You know .. all this business about 'family name' and Allison and Gerard wanting a boy and all this nonsense as if they are some kind of noble family is such utter and complete rubbish .. they were BARELY middle class .. actually in reality they were sliding down fast .. they couldn't afford the school their girls went to, Gerard who was in the industry but hadn't even bought them a family home .. they were in the hole financially and things were getting worse .. it was all a complete illusion .. but it was just so important to them .. sorry, but really?? Talk about appearances over reality. Honestly .. does it even really matter, is it so important to appear to have some kind of social success when in reality your life is a disaster?
How much did this need to 'keep up appearances' play into this tragedy .. I'd suggest a fair bit, is it why Allison didn't speak the truth of her marriage .. was she in denial, or did she know the truth, but didn't know how to tell others, or did she want to keep up appearances herself? Did Gerard go from zero to murder in one night, or had he been physically abusing her for years? What amount of emotional abuse (beyond humiliating her with numerous affairs) went on? How many secrets was Allison keeping, and what stopped her from reaching out for help to the people in her life? When she reached out to a professional she was handed a packet of pills with no attempt to dig into the cause for her distress, as if there is some kind of agreement never to open up a can of worms which could pull down a charade, what a shame.
People looking in from the outside think the leafy middle class suburbs are just as perfect as they seem, but what a social disaster. How many women suffer in silence in order to maintain an illusion? Where do they go for help? Do they tell their friends that they've been trying to impress since high school that things are a disaster, do they go down to centerlink and start finding their way around the social welfare system to support themselves and their kids if they leave or get dumped for a younger woman, do they dust off unused degrees obtained decades ago and hope to find a job with no experience, if in physical danger do they reach out to a women's shelter if they need a safe place?
I guess what I am saying is that this sad need to appear to be living the dream can be incredibly dangerous once you put it above the truth .. Allison's instincts were SCREAMING at her, yet she still didn't leave or reach out, and Gerard was just as miserable .. wanting to leave, but not feeling like he could either and this whole thing has ended in tragedy.
Who really cares what car you drive, what suburb you live in, whether or not your picture perfect marriage turned out to be a joke, put your kids in public school if you can't afford the private one (it might save them from trying to fit an image that's all an illusion themselves one day) find a way, be happy, or at least be honest and safe.
