Felt bad for Earl, disliked Jenna

I liked Jenna and didn't like Earl. And I usually feel bad for characters like Earl, but I couldn't feel bad for him. He dug his own grave. He treats Jenna like crap. He hits her, doesn't let her have a car because he doesn't want her going anywhere without him, says no immediately after she asks for money without even knowing what it's for, demands her tips as soon as she gets in the car and gets her drunk so he can get her to have sex....Not to mention barging in to her workplace at least twice and causing a scene and using her "baby money" for a video camera.

Maybe he does have problems but keeping her prisoner is not going to make her love him. And I don't think it's as easy as Jenna working on the marriage. She must've loved him when they married, and in the movie she says he changed afterwards. There was no way that she could've had a normal conversation with this man, everything was about him. Any time she'd say something he would get upset and go on a tirade. He obviously has something mentally wrong with him, but that doesn't mean he gets to abuse her physically and mentally.

And even at the end when she dumps him, he's standing there yelling at her while she's holding their newborn baby, and then refuses to pay the hospital bill. I'm sorry, but I definitely can't feel sorry for Earl, he's a jerk and an idiot because he couldn't see how unhappy she was.

Regardless of whether you felt sorry for his behavior or not, taking all the money that his wife earns for the sole reason of preventing her from having any power and being totally dependent on him is NOT a cool thing to do.
He was effectively imprisoning her...not sure how you can condone that.

"Even my parents called me Mulder" -Fox Mulder

Kathy, I admire the thoughtful and intelligent way you wrote your post. But I have to disagree whole-heartedly. What you wrote is the attitude of people who have been abused and choose to stay in destructive relationships. It's typical to often hear abused women say, "It's not his fault. There's something wrong with me." After being physically and emotionally abused for years by this man, Jenna's "I could care less" attitude is perfectly justified. Perhaps there's something Freudian bubbling up from the depths of your subconscious that compels you to feel sorry for such a despicable antagonist such as Earl.

I respect your points, simply because you expressed them without making generalizations and insulting anyone, but consider this...

Did you ever think that the reason she became so indifferent towards him was BECAUSE of his behavior? She married him for a reason, I think she truly loved him at the beginning, but his abusive and controlling behavior changed those emotions.

To me, her love was never enough for him, he always wanted more, which is one of the core concepts of abusive and obsessive relationships, it's never enough love, never enough affection. They want idol worship. And I think that constant drive for her to give her entire self to him turned her away. People need air, they need freedom. He took hers away and made her a slave. He wouldn't let her have a car, he wouldn't let her do things that made her happy, he made her dependent on him.

You have the right to feel what you feel about him, but I really don't understand how you could. I don't think she made herself the victim at all, she tried to escape, she threw herself in her pies. If you mean she should have just given up her wants and needs to make Earl feel wanted, I think that's sad that you feel her opinions and emotions don't matter at all, as long as Earl is happy.

While i was watching this movie ,tears kept running down my cheek.

Anyway..i thought that if you consider the world in terms of black or white,then you can see her just as a cheating wife and a negletting mother to be.
B ut in my world,even if i don't condone affairs,i see her as a woman who was stuck in a loveless marriage with an abusive husband(sometimes,even not being listened can make marriage or any relationships unbearable),a woman with no money for start a new life,low self esteem thanks to the husband,and of course she doesn't feel any love for the baby,because in her mind the baby rapresent another brick in a wall that it's bury her deeper and deeper.
but in my opinion,admitting those feeling of insecurity and apathy and her fears makes her brave and honest.
many women are afraid they mey not feel any affection for their babies,it is natural and doesn't make them bad person.
she could have run with the doctor and probably be happy for a long time,but she choose to start a new life without destroying other people's feeling,and she choose the hardest path .
that's what makes a person a good person .
i must admit though,when i saw Earl at the hospital while she was telling him that she never loved him,at the precise moment i did feel bad for him.
but that's how life is,sometimes we don't have a second chance,and she gave him enough time to realize how he was making her miserable and dependant on him,but he was too busy thinking only about his needs,so at the end,he was the only one to blame for.

I don't agree with what you said at all! Loved her in his way? If a husband rapes his wife or abuses her in any way, you can't simply write it off as "loving her in his own way". I also don't think he loved her. He loved the idea of her. The idea that a woman will do whatever he wants her to do - the only woman that he ever "owned".
Also, it does take two to tango. So it doesn't matter who initiated what!

Reading: Anna Karenina

Watched: The Waitress

In Omnía Paratus

1. Earl didn't love Jenna, and he never did. He loved the fact that she, and I quote, "belonged to him." He like controlling her, as evidence: he climaxes when she asks him what he wants her to do.
2. Jenna should leave Earl. He abused her both physically and mentally, and took all of the money that she made so that she couldn't leave and to be more powerful over her.
3. Name one point in this movie where Earl does something loving, something for someone besides himself. He doesn't.

I don't agree with your point of view of the characters. If you remember the line in the movie where Jenna says that "Earl was not the man she married. He had changed." So it's not like Jenna just decided to not love him anymore. I'm sure she did..but back when Earl was different..probably meaning when he wasn't overprotective and controlling. I'm not sure if you missed that part or you saw it and still think that Earl was the victim in the relationship. Also not that this has anything to do with my previous comment..but it's obvious that Jenna was afraid of him and only told him things that he wanted to hear. I think when you're at the point in your relationship where you're scared to speak your mind and have to hide basically everything from your significant other you have lost your freedom and you really can't be happy. I don't think that constitutes a relationship anymore. You are just stuck with no control over your life. I don't really care if Earl thought he was doing his best..and if he loved her or not..the point was that she had to be afraid of him and maybe I just believe that relationships should work in a certain way..but I know if I can't be myself and feel that someone has control over me I would not be happy and there is no way I would stay in that relationship. I don't know your opinion but maybe you've had different experiences than me.