I Could Talk About This Book Forever - Tumblr Posts
I ❤️ the perks of being a wallflower!
tw; me talking about tpobaw, molestation, abuse, sa, spoilers!
“It’ll be our little secret” — aunt Helen
“I need you to promise that you’re not going to say anything to anyone about me and Brad. Okay? this has to be our little secret” — Patrick
I can’t help but think about the parallel daily! I’m aware that Patrick and aunt Helen are totally different, I’m just talking about the words and god, omg THE SECRECY!
Like I can’t even imagine how that must’ve felt even though Charlie at that time still had suppressed the memories and pushed it away from his conscious! Like it just causes my heart to ache!
It’s so scary too because it seems like that Charlie never saw Aunt Helen as anything other than his favorite aunt! I imagine that the subtlety n secrecy surrounding the sexual abuse in the book was meant to replicate how victims of sexual abuse often forget n repress memories related to their childhood traumas.
I think because Charlie trauma, he has difficulty opening up romantically to Sam or have sex w her at first because of that. At times he talks about his aunt as in sorrow way and other in times, he feels angry at her
We also see what happens because aunt Helen doesn’t resolve her own trauma and therefore the cycle continues. The abused becomes the abuser.
It’s really sad because her story repeats itself. Growing up she was molested by a family friend and when she told her parents they didn’t believe her. They did nothing to stop it, and continue inviting the man into their home and as she grew up and got away,— the trauma still stayed with her.
