Originally posted by sonof70s:
...What exactly would make a woman like Connie stay with a guy who beat her like that? I don't think it was just the Catholic tradition (or what used to be) to stay married. I think she accepted the fact that Carlo would beat her occasionally, as if that was a normal part of a relationship.
Actually, it was probably a little bit of both.
Alot is explained in Connie's hysterical rant to Michael just after Carlo's death:
" ...You blamed him for Sonny - you always did. Everybody did. But you never thought about me - you never gave a damn about me. Now WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?..."
This and even the pleas to Sonny (when he discovered the earlier beating)...indicates that
Connie WAS willing to accept and even take responsibility for the beatings ("It was my fault, I hit him..."), AND live with the fact that her husband may have responsible for the death of her brother and the whole family knew it...JUST to keep her marriage and family intact -as was the accepted way at the time.
And I guess she DID come to accept that it was going to be a normal part of life with Carlo.
Even if you go by the novel which I have yet to read...others have pointed out that Connie did attempt to inform her parents of problems between herself & Carlo, but was basically sent back to tend to her marriage.
Apple
