Domestic Violence

Paula's father introduced her to the ugliness of domestic violence when she was just a child. Paula observed the iron fist with which her father ruled his wife and his household, yet she saw his torture of her sister Carmel as an expression of fatherly love. Years later, despite Carmel's vows that their childhood home was cruel and hateful, Paula still insists, "He'd meant it for the best, being cruel to be kind" (Chapter 12, pg. 47.) Years later, Paula is able to assume the blame for psychotic amounts of abuse from Charlo, still insisting, "When he'd hit me he'd been keeping me in my place, putting me back in my box" (Chapter 24, pg. 157.) It seems that Paula, having observed domestic violence so much in her own home, believed that it was the normal pattern for marriage. Desperate to escape her father's control, Paula foolishly chose a man just...