It is a sad but true fact that many abused women will reach out for help, sympathy or even rescue, then try to make excuses for, or go back to, the abusive husbands. I thought that part of it was realistic.
Despite objections from some Board members about commingling the film with the novel, this is a topic our understanding of which is assisted by recourse to the novel.
As the novel states, Connie told her parents about Carlo hitting her the first time. Their reaction: "She had found her parents cooly unsympathetic and curiously amused."
