Tcoaal Essay - Tumblr Posts
How depressing the "good ol' bad times" really were and hints at something more sinister with Mrs. Graves
The lemon muffin flashback that Ashley witnesses really gives us a glimpse into their childhood and how poorly they were treated by their parents especially Ashley. The flashback brings us back to before Nina's death and really show how absolutely fucked Ashley's position was in life at that time. Staring depressingly at a birthday card and asking Andrew why mom can never afford anything when her birthday comes around despite clear signs the family can afford Andrew a birthday.
Another small hint as well to how deep this favoritism runs is when Andrew talks about his allowance. It's clear to us that Ashley doesn't have an allowance despite Andrew having and while they are 2 years apart I don't think that can fully explain Ashley's lack of it as well. Mrs. Graves clearly sees Ashley as not worthy of an allowance and therefore doesn't deserve one.
One thing that I really appreciate in this scene is Andrew's willingness to help cheer up his sister and to make her birthday at least a little less depressing. Ashley's "friends" never making time for her as well really cemented in her brain how much she needs Andrew as he was the only one that would even consider doing what he did for her. Ashley at the end of the flashback telling Andrew she wishes Andrew lost all of his friends and never found love wasn't some sort of manipulative tactic, but both a subconscious cry for help and her wishes to be with the only person that cares about her forever.
This whole sequence really puts into perspective Ashley's mindset and how harshly it was shaped from childhood. From an early age she was taught that nobody cares about her except her brother which is why she is so attached to him and willing to do anything to keep him around.
Part of this too gives us small hints to how also she became such a "problem child" to Mrs. Graves. Ashley, due to her neglect, probably wasn't punished ever, just ostracized and yelled at by her mom. Speaking from personal experience from my own childhood usually when a parent doesn't want to deal with a "problem child" they usually resort to tactics like making the older sibling pacify them instead not matter what the other was doing. However did Ashley ever really think of what she did wrong if her reward was getting time with Andrew? Of course not, however depressive thoughts can really be seen to manifest when she is alone as she doesn't have her Andy to help distract her from how isolated and hated she feels. This only rewarded her behavior and let other thoughts begin to take shape like how she dealt with Nina. A child doesn't just suddenly think to use someone's death as leverage to control another. It's learned. Thoughts like that spawn from maternal trauma and the action of "locking someone away until they learn to behave." is a natural extension of ostracization with how isolated Ashley felt, it's natural to start developing and agreeing with those feelings as natural progression to be with the one she loves most. Forever.