There is a little bit of a hold we could get a purchase on here. The Serpentine One would ask, Why did the woman immediately head home when she learned her daughter was not at school? Why didn't she pick up the phone and call Frank who was supposed to be there writing his thesis? Did she already not trust him?
Don't blame the victim you say? Why not? Yeah, yeah, Frank's a bum and we blame him but can we really blame only him? There are lots of Franks in the world and surely we have a moral responsibility to conduct our lives and to choose whom we do or don't allow ourselves to fall in love with advisedly.
Oh yes, the Serpentine One just added, "That all that goes triple for a woman with a daughter." Is that unfair? Should single mothers have to be much more circumspect about whom they fall in love with and thereby maybe miss out on a chance at love, which is already tough enough for single mothers? I'd be inclined to say "yes" myself. But the thing is any good story would raise the issue of her responsibility. She has to have some responsibility.
- We could also place some blame on the daughter's school for waiting so long to call.
- We could blame the university for not creating regulations that force graduate students to move along more quickly.
- We could blame the other women in Frank's life for making exceptions for a guy just because he is so attractive.
- We could ask to what extent did the daughter learn how to behave from her mother? Was dope smoking a regular practice in the house? Did the mother smoke in the room with Frank while telling her daughter not to smoke? Was Frank only the latest in a series of men this woman had carelessly allowed into her life?
- Finally, we might say of the daughter that, no matter what her mother's behaviour, no girl should do such a thing to herself or to her mother.
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