book, M would have stood her ground.
I think its good to have a clearer perspective of M herself because it helps understand just how she fell for him and what she herself would have taken charge of during the lead up. Eg, IMO I now believe she herself chose her new names.
In saying all this though lets be clear that Im removing AH behaviours and patterns for the moment and solely focussing on the woman that M was at the time. The book also made it clearer to me just why M was so short with SL husband the day he helped her pack. SL has said her mother would never speak like that to someone else. But thats just not true if you believe the book. That was very much M pattern of behaviour.
All JMO
