Eyes of the Hunter
Usually in cases where the mother participates in the abuse of a child when she's been abused herself, she's afraid of what the father will do to her if she refuses. At first she could love and want to protect her child, but after countless beatings and other forms of abuse then she starts joining in just to survive. So I'd think it'd be reasonable for her to show some bit of kindness when the father isn't around, or when she knows she won't be caught.
Maybe you could look at A Child Called It for some further details, and sometimes Criminal Minds go into details about this sort of thing in certain episodes.
Love... one another.
This is extremely nuanced and would do better as a series of short stories, if not a full-fledged novel.
Acting different when the father isn't around is believable, but depending on how old the child is she may either be 1) too confused and scared to accept the affection, or 2) think of the two opposing aspects as different people entirely.
Great idea! I'll go with the 'thinks they're two different people' thing.
If I'm asking for advice on a story idea, don't tell me it can't be done.
TA CUTEST THING AROUND
i told my friends one time that my dad calls me a asshole when i do something wrong and they said my dads abusive is it true
edited 14th Nov '10 6:25:22 PM by cutealien
prepare for bullet hell
I'm working on a short story about a girl who is being abused by her parents, and need some help fleshing out the parents' characters.
The father is abusive to the mother as well, and is forcing her to participate in sexual abuse of the daughter. That's what I've fleshed out so far. So, knowing that, would the father differ from other spousal abusers? And what would the mother be like? Does it work for me to have her act totally different (ie, like a fairly good mother) whenever the father isn't around?
If I'm asking for advice on a story idea, don't tell me it can't be done.