Bastard out of Carolina

This novel by Dorothy Allison definately was interesting enough to keep my interest, as i anticipated what would happen turning each page, but that may also be because of how grossly distrurbing the novel is. Every time I flipped the page I was unsatisfied with any of the situations because I just wanted to reach out and help Bone. This is another example of a female author raising eyebrows with the topic of masculinity in the old South. These men all seem to be lazy, alcoholic, stupid, sex crazy men who cannot keep a job. These details may be exaggerated slightly but they set up the story line on many popular stories of the time. One part of the story that boggles my mind is why Daddy Glen resorted to sexual abuse with Bone. Wasn't degrading her emotionally, mentally, and physically enough? I can only assume it is because he had no strong male figure to show him how to treat women, or maybe it is to show his power over Bone the way his brothers seemed to show their power over him because of their higher status in life. This may also add to why he chose to sexually abuses her, because coming from a family of successful men, Glen couldn't make enough money to feed his family, and rarely kept a job. He cared entirely too much about what other people thought of him, and was always trying to impress others. In a way his weakness reminds me of Stanley. They are both male figures with much control over the people they love, who are feared by their friends and others in town, and who resort to raping helpless women to still make them feel more powerful. I think a major part of his relationship with Anney is their sex life, as it seems to be the last thing holding them together. Even after Anney sees what he has done to Bone, Bone later wakes up to find them fighting and then having sex to make up. That should have been the last of her concerns, or at least behind the safety of her children. It seems as though Glen is jealous that much of Anneys attention is on her children rather than on him. This lead him to act out against the children, a very immature thing for a grown male to do, more something a toddler would do in search of attention whether good or bad. In this story Anney reminds me of Stella, she is struggling between her abusive husband who is hurting her children, or her children, who she gave birth to and is responsible for indefinately. With having her mother pretend that nothing is wrong Bone is left with no one to turn to. She doesnt know her birth father, and is constantly bounced around between relatives. It seems like her aunts are the ones who teach her more than her own mother. This leads her to become isolated, especially after the sexual abuse. After that kind of childhood who could blame her. At this point I cannot wait to finish the book and find out what happens in the whole situation. Will Anney realize what harm she is inflicting on her children? Or will Daddy Glen win?