Basic Trope: Manipulative Bastard resorts to violence, then cries and acts apologetic while getting the victim to believe they're responsible for them using violence against them.
- Straight: Shannon has an argument with her daughter Sharon, so she slaps her, then bursts into tears, asking "Why Did You Make Me Hit You?" Sharon apologizes and complies with her mother's wishes.
- Exaggerated: Shannon beats the hell out of poor Sharon, who's quickly reduced to a cringing, sobbing, apologizing mess begging for her mother's forgiveness.
- Downplayed: Shannon shakes Sharon around a bit, and then looks down tearfully and moans "Why do you do this to me?"
- Justified:
- Sharon either begs Shannon to hit her, or goads her into doing so ("C'mon, hit me! I bet you're too scared!").
- Sharon refuses to believe that Shannon is making a serious statement unless and until Shannon hits her.
- Shannon thinks it is a convenient way to teach Sharon respect, but it only creates fear.
- Inverted: Sorry I Fell on Your Fist
- Subverted:
- After Shannon hits Sharon, Sharon gets outraged and hits her back, then storms out.
- When Shannon asks why Sharon made her hit her, Sharon starts kicking her to death and delivers a "The Reason You Suck" Speech as the light drains from her mother's eyes.
- Shannon hits Sharon and immediately regrets it and apologizes for the action.
- Double Subverted: ...However, Sharon feels so bad about this that she comes slinking back to apologize.
- Parodied:
- Shannon pokes Sharon lightly and almost instantly gets to her knees and becomes a sobbing, apologizing mess.
- Shannon is genuinely confused at to why she did hit Sharon. The latter suggest her it's because she's an abusive parent, and Shannon nods agreement before throwing a crying fit as normal.
- Zig Zagged:
- Shannon and Sharon have a complex, dysfunctional relationship built on emotional bonds sullied by manipulation. Shannon is honestly horrified the first time she strikes Sharon, but later wavers between that honest shock at her own actions and cynically spinning everything so that it isn't her fault. Sharon, for her part, knows that her mother relies on this, but can't quite bring herself to break all ties with her as that would leave Shannon completely alone.
- Shannon does blame Sharon for the abuse, then regrets it later and tries to be nice to her without quite admitting she was wrong. This leaves Sharon confused. Eventually, something sets Shannon off again...
- Averted: Shannon never uses physical violence.
- Enforced: ???
- Lampshaded: "But you made you hit me..."
- Invoked:
- Sharon uses this trope on a friend as a demonstration to her mother on how insane it is.
- Shannon knows this is abuse behavior, and uses it on purpose as part of an ongoing campaign to destroy her own daughter's will.
- Exploited: Sharon goads Shannon into behaving like this in front of a guest, in order to prove she's being abused.
- Defied:
- Sharon ducks out of the way of the blow and chews out Shannon for attempting it. "Oh please! Abuse is not the way to win me over you bitch!"
- Sharon slaps her mother back and then she asks her the question.
- "I am not hitting you because you forced my hand. I am hitting you because I OWN you, and will use you as I see fit."
- “YOU were the one who just smacked me! YOU were the one who did it because I tried to reason with you! It’s YOUR fucking fault that you just hit me! Take fucking responsibility for your own actions!”
- Discussed: "You habit of blaming other for your actions has gotten out of hand."
- Conversed: "Such behavior is common in abusive parents: it shames the child, while simultaneously removing the burden of their own guilt."
- Deconstructed:
- Shannon's emotional manipulation of Sharon causes her daughter to become just as vulnerable to other Manipulative Bastards, like Domestic Abuser Edward, who ultimately ends up killing Sharon — and gleefully gives Shannon a "Not So Different" Remark / "The Reason You Suck" Speech afterwards, as he's being carted off to prison.
- Sharon eventually grows inured to her mother's manipulation and turns her back on her, refusing to respond to any of Shannon's protests, having long since learned that Shannon only cries when it suits her and doesn't honestly care about her... only what she can make her daughter do for her.
- Shannon hitting Sharon and subsequently crying about it does not win her the argument but merely causes the argument to escalate further.
- Shannon leaves her mother, but eventually finds herself doing much the same thing to her spouse and/or kids. She's horrified when she realizes what she's become.
- Reconstructed:
- After being hit one time to many, Sharon suddenly snaps and turns the trope back on her mother: going into a howling fit of matricidal violence while screaming "WHY DO YOU MAKE ME HIT YOU?!"
- This hit was the last straw for Sharon; the next morning she calls tells her teacher everything. CPS gets involved, and they declare Shannon an unfit mother. She loses all custody and parental rights over her daughter, and Sharon moves in with her significantly more gentle grandparents.
- Played For Laughs:
- Sharon is currently estranged from her mother. This is shown in flashbacks where Shannon uses this an excuse to hit her for trivial reasons, several times daily.
- A Smug Super says this to a supervillain after casually bitch-slapping him through a house. The villain groggily responds with "'cuz I rob banks or somfin'? I forgot..."
- Plotted A Good Waste: Sharon actually did do something wrong to make her mother feel genuinely betrayed by her, so Shannon is being honest about her reluctance and remorse, allowing Sharon to realize her own mistake.
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