WORD
This is why I don't read the comments on this site. Not many people here have enough life experiences or empathy to understand the complexities of a character.
People have been hating on Maxi since she went with the army, calling her useless, a burden etc. Then she saved everyone and they were quiet for like two whole chapters before they found something to hate on again. I don't get it, Maxi is such a unique heroine, a realistic portrayal of an abuse victim, cute, and selfless, I don't understand why people are so desperate to hate on her compared to others
Readers typically hate female characters like Maxi because they're soft-hearted heroines with flaws who aren't "bad bitches" right out the gate. Soft, kind, and docile female characters are often disregarded as "weak," regardless if the female character develops over time or if her strength isn't as obvious as other female leads. I find such assumptions infuriating as it implies that timid and bashful women are apparently incapable of efficiency—supposedly lacking any agency of their own, and it only further perpetuates misogynistic beliefs and expectations.
Exactly
RIGHT??? WHY WOULD U DROP THIS STORY JUST BECOZ SHE FOUGHT FOR THE PEOPLE??? like wtf is that reason
I guess its okay if male is heroic but when its female people get offended.. i mean not everyone has guts to do what she did.. some people even walk by people dying in front of them.. think about the women she herself saved by that..
They don't only get offended. They vehemently defend Riftan to a concerning degree, almost as if they've adopted a cult-like mentality. Literally, some chick called me out in the main discussion thread, calling me a bitch just because of what I've said about Riftan, lol. Now, she's literally gathered other idiots to target and harass me, calling me "obsessed" or saying I'm spreading hate when, last I checked, I'm not the one resorting to name-calling to feel above someone else OVER A FUCKING FICTIONAL CHARACTER.
Exactly.. almost like they are literally kid.. you can analyse and tell them the obvious freakin things and they go on and Barmouth people instead of learning a thing or 2 ..from the novel itself.. its always have to be war for them
The victim blaming in the comments is fucking baffling. Maxi’s choices are reasonable and very much expected for someone who has endured significant abuse and conditioning, especially at such an early age. Her decision to return to her father was a trauma response induced by the shock of discovering she was pregnant, had a miscarriage and then had said miscarriage hidden from her by her husband—with everyone else, somehow even outside her personal circle knowing of her miscarriage EXCEPT HER. She had no safety net now because the closest thing she had to it was Riftan, the same idiot who sent her away in the first place. So, with Maxi being under the impression that Riftan abandoned her and all her friends had essentially lied to her, what other choice did she have other than to return to something that, while toxic, was still familiar to her? And before some asshole says it, no, I'm not projecting just because I'm also an abuse victim and relate to Maxi on a personal level, but I am absolutely sensitive to Maxi’s pain and despair because I fully understand her feelings and reactions to such a hopeless situation.
And the audacity for some to claim that Riftan deserves someone better than Maxi, knowing damn well that all he's done is make Maxi’s life more difficult and has sabotaged any development she's made throughout her story. Him omitting her miscarriage alone—something she absolutely deserved to know because it was HER child growing in HER body, outright violating her autonomy—tells me that he cares little about Maxi's feelings and much less what she desires because he insists that he knows best; that he knows what she needs and wants more than SHE does. Meanwhile, Maxi has done all of the emotional labor of loving someone who's hurt her more often than not, has tried to understand someone who won’t reflect on their harmful behavior, and has improved herself despite being repeatedly undermined by the people around, specifically by her own husband. Maxi deserves more than to be labeled an idiot because of circumstances that were outside of her control.