Was the implication that Evelyn's husband was abusive?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — A League of Their Own
Jupiter555555 — 9 years ago(July 24, 2016 08:25 AM)
- "He said he's too busy reading the want ads and I should just bring him with me and shut up about it."
- "She (a loud, violent drunken Rosie) reminds me of my husband"
- The fact that she brought her son, ie couldn't leave him with the husband.
- "Mom always said it was the best time she had in her whole life."
I got a battered wife vibe from Evelyn. Anyone else? Was that an intentional gist?
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joisepeterson — 9 years ago(August 04, 2016 11:25 PM)
Yes I got the vibe that Evelyn's husband was abusive.
When Jimmy scolds her about throwing to home and losing the game with the famous "There's no crying in baseball" line. Evelyn starts to cry when Jimmy goes "Are you crying?" and she says "No" and answers him in a child like manner (which many abused victims answer when their abuser is asking threatening questions).
The others tell Jimmy to quit it and Evelyn is escorted away and Evelyn whimpers "I didn't even mean to do that." -
tmaj48 — 9 years ago(August 02, 2016 11:57 AM)
By today's standards, he would be considered abusive. But unfortunately, back in the 1940s, wives were expected to take abuse from their husbands. See, for instance,
It Happened One Night
, in which Clark Gable's character tells the father of Claudette Colbert's character that what she needs is a guy who will "take a sock at her once a day whether she has it coming to her or not." The father approves of this and thinks Clark Gable would be perfect for his daughter.
That's how wives were treated back then; if they showed any independence, their men were expected to beat them (lovingly, of course) so they'd listen. Unless a woman was beaten badly enough to be hospitalized, it was acceptable. The boy, of course, would be neglected/beaten with a belt, and the father would get away with that, too.
I'm not crying, you fool, I'm laughing!
Hewwo.