While reading the new chapters, I only felt some satisfaction when erna slapped her husband and he agreed to the divorce. I thought I was being weird because I do not like this "go get your wife" arc. But you worded this so perfectly. Reconciling with a piece of shit husband is no reward in my my eyes either. Neither is the shitty environment that broke her spirit.
solche stories are badly written honestly
I was almost the exact same when reading these chapters in the novel. Reading her slap him and give him a piece of her mind, demanding a divorce and not letting herself be intimidated by him, it felt refreshing after everything that happened, I almost wanted to compliment the author for writing a FL who realised she endured a lot and that she didn't deserve that. I knew not to get too excited with these types of stories, yet I was still disappointed how the author handled this arc after that scene. Immediately after he left her in that barn, he just went back to being "calm." CALM? It was like we finally had a FL who was trying to hold a ML accountable for his behaviour towards her, and he just dismisses every valid point she made about him being awful because.. "she was always mine. I want her to be mine." What. And except for Louise, no one else seemed to actually criticise or tell him what he did wrong during this time either.. so he didn't really repent or reflect, he was just pulling a tantrum over not being able to have what he wants. The servants were all quiet about his neglect and ab*se towards his wife and kept pushing him towards getting back what was "his." It made me feel so bad for Erna because it proved they will never care about her, if they even had the slightest bit of respect for her, they would have respected her space, respected the reason why she left or at the very least even try to get Bjorn to realize what he did wrong before sending him back to her. Instead, they pushed someone who hadn't even properly acknowledged he hurt his wife back to said wife under the reason of "he loves her and deserves her," what about what she deserves? To make matters worse, THEY ARE TREATING IT LIKE A GAME?! Why do they keep letting him play with her happiness, from the start of the story until now, he keeps treating her like she's a prize to win from a game, even after she told him she was a human being. It's like he completely forgot that when she found out about the bet, that it DEEPLY affected her and impacted her view of their relationship. IT'S LIKE HE NEVER LEARNS. It hurts more because she finds the strength to voice her pain to confront him, yet her decision and feelings are just casually dismissed in favour of Bjorn. The author deeply disappointed me there, my expectations were low, and they somehow went lower. Its why I feel so bad for Erna, because she made her choice/decision but no one cared, she was at the mercy of everyone around her: the public view, the servants, and mostly her husband. Her confrontation scene was amazing but it immediately lost its impact because rather than listening to his wife, Bjorn would rather listen to his nanny who would rather give him what he wants. Sigh.
I really hated how everyone took advantage of Erna in this story. She's a sweet girl, and everyone in the Duchy knew that even before the scandal, yet they still bullied her. Only after Gladys got exposed and Erna chose to leave did they start to feel apologetic, and I find that gross. Not when she was pregnant, not when she miscarried, not after the scandal, but waited until Erna decided she had enough... did everyone in that damn house realize.. we treated her poorly, and she might not come back. Oh no!!
Spoilers!!
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I hate how compared to other stories in this genre, the servants didn't suffer here either. They weren't dismissed nor punished, again taking advantage of Erna's sweet heart. I didn't read the side stories, so maybe they got what they deserved there. But hated how, throughout the main story, Erna had to endure the worst treatment by people below her, and they didn't even pay any repercussions apart from some guilt. I hated how everyone pushed Bjorn to get Erna back because they felt bad for him.. WHAT ABOUT HER?? Erna's feelings are always pushed to the side, and it had taken a toll on her health. Rather then honoring the fact that she was free from a toxic environment and wanted peace, they push "awww poor Bjorn" who is about the lose his second wife (this time due to his own behaviour by the way) back to Erna. DONT PMO. I love reading Solche's writing and their stories but I will forever hate how they write "grovelling/regret arcs," it just isn't satisfying because the FLs in their stories ran away because the relationship was effecting them mentally AND physically yet she has to take back the man who caused her that because he realized he "loves" her and that magically changes and erases every bad thing he did..
I feel so bad for Erna, apart from Lisa, she had no real supporters who actually valued what she wanted. Even her grandmother (SPOILERS!!!) ended up secretly siding with Bjorn to take her granddaughter back. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Your granddaughter came back to you after suffering, and you basically send her back to her ab*ser? Hate how everyone set up my girl up. I'm so mad, I'm about to write a "what if" story and have her never forgive everyone, because no way.