I never saw East of Eden, but I do know a family that was played against each other by a crazy (I mean that seriously) mother. She always bragged on the absent child to the one present. No matter what, the child who wasn't there, was perfect. Had the perfect job, the perfect kids, and when anything bad ever happened, it was never that child's fault but life, or mean people, dumping on it.
The woman was abusive anyway, which is one reason I can't see Snape as abusive. But, she did seem to believe everything she told each child about the others. She drove a wedge between them that was only driven out by her absence. Her youngest, and only daughter, finally started getting along with the eldest when he was in AA for a year, and her gentleman friend was his mentor. That was a great year, too. Stories were told, adventures played out, and heck, we were in our forties!
The woman died under suspicious, and abusive, circumstances (case still pending). It was only then that my friend and the elder brother next to her began to talk, and to find out some eye-opening things. Such as, each thought the other was the favorite. The wedge here had been driven so deep that they didn't speak to each other for nearly twenty years. 'Perfect bro', 'Perfect sis', the way they talked about each other makes Sirius sound like an indulging older bro. The regret is, the oldest wasn't in on this because he died before it happened. And, in some perverse way, their mother really was proud of each of them.
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The woman was abusive anyway, which is one reason I can't see Snape as abusive. But, she did seem to believe everything she told each child about the others. She drove a wedge between them that was only driven out by her absence. Her youngest, and only daughter, finally started getting along with the eldest when he was in AA for a year, and her gentleman friend was his mentor. That was a great year, too. Stories were told, adventures played out, and heck, we were in our forties!
The woman died under suspicious, and abusive, circumstances (case still pending). It was only then that my friend and the elder brother next to her began to talk, and to find out some eye-opening things. Such as, each thought the other was the favorite. The wedge here had been driven so deep that they didn't speak to each other for nearly twenty years. 'Perfect bro', 'Perfect sis', the way they talked about each other makes Sirius sound like an indulging older bro. The regret is, the oldest wasn't in on this because he died before it happened. And, in some perverse way, their mother really was proud of each of them.