His Fall, Her Fault – 2. Time for Surprise
Rose decided that her imagination had played a trick on her that autumn day they got married. A scary look in Phil’s eyes? Ridiculous!
But then, one day, it was there again.
She had made the mistake to say that she was thinking of going back to work.
He became furious! Hadn’t she promised him to stay at home and take care of him and the house!? He was disappointed! He felt betrayed!
Scared by the creepy look in his eyes, Rose immediately swore never to mention it again.
When Phil had calmed down, he explained to her, “My mother demonstrated her love for me by keeping a clean house, cooking my meals, and caring for me. When I return home from work, I want to be met by a happy and grateful wife who serves me a nice dinner in a clean house. That’s all I ask for!”
The first time he beat her was about half a year later. She convinced herself that it wasn’t really that bad. Only a slightly bleeding nose and some pain. And Phil had his reasons for getting upset. She had carelessly left some dirty laundry on the bathroom floor.
Next time it happened was when a neighbor woman invited her in for a cup of coffee. They were chatting and laughing so much that she forgot about her duties. That time, it felt as though some ribs were broken.
But Phil was right! She had promised never to do such things. He had explained that in a perfect household, there was no place for carelessness.
Later, it happened more frequently. While hitting her, he kept screaming that she had turned lazy, ugly, and fat.
Rose realized that she was never going to reach his mother’s perfection.
***
Their third anniversary, Phil’s 45th birthday, fell on a windy and cloudy autumn day.
When he came home from work, there was a surprise waiting for him. He found a note on their bed, lying next to her peaceful body.
She wrote that she was very sorry, but there was no dinner for him that day.
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
No, no, no she did not have to die to escape an abusive controlling husband!!! Perhaps this was his punishment too.
I totally agree with you, Maragarida. She shouldn’t die just because she ended up in an abusive relationship. But without good and close relationships to family and friends, she was isolated and didn’t see any other way out. Thanks for your comment.
The build-up to this tragic ending is spine chilling as Rose’s reaction to her abuse is so typical of vulnerable women today who somehow feel they deserve it. I have to say I was desperately hoping she would poison his birthday cake, refusing to take a slice herself because, as he so often pointed out, she was getting fat! Another great read, Christer!
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
Haha! Yes, it would have made sense to poison his birthday cake, Linda. But poor Rose was not the aggressive type, and she had burned all her bridges behind her when she married Phil and entered into his destructive world. It’s very tragic, but as you say, such things happen (not only today!). Thanks for your nice words!
Oh my goodness! I’m seething with anger. Why did Rose commit suicide? I was also in an unhealthy relationship, but I didn’t think to do that because I was thinking about my children. So sad about what happened to Rose. Your story (His Fall, Her Fault) was totally captivating. Well done, Christer.
Thank you, Lotchie. When there are children involved, the mother’s/wife’s instinct is normally to take care of them, which unfortunately often means staying in a bad relationship. Congratulations to you for taking the decision to change your situation.
However, for Rose it was different. She had no children and her self-confidence was non-existent after her husband’s abuse and constant criticism. She didn’t have your optimism and strength.
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.
I am glad that I have children that give me more courage to keep going, Christer. I am so blessed.
…and the story continues and I feel I might have been right. The violent streak in Phil makes me think that the relationship with his mommy wasn’t so idyllic after all, considering the way he behaves with Rose. Has his daddy done the same to his mommy? Is this the example Phil got?
To start with, I was uncertain about the finale. Couldn’t Rose just leave Phil, rather than leave herself in such a tragic and final way? Then, I understood…she might have felt that she had failed herself and also she might have thought that he would have come after her forever…
Good observation, Greene. Mother and son probably got tied very close together because there was an abusive husband/father who had disappeared. But Phil had his mentor and learned to dominate his mother while living with her in an unhealthy dependency. He would, of course, miss his mother terribly and no woman would be able to replace her.
As I wrote in other comments, I imagine that Rose was too weak and lonely to fight for a life on her own. As you say, she felt that she had failed, probably she also was under the impression that Phil was right and that she never would be good enough.
Comments without a personalized avatar will not be published.