For real. Like, from the most coldly pragmatic kind of standpoint here, Beth is simply no longer her problem to deal with, which seems to be Gladys’s preference. Why would she be making Beth her own problem again unnecessarily now? (Only half-rhetorical and I wonder if her husband said something off-screen that prompted this.)
I think there’s a lot going on here. Gladys doesn’t feel she controls much of anything in her life, including those small rambunctious kids at home and even her own body (weight, apparently getting pregnant young and having EIGHT KIDS). Bethany is like her white whale of control, in that she represents someone so out of control, Gladys couldn’t deal with it and expelled her from the family home. If she can control Beth again, she can repair that failure, stop getting judged as a mom who sent her kid away, and make some sense out of her life.
But I also think she’s genuinely concerned about Beth’s future. She’s convinced she’s sexually active (accurate), and aside from the typical Catholic concerns there, to Gladys, having sex = getting pregnant and winding up in a bad marriage to whatever boy got her alone first. I’m sure she can’t begin to articulate that in her mind, but maybe she doesn’t want Beth to experience a similar fate. Part of her concern about Beth’s “job skills” is passive aggressive/about her looks, but it seems like she also wants to give Beth a measure of self-sufficiency, a way to avoid the domestic trap she occupies.
Another clear motive is that she thinks having Beth at home — and certainly at Shane’s workplace — will help keep her husband in line and make it harder for him to cheat. The fact that Shane is against the plan only makes it more appealing to her, since she is clearly longing to defy and punish him, even if she can’t admit it.
Plus, she also does just seem to want domestic help. She looks tired as hell. It’s standard in this type of Catholic family to force the oldest daughters to provide household labor, and I think Gladys resents that Bethany is “lying around” all day instead of helping her at home.
There’s a lot that’s shit about Gladys but also a lot that’s shit in her actual life so I appreciate a take that is compassionate to her for the shit things while still holding her accountable for the shit she passes on
I’d still demand she GTFO of my house. I find this entire situation deeply annoying. This is literally breaking and entering, Idgaf if you’re family.
…and why is Gladys so obsessed with Bethany when she’s got x number children at home that need attention, too?
From Cheap Thrills “Yeah, Mom’s batshit crazy”. (Oldest male sibling, I think)
For real. Like, from the most coldly pragmatic kind of standpoint here, Beth is simply no longer her problem to deal with, which seems to be Gladys’s preference. Why would she be making Beth her own problem again unnecessarily now? (Only half-rhetorical and I wonder if her husband said something off-screen that prompted this.)
I think there’s a lot going on here. Gladys doesn’t feel she controls much of anything in her life, including those small rambunctious kids at home and even her own body (weight, apparently getting pregnant young and having EIGHT KIDS). Bethany is like her white whale of control, in that she represents someone so out of control, Gladys couldn’t deal with it and expelled her from the family home. If she can control Beth again, she can repair that failure, stop getting judged as a mom who sent her kid away, and make some sense out of her life.
But I also think she’s genuinely concerned about Beth’s future. She’s convinced she’s sexually active (accurate), and aside from the typical Catholic concerns there, to Gladys, having sex = getting pregnant and winding up in a bad marriage to whatever boy got her alone first. I’m sure she can’t begin to articulate that in her mind, but maybe she doesn’t want Beth to experience a similar fate. Part of her concern about Beth’s “job skills” is passive aggressive/about her looks, but it seems like she also wants to give Beth a measure of self-sufficiency, a way to avoid the domestic trap she occupies.
Another clear motive is that she thinks having Beth at home — and certainly at Shane’s workplace — will help keep her husband in line and make it harder for him to cheat. The fact that Shane is against the plan only makes it more appealing to her, since she is clearly longing to defy and punish him, even if she can’t admit it.
Plus, she also does just seem to want domestic help. She looks tired as hell. It’s standard in this type of Catholic family to force the oldest daughters to provide household labor, and I think Gladys resents that Bethany is “lying around” all day instead of helping her at home.
Like I said, a lot!
There’s a lot that’s shit about Gladys but also a lot that’s shit in her actual life so I appreciate a take that is compassionate to her for the shit things while still holding her accountable for the shit she passes on
oh no…..a teenager’s sloppy living quarters…..such destruction……the whole house is ruined…….
gurl get OUT of MY HOUSE