Ugh had an Alice moment at dinner tonight (whole rat family is together for Thanksgiving in the US). A comment was made about how women who grow up with negative comments about their looks/etc. grow up to "marry abusers." Then some light joking, but then one wife started making some kinda rough comments about her husband, nothing too crazy, just a bit uncomfortable. Being the silly rat I am, I tried to change the subject with a joke. I said, "what about for men that are abused?" lightly referring to the wife's comments and she backed off with a laugh.
But then my sister frowns and says "men can't be abused! They're bigger, he could knock her down with one punch."
Trying to keep the peace and knowing my sister loves nothing more than a fight, I just had to walk away, but it made me so frustrated. Especially as my sister has emotionally abused me, my parents, and I'm 99% sure her own husband. I don't think she's a narcissistic, but maybe a bit sociopathic.
As I thought about it more, it sort of reshaped my view of Alice. I'd kind of thought she knew she was being abusive and malicious, but seeing my sister just being misogynistic and stubborn, it hit me like... this woman truly thinks she can do no wrong, and Ioan wasn't abused since he didn't "hit back."
Good luck to any other American tattlers out there gathering with family now
it's wonderful and stressful lol