Thalia @ Pictures in the Words

Okay, this took me a really long time to think about. I've always sort of known what I believe in, and while I've of course done research about that sort of stuff, I always kind of come out with the same opinion I had going in. It takes a lot to change my mind. And I guess this book didn't change my mind as much as it just made me see things from a different perspective, which was interesting.

A Wounded Name: This book really made me think about abusive relationships. I can understand why you might stay with someone who hurts you because you're afraid to leave, but I never could understand how some people could still feel like the abuser loved them. I just don't understand that viewpoint very well, as I'm sure many people who've never been in abusive relationship think. This book made me see it a little differently. Ophelia thinks of Dane's abuse as "taking his pain" from him, that it hurts him too much to bear alone, so she bears it with him. She lets him come close to killing her because she wants to "help" him. From Ophelia's point of view...it made a weird kind of sense. I understood where she was coming from, why she still wanted Dane and how she could justify what he did to her, even though it was horrible. So I guess I understand that a bit more than I did before.