Ep.10 offers the backstory of Philomela’s Grandmother, Lizbeth.
Lizbeth is, in some measure, a victim of the circumstances which pushed her to have a son she did not want. She never learned to love him and only considered him a piece of property.
The backstory lets people understand why she did what she did, but it does not attempt to make excuses for Lizbeth’s abuse of her own son and Granddaughter.
Philomela’s Grandmother, Lizbeth, is beyond salvation, at least according to fans, and we agree with them. However, an explanation for her behavior was long overdue. Now, fans know what is wrong with her, and they can hate her while understanding the reasons for her strange, abusive behavior.
A Child She Never Wanted
Lizbeth was under a lot of pressure, as far as we can tell, as the head of the Sergeant house. Her inability — or, more likely, unwillingness — to have a child was considered her major flaw.
To calm the ugly voices and earn the praise she believed she deserved, Lizbeth gave birth to Adam. But it did not change the fact that she did not want a child, and it looks like she never learned to love him while also considering him her possession.
Lizbeth says she felt for Adam, but at the same time was disgusted by him because he was weak. This view of her own child shows how Lizbeth was completely warped by an unfair, demanding family. In it, love is not given freely; only those who have special merits are deserving of respect and care. Lizbeth molded Adam into something others would respect, but she was cold and demanding while doing it, which eventually turned her son away.
We can understand that a woman who was forced to give birth by peer pressure does not feel much love for the child that resulted from her, no doubt, traumatic experience. Lizbeth is a victim of outdated customs, and she tried to avoid harming Adam when she gave him away to servant women to raise. But he wanted to be with his mom — a very human desire — and that mom did not love him enough.
To be fair, she tried to make him into someone her rather biased and unkind world would respect. She cared for his status, at the very least. That does count for something, right?
Do you feel for Philomela’s grandmother?
Did She Ever Love Anybody?
To be clear, Lizbeth did not even seem to love her husband. The flashback references his death and states that it was painful, but it is not clear why he died. Could it be that Lizbeth simply killed him, so that she never had to worry about giving birth again? Yes, it could. We firmly believe that the poor man was led to death in one way or another by his wife.
Lizbeth does not seem to love anyone, and never once in her flashback she is presented as deserving pity or concern. She was a victim, true, but in turn, she victimized many more people, and that is just not okay. Fans definitely won’t shed tears for her if she is punished or even killed in the next episode.
That said, it is nice to know why Lizbeth is like that. After all, it had not been clear before this why she hated Philomela so much. Now, we know that Lizbeth is a generally unkind, callous person who is mad at a child for having been born from the wrong mother. After all, Lizbeth hates Philomela’s mother for convincing her son to run away. Besides, Philomela never managed to substitute Lizbeth’s son. It makes sense, however messed up it is.
Pointless cruelty can be fine, but cruelty that has very deep roots and can be explained is better; it makes for a more satisfying story. In general, Episode 10 gives Lizbeth some depth as a villain. It even shows that the villain was a victim at some point, but that does not take away from Lizbeth’s nefarious nature.
Running Away
Adam escaped his mother, making sure that even his body could not be found; it collapsed into a pile of salt when he died. Given that she clearly considered him an object she owned, it makes sense that he did not want his body to get into her hands. Unfortunately, Adam did not manage to save his daughter, and the old hag made sure to hurt Philomela every step of the way because she represented her son’s rebellion. Philomela did not have the opportunity to run away.
Until, of course, Chise came by. We are looking forward to the next episode and hope that Chise will let Philomela’s Grandmother know how wrong she was.
Will Chise save Philomela?
Fortunately, they did not try to make excuses for the old hag. But now we understand her a little bit better.
Ep.10 offers the backstory of Philomela’s Grandmother, Lizbeth.
Lizbeth is, in some measure, a victim of the circumstances which pushed her to have a son she did not want. She never learned to love him and only considered him a piece of property.
The backstory lets people understand why she did what she did, but it does not attempt to make excuses for Lizbeth’s abuse of her own son and Granddaughter.
Philomela’s Grandmother, Lizbeth, is beyond salvation, at least according to fans, and we agree with them. However, an explanation for her behavior was long overdue. Now, fans know what is wrong with her, and they can hate her while understanding the reasons for her strange, abusive behavior.
A Child She Never Wanted
Lizbeth was under a lot of pressure, as far as we can tell, as the head of the Sergeant house. Her inability — or, more likely, unwillingness — to have a child was considered her major flaw.
To calm the ugly voices and earn the praise she believed she deserved, Lizbeth gave birth to Adam. But it did not change the fact that she did not want a child, and it looks like she never learned to love him while also considering him her possession.
Lizbeth says she felt for Adam, but at the same time was disgusted by him because he was weak. This view of her own child shows how Lizbeth was completely warped by an unfair, demanding family. In it, love is not given freely; only those who have special merits are deserving of respect and care. Lizbeth molded Adam into something others would respect, but she was cold and demanding while doing it, which eventually turned her son away.
We can understand that a woman who was forced to give birth by peer pressure does not feel much love for the child that resulted from her, no doubt, traumatic experience. Lizbeth is a victim of outdated customs, and she tried to avoid harming Adam when she gave him away to servant women to raise. But he wanted to be with his mom — a very human desire — and that mom did not love him enough.
To be fair, she tried to make him into someone her rather biased and unkind world would respect. She cared for his status, at the very least. That does count for something, right?
Do you feel for Philomela’s grandmother?
Did She Ever Love Anybody?
To be clear, Lizbeth did not even seem to love her husband. The flashback references his death and states that it was painful, but it is not clear why he died. Could it be that Lizbeth simply killed him, so that she never had to worry about giving birth again? Yes, it could. We firmly believe that the poor man was led to death in one way or another by his wife.
Lizbeth does not seem to love anyone, and never once in her flashback she is presented as deserving pity or concern. She was a victim, true, but in turn, she victimized many more people, and that is just not okay. Fans definitely won’t shed tears for her if she is punished or even killed in the next episode.
That said, it is nice to know why Lizbeth is like that. After all, it had not been clear before this why she hated Philomela so much. Now, we know that Lizbeth is a generally unkind, callous person who is mad at a child for having been born from the wrong mother. After all, Lizbeth hates Philomela’s mother for convincing her son to run away. Besides, Philomela never managed to substitute Lizbeth’s son. It makes sense, however messed up it is.
Pointless cruelty can be fine, but cruelty that has very deep roots and can be explained is better; it makes for a more satisfying story. In general, Episode 10 gives Lizbeth some depth as a villain. It even shows that the villain was a victim at some point, but that does not take away from Lizbeth’s nefarious nature.
Running Away
Adam escaped his mother, making sure that even his body could not be found; it collapsed into a pile of salt when he died. Given that she clearly considered him an object she owned, it makes sense that he did not want his body to get into her hands. Unfortunately, Adam did not manage to save his daughter, and the old hag made sure to hurt Philomela every step of the way because she represented her son’s rebellion. Philomela did not have the opportunity to run away.
Until, of course, Chise came by. We are looking forward to the next episode and hope that Chise will let Philomela’s Grandmother know how wrong she was.
