Do you think Anna’s mother is a bad person?
I didn’t necessarily think she was a bad person, but I did think she was very selfish. I know of plenty of mothers who prioritize their own well-being over that of their child’s, but to completely abandon her daughter? That’s a rare level of self-preservation.
I think she was a very bad person. She was unloving and abandoned her. She gave Anna the idea that she was like her father and Anna knew her mother did not like her father. I guess I am answering as a mother, a mother who raised her two boys alone once their father left. I can not imagine abandoning my children.
I think she was traumatized by the father. I think she wanted a better life for herself. She was afraid Anba would have the father’s traits. But yes, she was a bad mother, placing her own future over that of Anna.
I find it a little difficult to find a person like Anna’s mother in such a horrible circumstance and then judge them as a “bad” person. I agree that she was more concerned with her own self-preservation than she cared about Anna. I would say that she was not a good mother in placing her own fears and needs above those of her daughter.
Bad? No. Fighting for her own sanity and survival? Yes.
Well, she did abandon her child and never sought a relationship. Maybe mom will reappear in the next book. Maybe the author will create a belated reunion of sorts.
I was surprised to find that Anna’s mother also had the Lyssa variant - which then meant that Anna inherited it from both parents - since we didn’t see her being violent in the same way as Anna’s father (nor did we see this in Anna). Her mother seemed to be overwhelmed and frightened by both her father and by Anna herself. After she abandoned Anna, she remarried and seemed to be an entirely different person. Again - this seemed to belie the alleged effect of the Lyssa variant.
As I said in response to another question, I can’t imagine what it would be like to learn that you married a serial killer and had a child with him! Especially a serial killer who was so obviously completely deranged (I don’t believe he was actually possessed by the spirit of Veles). You’d be asking yourself why you weren’t a better judge of character, how you missed the signs, etc. and although I can’t imagine how one abandons his/her own child, I also can’t imagine how it would be possible to live with a child whose other parent was so psychotic & evil. Would you want to get as far away from the child as possible? And would it be better for the child to live with someone who had no idea about their family history, therefore giving them the best chance to live a normal life?
These are among the intriguing questions the author likely wants readers to ponder. I don’t think life and all of its complications allow for a tidy characterization of Anna’s mother as a “bad person.”
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I think she was frightened. I could not image being in that situation. You’d be around someone that you know/suspect is a murderer - how could you believe the man you married is that person - it’s unreal. You’d be concerned for yourself as well as your child, but you may see that the monster loves his daughter. Save yourself??
Her mother seemed to be a very weak person. Did she know that her husband was a serial killer? I was horrified that she abandoned her child and put her up for adoption. To me, that seems like a heartless thing to do. Did she think she was doing the right thing for her daughter, or was she giving her up so she could build another life?
Anna’s parents did not get along and unfortunately she got involved in this. This is my opinion a set up for abuse, and her mother psychologically did that. I feel trying to explain why she did what she did and excusing the behavior would be terribly wrong.
Anna’s mother did a lot of bad things. She seemed to be a bad person, but her marriage was so destructive for her and her children, her actions seemed mostly out of trauma. However, after her mother had made a “successful” new life she offered her absolutely nothing. So, while she did many bad things that might normally classify her as bad, that last bit of hurt tomAnna cinched the deal to me that she was a bad person. She may have been just protecting her new life, but rejecting one’s one child crosses the line.
So yes, at her core she was a bad person.