His mother's comment
When her mother-in-law came out and saw the cut on Slim's face, her comment of "what did you do?" annoyed the hell out of me.
shareI agree. And something about that comment makes me wonder: Did Mitch abuse women in the past, and did his mother know about those times? I don't know. She didn't seem too surprised, to me.
shareI thought she seemed pretty unsurprised too.
But it truly puzzled me the way the characters of Mitch's mom & dad were written.
At the wedding, it clearly looks like Mitch's mom is in charge.
Yet, how can this be...the mom asks Slim "What did you DO?" as if she was familiar with abuse.
Unless the mom herself strikes the dad!!
I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.
Another possibility: The mother may have been abused by Mitch's father.
shareI would have figured this except for the dialogue I mentioned about the wedding.
It clearly appears that Mitch's mom is in the dominant one.
The mom never even acknowledges her quiet husband in that scene about who is paying for the wedding.
I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.
The comment is in there to show a pattern - that the behavior is learned. I would have been more irritated at the mother's comment, but she was so sympathetic to Slim and nice to her that I think she was approaching her as a victim of violence as well, and not a mother defending her perfect son. The mother has sympathy for Slim, but seems to take the view that women have to stay in line or pay the consequences. I agree that the comment at the wedding paints a different picture. But, it goes to show, too, that domestic violence can happened even when the victim appears to be more dominant. Looks can be deceiving. Also, the father may have become more passive with age.
To me the role of the mother in those two instances shows that domestic violence is often learned between generations and you can't always know which families it happens in.