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Patrice deserved so much better than his mom and his sister. he was young and didn't know anything about anyone or even himself other than his own appearance. i understand that the book, being a part of "Gothic literature" didn't want to give it a happy ending, and it clearly wasn't because that wasn't the books point. but i don't like lit analysis, so i won't be doing that today, at least from the authors point. it's going to be my personal ramblings.
Isabelle-Marie at first seemed to have a lot more understanding of the world around her than her mother did, she was shown as a character who was most different from her mother, but it turns out that she was just like her mother just lacking the narcissism and appearance, she was just as cruel as her mother was, whatever intelligence or awareness she had had been replaced with bitter hate for herself and others. i say that she seemed different from her mother because she wasn't self centered or focused on her appearance, but she was; just in a different way. While her mother was focused on herself due to her beauty isabelle-marie was focused on herself because she was unattractive, she also had her narcissism like her mother, when she told her boyfriend she had violet eyes and blonde hair she lied because she wanted someone to herself rather than being honest and truthful that might've been better in the long run, had she been honest, would her boyfriend still choose her good self over her appearance? maybe or maybe not. after all he did say "i kill whatever i think should be killed" isabelle wasn't a better mother than her's either. she went on the kill herself in-front of anna, and always snapped at her no matter what anna said, she had no love for her daughter just like her own mother once did. she was in the sense of self, most similar to her mother.
Patrice on the other hand was undeniably the most innocent and guileless out of all of the characters (aside from the guy in his asylum).
He was innocent until his bitter end at the pond. When he was young he knew nothing, did nothing, perhaps you can even say he said nothing when he wasn't asked. If it wasn't for isabelle-marie to grow jealous of him simply because of their mother maybe he would be safe; his mother was the one that always spoke for him and thought for him, he never had a mind of his own. His mother being so obsessed with his appearance wasn't out of motherly love but out of narcissism because she saw him as an object that people praise rather than a actual son. It is repeatedly stated she saw him as a extension of herself; of her own appearance, she never saw him as a child but more like a thing that welcomes people to say "oh how beautiful he his!" and nothing more because his face comes from her's, he never had a mother only a illusion.
After this, when his sister committed that crime and in turn made him lose the thing his mother loved him for she completely abandoned him. He was in pain and begging for a mother who'd love him and a sister who took care of him. Nothing he ever did was meant to hurt others because he simply never had that awareness, maybe if he did things would be different, but that's not his fault is it?
I'm well aware that the author didn't intend to save any character, and to make it seem as if it were all deserved, patrice's guilelessness caused him to become unaware of how much his sister hated him, isabelle-marie, was well isabelle-marie, selfish and hateful to the bone, and their mother, the person who's most at fault.
However i can't just agree with that, i understand the book i just can't agree with that saying, the characters weren't completely hopeless, not even the mother. i'm sorry, just rambles.
Isabelle-Marie at first seemed to have a lot more understanding of the world around her than her mother did, she was shown as a character who was most different from her mother, but it turns out that she was just like her mother just lacking the narcissism and appearance, she was just as cruel as her mother was, whatever intelligence or awareness she had had been replaced with bitter hate for herself and others. i say that she seemed different from her mother because she wasn't self centered or focused on her appearance, but she was; just in a different way. While her mother was focused on herself due to her beauty isabelle-marie was focused on herself because she was unattractive, she also had her narcissism like her mother, when she told her boyfriend she had violet eyes and blonde hair she lied because she wanted someone to herself rather than being honest and truthful that might've been better in the long run, had she been honest, would her boyfriend still choose her good self over her appearance? maybe or maybe not. after all he did say "i kill whatever i think should be killed" isabelle wasn't a better mother than her's either. she went on the kill herself in-front of anna, and always snapped at her no matter what anna said, she had no love for her daughter just like her own mother once did. she was in the sense of self, most similar to her mother.
Patrice on the other hand was undeniably the most innocent and guileless out of all of the characters (aside from the guy in his asylum).
He was innocent until his bitter end at the pond. When he was young he knew nothing, did nothing, perhaps you can even say he said nothing when he wasn't asked. If it wasn't for isabelle-marie to grow jealous of him simply because of their mother maybe he would be safe; his mother was the one that always spoke for him and thought for him, he never had a mind of his own. His mother being so obsessed with his appearance wasn't out of motherly love but out of narcissism because she saw him as an object that people praise rather than a actual son. It is repeatedly stated she saw him as a extension of herself; of her own appearance, she never saw him as a child but more like a thing that welcomes people to say "oh how beautiful he his!" and nothing more because his face comes from her's, he never had a mother only a illusion.
After this, when his sister committed that crime and in turn made him lose the thing his mother loved him for she completely abandoned him. He was in pain and begging for a mother who'd love him and a sister who took care of him. Nothing he ever did was meant to hurt others because he simply never had that awareness, maybe if he did things would be different, but that's not his fault is it?
I'm well aware that the author didn't intend to save any character, and to make it seem as if it were all deserved, patrice's guilelessness caused him to become unaware of how much his sister hated him, isabelle-marie, was well isabelle-marie, selfish and hateful to the bone, and their mother, the person who's most at fault.
However i can't just agree with that, i understand the book i just can't agree with that saying, the characters weren't completely hopeless, not even the mother. i'm sorry, just rambles.