As to the ML, being better than toxic pond scum is kind of damning with faint praise. When he was pretending to be Willie the Window Washer, he was so pushy that he was trying to get a date with her 3 TIMES A DAY! I can't think of another word for that than stalking. Shortly after they are married, he makes it clear that he has no intention of holding to their agreement. Isn't that called "Going back on your word?" Where I was raised, that is considered the opposite of gentlemanly conduct, and definitely a deal breaker for any trust and respect in a relationship. Then, after she pretty much bares her soul about her past (something she apparently hadn't done to anyone before), he calls her a coward, and when she, against all common sense, confesses her love, he STILL keeps deceiving her. It's nice that he isn't a serial sexual abuser/harasser, but that doesn't make him very a very decent human being.
As to the ML, being better than toxic pond scum is kind of damning with faint praise. When he was pretending to be Willie the Window Washer, he was so pushy that he was trying to get a date with her 3 TIMES A DAY! I can't think of another word for that than stalking. Shortly after they are married, he makes it clear that he has no intention of holding to their agreement. Isn't that called "Going back on your word?" Where I was raised, that is considered the opposite of gentlemanly conduct, and definitely a deal breaker for any trust and respect in a relationship. Then, after she pretty much bares her soul about her past (something she apparently hadn't done to anyone before), he calls her a coward, and when she, against all common sense, confesses her love, he STILL keeps deceiving her. It's nice that he isn't a serial sexual abuser/harasser, but that doesn't make him very a very decent human being.