I had gotten the impression that Stuart grew up in a stable privilleged home, but the more I actually read about it the more it turns out that it wasn't stable at all. I have read before that Charles was physically abusive, is that true?
Yep, 'instability' and 'anxiety' are two things that come to mind when combing through Stuart's upbringing. This is a very basic summary.
I've read that before as well, though it doesn't appear in most biographies. In Shout!, this is written about it:
I suppose it's up to your interpretation of 'cruelty'. It should be noted that Shout! is one of the earliest biographies that touched on Stuart's history, and the family was interviewed by Norman. Pauline does not mention violence or cruelty of any sort in her recollections of her childhood. But even from Pauline's accounts, it seems like Charles was very impatient and had a short fuse. So although you could say it's either a mistranslation or escalation of Millie and Charles' 'passionate rows' and 'volatile relationship', at the very least, it was unstable and harmful - an awful situation for Millie and her children.
The more intense reports of their marriage come from Millie. Pauline always remained adamant that "they always loved each other, often through difficult husband-and-wife times" and seemed rather proud of the kind of man her father was - artsy, worldly, supportive of his wife's ventures outside the house. So.... there's that.
Stuart's father is a bit of a blind spot in Stuart's reported history, he's usually absent or at the very least a ghostly kind of presence on the borders of Stuart's life, only referred to briefly. What is mentioned is either Pauline's very 'Modern Man under a lot of domestic stress', or the heavy-drinking absent father that had explosive fights with his wife that left her shaken and upset. I think everyone is obviously telling their truth, Pauline has just left details out of her account, which is understandable, but does not erase what Millie has discussed in her interviews with biographers.
