Because someone who signs this kind of agreement is already desperately emotionally vulnerable. She is exactly the kind of person who will be picked up by a demented bully and keep taking the abuse until she either kills him, runs away, or is killed for trying to run away. Clearly, both parties are deeply damaged; their damage (probably from being abused themselves) has manifested in different but complementary ways. It's easy to look at this agreement and think, "Clearly, the man is insane. Flee!" if you're emotionally reasonably stable and have not been battered down by years of abuse (or have recovered yourself enough to function well in the world).
The whole thing is fucking tragic, at least in part because it's probably only the tip of an intergenerational iceburg of emotional and physical abuse in both families.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-24 11:22 pm (UTC)The whole thing is fucking tragic, at least in part because it's probably only the tip of an intergenerational iceburg of emotional and physical abuse in both families.