I’m almost done with Petals on the Wind and I noticed that multiple other people who enter Cathy’s life are also awful. While Paul genuinely cared for the kids, he was still pretty awful as he raped his wife, and statutorily raped Cathy. Yes, Cathy did try to seduce Paul, but he didn’t remain firm on rejecting her advances.
Julian was obviously controlling and abusive towards Cathy as he basically coerced her into marrying him and gaslighted her into feeling she put him in an awful position by not loving him enough when he died. He also sexually assaulted Cathy multiple times throughout the relationship.
Bart Winslow also sexually assaults Cathy in Petals on the Wind, and this part was disturbing for me as this was not the first time Cathy has been sexually assaulted and it almost seems like a common occurrence that the men she trusts (minus Julian as she never had much love for him) have all taken advantage of her, including her own brother.
Julian also groomed Carrie and it was noted that he would prey on underage girls. The topics of grooming and sexual assault seem to be normalized in the series as Cathy seems to be able to look past these things while she cannot look past the abuse of her mother, so much so that she blames every bad thing that’s happened to her – even at the hands of someone else – on her mother.
Is Cathy more forgiving of grooming and sexual assault because to her this doesn’t compare to the abuse of her mother, or is she desensitized as a result of the three years of abuse and neglect she dealt with?
by InfiniteCalendar1