Guys. I can not believe I’m doing this, but I have to defend Lenore. Pookie is getting slandered so hard I can’t bear it.
Lenore is not misoginistic (yet) (from what we know)
Lenore is unsocialized, impulsive, and likely grew up believing that objectifying women and mocking them was peak masculinity. The two most prominent men in her life were a) Thaddeus, the man who prioritized her brother and locked her in an attic for years because she “killed” him, and b) Theodore, the older brother who, despite what a grieving and deluded Lenore may tell you, likely was a egotistical douche considering he was a rowdy, messy-haired, charming, rich, and sought-out violinist. And maybe she doesn’t look up to Thaddeus, but Theodore? That, to her, is the epitome of masculinity, and therefore, this is the character she is playing. She sat in a room for 2+ years thinking about him; Leo is essentially Theo but with a piano. She initially tried to remain respectful when inappropriate questions were brought up, and I give her some props to that. When told to describe Annabel, she said she valued Annabel’s conversations earnestly and even indirectly complimented her intelligence; however, when someone tries to diminish that and claim that she is acting too much like herself, she stoops down without much thought to overcompensate. Way more than necessary. And She sacrificed her and Annabel’s dignity to keep the ruse going, and I wish I could argue that she reflected on what she said after Wesley called her out, but she was too busy giving him a snarky look because she again, felt called out and is pissy about it.
Now, not only was she threatened, but we also know she is impulsive. She does not think twice. Or even once, for that matter. This is the same person who tried to run off in a weird, futile attempt to sacrifice herself to a big deer without knowing its whereabouts. And the same person who called her wife a monster then somehow had the audacity to not understand why she started crying after. And the same person who sacrificed herself for her wife knowing (but not actively thinking about) the fact that she gave her friend a letter that puts Annabel’s life in danger if she died. This girl is illogical and unreliable. She says the first thing that comes to mind. And when all she knows is to objectify women, she will.
To top it all off, she has been a man for 2 days and a half. She does not know what the fuck is going on and she is 1 look in the mirror away from a meltdown. This is the first time she has talked to more than 2 people at once in 3 years. If she were to become misogynistic, I will give her a week at least. Hell, in all fairness maybe she starts enjoying it after 2 weeks. It would be a surprise to nobody that the girl who was the least favorite in her family, then was hated for an accident she happened to witness, and was left alone to dwell on it while being called crazy and worthless, craves validation and human belonging no matter the kind.
More importantly, it takes a lot more bravery to actually stand up for what you believe when you are trying to not get your cover blown. You will tell me that Lenore is known for being rebellious, or that she has more authority than every man in that establishment. True! You’re right! But I’m trying to give her the benefit of the doubt and say that this is not the easiest time and place to fight back when you are a non-existent person trying to pass off as a guy. It is hard to blame someone for trying to go with the safest choice and not being able to think straight when the consequences are death.
I am not saying this is 100% in character. I am not saying that this was unavoidable. I am not saying that what she did was okay. I am not saying that this is justify-able. There were 101 ways to deal with this that either avoided disrespecting Annabel or even defended her without exposing the ruse nor causing a ruckus. Wesley did it subtly, and while he was mocked to a degree, there were no calls for investigation. At best, they think he’s a sore loser. If Lenore had attempted the same with a strong enough voice and enough self-righteousness, she could be the manliest man to step foot in the Vandernacht estate. To put it bluntly, she has no good reason to do that. Especially after shutting down the earlier bastard for being disrespectful. Alas, she did what was easiest. This was cowardly and self-centered, yet believable behavior. (This is a good time to say that I am trying so hard to defend her rn like it is making my head hurt)
But the biggest issue is not that she is flawed, it is that it wasn’t addressed (yet) (keyword: yet) ( I’m trying to be optimistic okay)
Annabel lee, what do you have to say about this?
Annabel is not the type to fight back too quickly if there is nothing to gain (at least in life). And I won’t try to tell you whether or not she just hates men generally or if she just hates dick-heads. With how she acts, she may even have a thing for “bad-girls” that treat her like shit occasionally. Despite my belief that she would hate anybody who disrespects her in such a vile way, I’ll try to take the canon approach into account.
I don’t think Annabel would react immediately; not on the first or second offense out of consideration for Lenore trying her best to get neither of them killed, but likely the third. I actually have hopes that this will be addressed by her, but I worry that she will only get to hear a rude comment from Lenore once and quickly get mad, which would accidentally and in turn make her come off as irrational to Lenore and start a fight.
This is not to say this event doesn’t warrant a reaction from her in particular. Annabel in particular literally views marriage as death because of people with this point of view. By definition, “Leo” is her worst nightmare (he literally is now that I think about it). The only reason she doesn’t hate his guts is because he is secretly a woman (and also because she hasn’t seen his antics yet.) You may tell me “but Lulu!!! She liked to play games!!!! She said life is an act, she wouldn’t care that much!!!! And when Lenore stared at her tits in Nevermore, she started blushing and smirking!!!!!” And you make a compelling point, anonymous individual. But I would like to point out that when Lenore first proposed the idea of a fake marriage to her, she looked at her like the world was collapsing under their feet and it was all Lenore’s fault. It also took Annabel to see some earnest feelings from Lenore to fully accept the proposal. It would be no shock to anyone to expect Annabel to want a person who vouches for others to value her. I believe that at least Annabel wants to marry someone that is not impulsive, doesn’t succumb to pressure, and knows when and how to make the right choice instead of cowering. Honestly, I want to think that she at the very least doesn’t want to be known as “the woman that married the guy who spread rumors of her having fake tits”.
More importantly, considering this story is trying to preach feminism, it would just not be a good look. This is an important thing that people miss. Sometimes risking realism for thematic purposes does so much work for a story. These are not real individuals, they are devices that vouch for something that the writer is trying to persuade you with. Which is why I have hope that this will be addressed; I doubt that they brought up Lenore saying horrid bullshit just to never talk about it again.
A point that many have also been missed is that not only is what Lenore said disrespectful, but it also puts her below Wesley and warrants his involvement. The same Wesley who kissed Annabel’s hand despite obvious discomfort. (which Mrs. Hypocrite also did by the way) It is not a good look. Annabel would at the very least want to fight back against this behavior because, as we have concluded, this dude is a snitch and a professional snooper. Wesley finding out that his competition is a misogynistic fool who can’t play chess warrants investigation or at least a target on Leo’s back.
And as a final note, what Lenore said was beyond disrespectful and out of all of these points I am genuinely not willing to argue about this. I am speaking as someone who grew up in Saudi Arabia, aka misogyny land. It is one thing to say she has big tits (which would just be answering the question technically), but it is a vastly different thing to compare your house guest to a broadway woman, then proceed to also accuse her of stuffing her corset in front of total strangers whom you know do not care nor know about Annabel. These comments increase their curiosity about her— this does not even eliminate suitors in hopes of Annabel having to deal with less shitty men. This is a comment that, in Annabel’s eyes, would simply be done for an ego boost. It was purely humiliation. The fact that it is coming from a woman who Annabel is friends with, who she is in love with, who ran away from marriage herself and holds similar sentiments as her, and is doing all of this acting and theatrics in attempt to protect her is a notable offense even if Annabel may not feel that way in the story. I really am praying she does because I am dead serious when I say that this is not something that should be glossed over by whoever is reading this and by the writers and I might kill myself if this does not get addressed even slightly.
And in case this is ever brought up, no Annabel saying Lenore has a nice ass is vastly different. She said that to a friend. Whom she is familiar with. Who doesn’t know she is referring to a woman. And it is said in a non humiliating way. It’s not even canon. Thank you. I wrote this instead of drawing so bye. Feel free to argue with me I actually love conversing with you guys.
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