Athalie: Tradition, Control, And Parental Trauma (Patreon)

People understandably hate Athalie after the s2 finale more than ever - which... good LOL that was my goal. 

But while a lot of people have experienced people like her (to some degree - hopefully not to the same degree - though I know that some have it worse in other ways) while other people don't understand "How a mother can treat her daughter like that" or how she is capable of the things that she does. 

So I just wanted to write a little Think Piece about her perspective. And it doesn't justify it - and in truth it's not even logical to an empathic person- but this is sort of how things have progressed in HER reality. 

When you are brought up a certain way, and you are not exposed to any other reality, you will accept it as normal and not really question it - and the more you prescribe to that reality anything that makes you question that reality will be terrifying. And very often that kind of terror leads to anger and a desperate lunge for control. 

Abrielle had that outside force (Kalen) to help her understand how families could be different. How they could be safe and kind. Silvia had Abrielle. Camille had Nyra and Dendro. And Avaline had Camille. Someone to introduce a new perspective. 

So while Abrielle offered that perspective to Athalie - instead of realizing that things could be different she reacted with fear and anger. 

Athalie firmly believes that the role of the Matriarch (and the Matriarch Line) is to act in service to the benefit of the rest of the family at the expense of your own needs. She didn't want to get married, she didn't want to have children, but she DID because that was what she was expected to do as part of the Matriarch line under Alette.  

• (Not so fun fact - while again not to this extreme. My mother has told me in the past that she didn't want to get married or have kids but it was expected of her in that age that she was growing up in. And she would quickly follow up with "but i'm glad I did because you and your sister turned out great!!" but you know ... LMAO)

That is why she views Abrielle - first and foremost- as Selfish. You'll see that she refers to Abrielle that way several times, and also reflects how she views Camille 

• Episode 28: "She is just like her mother... only thinking about her own needs. Putting her whims above her family, who are damaged by every selfish decision"

But let's rewind a little bit farther back. WHY does she feel this way? 

The answer obviously, is Alette. Alette as well as all the other Matriarch's previously who followed along that same line of thinking. 

Alette was different than Athalie though in the sense that she didn't do all the things she did because she felt that she had to. She did it because she took great pride in being better than everyone and enjoyed putting down who she thought was weak. Her cruelty was even more expansive and biting than Athalie's.  

Abrielle from the start was the "Better" Twin - based on a whim, though that more "positive" encouragement did give her more confidence to succeed where Athalie would often fail. 

And no matter what Athalie did in order to try to be "Good enough" it would never BE enough. But Athalie wasn't able to free herself the desire to prove herself in her mothers eyes - she was constantly seeking out a way to prove that she CARED more about the family and she would be BETTER for the family. 

And this ESPECIALLY became an issue when Abrielle started to hang out with Kalen and openly admit to her that she didn't care for what Alette was doing or how the family was set up. 

So Athalie would try to explain this "betrayal" to her mother, only to be dismissed. Because "Abrielle is a good girl and she would never do that" and just decided that Athalie was lying despite it obviously not being a lie.  Because Abrielle WOULD act like the perfect daughter to Alette's face. 

So Abrielle to her became nothing but a "Selfish Liar" in Athalie's eyes. 

So when Alette died (due to health problems she refused to have addressed by a medical doctor) shortly after the wishing ceremony. Athalie was convinced that Abrielle had paid the price for her wish with their mother's life. And no amount of convincing that Abrielle did could say otherwise because Abrielle was a "liar" 

So now we move onto the age where Abrielle is now Matriarch.

Abrielle has Camille and Chloe. Red hair. Abrielle claims they are not Kalen's kids. A lie. but Athalie has no proof. 

She is pregnant herself, to a man she doesn't have any specific feelings for, and all of these things are compounding in on themselves that she believes to be facts. Some are, some aren't. But believing all of them is a dangerous combination.

• Abrielle is a liar 
• Abrielle wished for our mother to die
• Abrielle is capable of murder
• She is going to dissolve and ruin the Severin family by breaking all of our traditions.
• If these traditions aren't important - if they are broken - what is the point of everything that I went through? 
• why am I pregnant with children that I don't want if Abrielle intends to dissolve the matriarch line and the purpose of the wish ceremony in the first place
• what is the point of all the pain that I've gone through?
• Because Abrielle is wrong
• I am right. Alette was right. All the others are right. Abrielle is out of control.
• I need to stop her from ruining everything.
• If she is capable of murder, then so am I.

She gives one of the children that she doesn't want to Strix. In exchange for a way to call her back to kill Abrielle if the time is needed. Keeping one child (Avaline) That can be Matriarch just in case she does go through with her plan.

Time goes on. Abrielle continues to "Act out" - in where she is perfectly kind to other families and is building bridges between them and starting to ween out some of the more harmful traditions in the severin family. She builds a green house. 

More and more things are spiraling "out of control" so she decides to finally put things back in order and she calls Strix back. 

Everything will be put back the way that it was. The way that it was meant to be. 

Which... would have been easier if Camille had also died. Honestly, if she had then Athalie probably would have gotten away with all of it. 

hhhmm.... not entirely sure how to end this tbh LMAO but I already have drafts saved for essays like this for Silvia and also Abrielle  so I will be writing those out hopefully soon!!