Although the Prudecutor is overall in better form than usual this week, she still manages to bypass the main concerns in each of the situations. And this time it's in a more-noticeable-than-usual way.
L4: LW4 makes no mention (or it is edited clean out) of how she and GH4 generally relate. Is he one of those Mediterranean Stereotypes who would not give any credence to the opinions of anyone with the "inferiour" set of plumbing? Is he in general a rational person, capable of respectful discussion and disagreement with LW4? How do they generally resolve issues on which one of them wants to take Course A and the other opposes the idea? Has the move to Greece made him more Greek than he was? One might also wonder why LW4 thought the Prudecutor the best person to consult - if H4 won't listen to his own wife, why on earth would he listen to and respect the opinions of another woman?
H4 reminds me potentially of Christos, the aging houseboy in Robert Rodi's Kept Boy (and the dour reminder to the title character, who predecessor he was, of his possible future). A determined full-time flamer in the States, Christos habitually no sooner sets foot in his native land than he begins to transform. A short time after the beginning of any visit, he's smoking vile cigarettes and speaking only in a disinterested bass grunt. It could well be a Greek thing.
In light of LW2, the only LW of the four whose gender is not implicit, I shall reserve comment on the point that same-sex marriage has become far more Scandinavian than Greek.
As for the Prudecutor, this is bordering on Operation Brokeback Ambush. Yet she still manages to come out with better than usual marks on the day.
L1: Here the Prudecutor is actually quite subtle while being oblivious at the same time. LW1 completely makes no mention of her interactions with NGF1. She appears to have a fairly tiny window from which to view how he treats his daughters. Why is he so largely absent from the bulk of the letter, as well as being seen by the Prudecutor only as an obstacle? (I refuse to speculate on the "likelihood" that any referene to NGs1 imposing on LW1 will result in a harsh reprimand.) And why is the Prudecutor so little interested in the accuracy (or otherwise) of LW1's description of NGF1?
Where the Prudecutor is being subtle lies in her attempt to advance her gynocentric agenda. Like a rape victim being oh-so-careful not to call what happened to hem rape, the Prudecutor attempts to instill great sympathy for the poor little girls so deprived of A Mother's Love that they latch onto a Largely Disinterested Neighbour who simply happens to have the right plumbing. This is much more subtle than just coming out and accusing NGF1 of abuse, and the hint later on when the Prudecutor speculates about the potential reprimand is much along the same line. By advocating a sensible (if shortsighted) course of action, she further advances, likely bringing LW1, whose sensibilities the Prudecutor seems to be picking up and encouraging, along with her.
LW1 has two possible courses of action. One is to follow the Prudecutorial course and report the monster to the appropriate local authorities. The other is to Find Him A Wife. With so many straight women desperate for a man as there always are, this ought not to be that hard if the task were undertaken by anyone with some marketing flair and LW1's motivation to get the girls out from being constantly underfoot. Many women would be willing to put up with some less-than-desirable traits in exchange for such a situation, especially those susceptible to the claims of Little Girls Who NEED a MOMMY.
I draw my advice from Marianne Dashwood. The gentle reader will well recall Marianne's scorn when it is suggested to her that Colonel Brandon's interest in her raises speculations in the Middletons and their set. When Elinor responds to Marianne's claims of the Colonel being infirm and too old at 35 for matrimony (typically tactless being uttered in the presence of Mrs Dashwood, five years Brandon's senior) with a speculation that, while 35 and 17 might best have little to do with matrimony together, a woman of seven-and-twenty might suit him well, Marianne blithely dismisses the possibility that a woman of 27 could ever feel or inspire affection, and might be willing to accept the duties of a nurse in exchange for the provision of a wife. She herself would view such an arrangement as no true marriage, but the world in general would be satisfied.
L2: LW2 must be an admirer of Dame Agatha to be so willing to take a murder-suicide in hes stride. How innocent, one wonders, was MBF2? Not that he deserved to be murdered, but does LW2 know the whole story to be so blithely acquitting a murderer of wrongdoing?
While there is nothing particularly wrong with the Prudecutor's recommendations for the future, she does appear to miss the boat about the past and perhaps present as well. What did LW2 and M2 do about the situation at the time, and how have things been with them since? Perhaps more importantly, why is there no mention of S2's other parent? Surely ze might be consulted.
This whole letter reminds me of Elephants Can Remember, in which the mother of the fiance of a young woman whose parents died in an apparent murder-suicide asks Mrs Oliver, the young woman's godmother, which parent killed the other. Of course the Nosey Parker had her own agenda.
L3: One possibly important question is whether a romantic and sexual relationship between roommates is contrary to the spirit of the university's housing code. Yes, countless same-sex couples have availed themselves of this little advantage of Presumed Heterosexuality for generations, but LW3 might have some interest in being scrupulous about more than just the letter of the law.
But what is of prime interest to me and apparently of none to the Prudecutor is how the dynamics of the relationship between LW3 and CPB3 played out. LW3 apparently met CPB3, came out, was met with self-loathing disapproval, and yet has since proceeded to flirt and make out with CPB3 and even then some beyond that. What the what?
LW3, to his credit, is not attempting to camouflage wanting to date CPB3 behind a veneer of Helping Him Accept Who He Really Is. But the maelstrom of conflicting ideas will just give him the migraine. LW3, there should be many perfectly self-accepting young gay men available to you. Some of them will even be as hot as CPB3 (and sneaky of you to try to slip in that crafty one by not mentioning as much, but, as he clearly isn't emotionally appealing, your really wanting to date him must suggest that he's physically your type, which probably doesn't augur too well as a combination for which one might desire that the relationship go smoothly through the next academic year). You are not an Emotional Social Worker. Don't date the Closeted!
LW3 almost reminds me of the young straight Christians who try to Rule Shark their way around virginity mandates by resorting to a different orifice. No.
Moral: "They were sweet and pleasant in life, and in death they were not divided."
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You were right on with LW1. What an assumption that every little kid needs a mother figure (and what a convenient argument against marriage equality). I had almost exactly the same situation with the two neighbor girls who lived across the street from me. The only difference was that they had two (very nice) parents, so it clearly was not about them needing a mother figure. So what did they see in me, the middle-aged woman living across the street? I had three small dogs and a cat. They always rang my doorbell about 5 minutes after I got home from work and stayed for about 30 minutes or so, playing with my dogs, chatting, etc. Part of it was probably that they were ordered to "go outside and play" while dinner was being prepared and they were bored. The attraction to the LW in this case was probably the porch swing initially, and then the girls just started enjoying the attention.
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