Girls Made of Snow and Glass: A rant
This isn't really a rant about the book itself. I loved the book. The whole idea of turning the evil stepmother trope on its head (indeed of smacking down any trope that pits women against one another for no real reason than that one of them is jealous of the other's appearance or greedy for power) by making the link between them stronger than the forces around them trying to tear them apart is pretty awesome really.
This is about how I think Nicholas is a much worse father than Gregory. I mean, yeah, both of them are pretty awful, and Gregory is downright evil and homicidal, but at least he's up front about it. He never even pretends to like Mina (i mean what kind of father tells his daughter that she'll never be loved? seriously...), but that seems more honest to me than what Nicholas does, which is far more insidious. (and no I'm not saying Gregory is a good father or a nice person)
Nicholas ERASES his daughter's entire identity. He spends the entire book trying to force her to be her mother whether she wants it or not. He's so oblivious to what she wants for herself that he's genuinely shocked that she doesn't want the throne. He tries to separate her from Mina because he has no idea how much Lynet genuinely loves her and no respect for their relationship, thinking it some insubstantial childish thing. And he doesn't understand that his daughter is so devoted to him and loves HIM so much that she would never say anything.
It's pretty messed up to make your daughter in the EXACT image of your dead wife and then to try to tell her that she's just like her mother ALL the time. I mean, he definitely THINKS he's doing the right thing for her, but God how patronizing. And he ends up treating Mina like crap because of it as well. "I have to do what's best for my daughter"... i mean come on man, talk about the most patronizing thing anyone can say unless they've actually TALKED to the person they're trying to "do the best" for. He's doing what he thinks is best without ever stopping to think that Lynet might want anything to do with his plans. He's ignoring the fact that Mina is an intelligent woman and a good queen because he's so laser focused on making Lynet into his dead wife (and because he refuses to try to separate Mina from Gregory in his head).
Nicholas isn't a bad man in the same way that Gregory is, and he certainly shows her love that Gregory doesn't bother to show to Mina which helps her make her into the person who can have faith in Mina in the end, but what he does to his daughter is just as harmful in its own way. And really, it's fairly obvious that most of Lynet's best qualities were formed by Mina in the first place. God knows what the poor kid would've become if Nicholas hadn't allowed Mina into her life. Or what would've become of them if Nicholas had lived. The way he treats both of them is pretty appalling tbh (an entire post could be devoted to the way he treats Mina...).
Mina's thought that he loves nothing better than his own grief seems pretty spot on. He's an object lesson in what happens when someone can't let go of someone who has died. I mean, mourning is fine, always loving the dead lady is fine, but the way he clings to her and her memory and tries to make Lynet do the same despite her obvious discomfort (which is obvious and he probably does notice and just ignores) is ridiculous.
Sad that he died or whatever, because it made Lynet sad, but it may have been the best thing for her...
Anyway... just had to get that out... lol,
This is about how I think Nicholas is a much worse father than Gregory. I mean, yeah, both of them are pretty awful, and Gregory is downright evil and homicidal, but at least he's up front about it. He never even pretends to like Mina (i mean what kind of father tells his daughter that she'll never be loved? seriously...), but that seems more honest to me than what Nicholas does, which is far more insidious. (and no I'm not saying Gregory is a good father or a nice person)
Nicholas ERASES his daughter's entire identity. He spends the entire book trying to force her to be her mother whether she wants it or not. He's so oblivious to what she wants for herself that he's genuinely shocked that she doesn't want the throne. He tries to separate her from Mina because he has no idea how much Lynet genuinely loves her and no respect for their relationship, thinking it some insubstantial childish thing. And he doesn't understand that his daughter is so devoted to him and loves HIM so much that she would never say anything.
It's pretty messed up to make your daughter in the EXACT image of your dead wife and then to try to tell her that she's just like her mother ALL the time. I mean, he definitely THINKS he's doing the right thing for her, but God how patronizing. And he ends up treating Mina like crap because of it as well. "I have to do what's best for my daughter"... i mean come on man, talk about the most patronizing thing anyone can say unless they've actually TALKED to the person they're trying to "do the best" for. He's doing what he thinks is best without ever stopping to think that Lynet might want anything to do with his plans. He's ignoring the fact that Mina is an intelligent woman and a good queen because he's so laser focused on making Lynet into his dead wife (and because he refuses to try to separate Mina from Gregory in his head).
Nicholas isn't a bad man in the same way that Gregory is, and he certainly shows her love that Gregory doesn't bother to show to Mina which helps her make her into the person who can have faith in Mina in the end, but what he does to his daughter is just as harmful in its own way. And really, it's fairly obvious that most of Lynet's best qualities were formed by Mina in the first place. God knows what the poor kid would've become if Nicholas hadn't allowed Mina into her life. Or what would've become of them if Nicholas had lived. The way he treats both of them is pretty appalling tbh (an entire post could be devoted to the way he treats Mina...).
Mina's thought that he loves nothing better than his own grief seems pretty spot on. He's an object lesson in what happens when someone can't let go of someone who has died. I mean, mourning is fine, always loving the dead lady is fine, but the way he clings to her and her memory and tries to make Lynet do the same despite her obvious discomfort (which is obvious and he probably does notice and just ignores) is ridiculous.
Sad that he died or whatever, because it made Lynet sad, but it may have been the best thing for her...
Anyway... just had to get that out... lol,
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