Abuse

Abuse in the play is normalized through language that reframes violence as moral instruction and healthy discipline. Teachers speak casually about discipline through beating as a necessary tool of education, switches were often used in place of conversation, and there is an insistence that obedience must be learned through fear. Parents justify the emotional cruelty or neglect by claiming they are only fulfilling their duty, as when adults insist they know what is best while refusing to listen.

 

Even sexual violence is obscured by euphemism and ignorance, leaving young people like Ilse unable to even name what has happened to them, let alone see the wrongdoing. Since authority is never questioned, the problematic nature of abuse becomes invisible, absorbed into the everyday structure of family and school. 

 

Abuse persists because it has been normalized, not because we don’t see it. Survivors are discouraged from speaking out, are questioned on their authority to speak or their recollection of events, and are often blamed for events that transpired. Especially if their abuser is in a position of authority or power. “Tough love” and “necessary discipline” are used as excuses for harmful behavior, and systems that prioritize reputation over accountability reward the continuation of such behaviors.