I probably missed a fine point somewhere in the book and/or am a bit cynical about Lenore’s headaches because I always took those headaches as a convenient excuse to avoid having conversations she needed to have with Norma. After all, it’s a little hard to “prove” someone has a headache and given Lenore’s propensity for drama, her headaches were a passive way for her to further control everyone around her.
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I think she was mentally unstable due to her miscarriages but I also feel that she knew what she had done was wrong. There was no excuse for her actions but I really blame her sister and husband for not doing something about her taking Ruthie and they should have done something as soon as they were aware what happened.
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I think that Norma’s “mother” was very disturbed with how many miscarriages she had. I am not excusing the behavior, but she was not being treated for her depression, or anxiety disorder which is the underlying issue I think. At this time in history, it was still very much heavily implied that woman are not truly successful humans unless they were married and taking care of their children. This pressure was not helping her helplessness in the face of her miscarriages.
I also think that her support system- husband and sister- were no longer able to cope, or help her, in this situation. So they are just as much to blame for this injustice as she is.
Do I think she is an absolute monster, I don’t know. It’s very difficult for me to find her wholly at fault when was clearly suffering from a mental disease. If she had decided to see someone about the depression and anxiety, and still continued with this charade, then I would find her irredeemable.
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