The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers
RNT Episode 4: Is Monica Sells Morally Culpable for what happens in Storm Front?
Mira:
--- Quote ---As @Mira points out, there's mitigating factors (suffering from abuse, mother protecting her child); but the "mitigating factors" only reduce the issues; they don't provide a blanket excuse.
--- End quote ---
But they do, because Monica was symptoms are classic for battered/abused spouse syndrome. It isn't an excuse, it's the mental state she was in because what had gone down in her family. Also don't minimize that Victor had also managed to get her addicted to Three Eye in the process. It took a great deal of courage for her to even come to Harry in the first place. In the kitchen after the soul gaze Harry does ask her straight out why didn't she come clean with him in the office? Her only response was unspeakable fear, thinking she wouldn't be believed, for her own sanity she had no other words for him.. Harry didn't press her further on that point, if he felt she was culpable at all I think he would have pressed her or said as an aside afterwords that she bore responsibility, he didn't.
g33k:
--- Quote from: Mira on April 17, 2025, 05:03:00 PM --- But they do, because Monica was symptoms are classic for battered/abused spouse syndrome. It isn't an excuse, it's the mental state she was in because what had gone down in her family. Also don't minimize that Victor had also managed to get her addicted to Three Eye in the process. It took a great deal of courage for her to even come to Harry in the first place ...
--- End quote ---
Yes, these are all mitigating factors.
Yes, it took tremendous courage for her to seek Harry's help.
They do not entirely relieve Monica of all moral culpability.
It's essentially the same as a drunk driver: once they're drunk, their judgement is impaired. But they chose to be in that drunken state; and usually, knowing they'd be driving (home from the bar, etc).
I doubt Monica ever would have chosen to be abused, or addicted. But there are moments in that downward slide where you can break free, where she could have broken free. So long as it was just her, she is 100% the victim.
But her "victimhood" does not offer her complete moral cover when it puts others at risk. She made a choice; it may have been months before, or years. But she chose something destructive, and that choice led to her putting another person in harm's way.
--- Quote from: Mira on April 17, 2025, 05:03:00 PM --- ... In the kitchen after the soul gaze Harry does ask her straight out why didn't she come clean with him in the office? Her only response was unspeakable fear, thinking she wouldn't be believed, for her own sanity she had no other words for him.. Harry didn't press her further on that point, if he felt she was culpable at all I think he would have pressed her or said as an aside afterwords that she bore responsibility, he didn't.
--- End quote ---
Harry was deep into his white-knight gallantry phase; Monica was clearly a victim. I doubt you could have gotten Harry to press more guilt onto her if you'd held a hot poker to the soles of his feet!
Mira:
--- Quote ---I doubt Monica ever would have chosen to be abused, or addicted. But there are moments in that downward slide where you can break free, where she could have broken free. So long as it was just her, she is 100% the victim.
--- End quote ---
Spousal abuse doesn't work that way. And Monica did chose to break free, that's why she went to Harry. However she wasn't free, the emotional damage from the fear and her conflicted feelings she had for husband still raged with in her. It's a real Stockholm Syndrome type thing... Carefully go back and reread those passages in Storm Front. An addicted drunk as you say can chose to stop drinking, but we both know it isn't that simple. Neither is being a victim of spousal abuse, the woman still loves her husband even as he abuses her and often will go back even at the cost of her life..
I leave you with the first couple of sentences from Harry's soul gaze with her...page 230 Storm Front.
--- Quote ---I hadn't wanted to know that she had been abused as a child. She married a man who provided her with more of the same, as an adult.
--- End quote ---
Talby16:
Does she bear some moral culpability? Hard to say. Good points being made about coercion and abuse warping her ability to make an informed choice with regards to participating in the rites. However, given her history, I doubt any human jury (informed vanilla mortals able to understand and pass judgement on supernatural cases, not the high horse white council) would convict her of any wrongdoing. That is not the same as moral culpability, but it does illustrate how her actions would be viewed with regards to fault in general.
Mira:
--- Quote from: Talby16 on May 01, 2025, 01:47:56 AM ---Does she bear some moral culpability? Hard to say. Good points being made about coercion and abuse warping her ability to make an informed choice with regards to participating in the rites. However, given her history, I doubt any human jury (informed vanilla mortals able to understand and pass judgement on supernatural cases, not the high horse white council) would convict her of any wrongdoing. That is not the same as moral culpability, but it does illustrate how her actions would be viewed with regards to fault in general.
--- End quote ---
When you start down the moral culpability road it starts to get unclear.. None of what happened is Monica's fault, also she went as far as she was able to or capable of going to Harry in the first place.
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