Max took advantage of the teenage Gabrielle. When she told others in her life about this, she was ignored and the abuse continued. Why do you suppose that was? What, if anything, would have been different had that part of the plot happened today, with the rise of the #MeToo movement?
Roger admits towards the end of the book that he was jealous of Gabrielle and that this contributed to his reaction to the situation. Though there is a greater awareness of predatory dynamics than there was previously I think many survivors are still not believed, validated, and helped.
I think the abuse that Max endured was tolerated because Max was well respected as a great violinist so no one could imagine that he would be guilty of abuse. I think women in general, including young girls were not on the same footing as men and therefore weren’t taken seriously when they complained. Well clearly this plot has happened in recent years (Epstein) and women/young girls were still not taken seriously. However, I do believe that currently society is more sensitive to complaints of sexual abuse and are inclined to act on and hold the perpetrator accountable.
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It was horrible that she was ignored and the abuse continued. Perhaps people did not believe her, thought she was making it up. He was a well respected man. I believe in a lot of cases it can still happen today especially if a young girl or any woman is afraid to tell anyone.
She was ignored because in many abuse cases, the abuser is more powerful and therefore trusted. The MeToo movement has helped this a bit, but the abusers are typically believed.
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It is another case of a powerful man taking advantage of a vulnerable woman. If you’d asked me this a while ago, I would have said that Max would have been found out and prosecuted. However right now in our political climate, I’m not so sure. The rich and powerful seem to be getting away with sexual assault regularly now.
I think we’ve made progress with #Metoo, but we still have miles to go. The most glaring example is the Epstein Files! He was arrested for abusing young gilrs and died in prison in 2019. In all this time nothing has been investigated and powerful men have been protected. Why are their lives more important?? What has really changed?? As long as men can get away with that behavior, they will . Power over someone is a strong aphrodisiac.
Thank goodness people our educating our young children. That we live in these times where it can be talked about and not shoved under the rug.
Young women are still verbally and physically abused today. It just shows that not much has changed.
All we have to do is watch TV these days to see the stories of young girls being abused years ago and not being believed. Some rich and powerful men (mostly) seem to feel entitled to do whatever they want. It is very sad to see so many of these women still not being believed. Gabrielle found herself in the same position with Max, but it was especially vile that her own father did not pay attention and do something to help her.
Based on what is going on with the abusers mentioned in the Epstein files, I don’t think that the outcome would have been any different today
It would have been more typical for that time that she wasn’t believed, and it shaped her entire future. I’d love to say it would have been a different outcome today, unfortunately it’s still all too common.