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Gideon's Family


MegansCoils

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I think the confrontation between Gideon's mum and Eva is significant. Eva's anger with her is due to the fact that she'd always had her mother's and Stanton's support. (Even tho she went through much worse and her mum never noticed anything? Her behaviour around Nathan, etc? Even tho she never TOLD her) and it was finally through an indisputable event, medical intervention thru a miscarriage ie how LONG had it been going on?) that she finally realised her all was not alright in between her shopping sprees?

Gideon might have suffered more from NOT having any support than the act itself but his mum take steps to find out. It is so difficult in these cases to know what is the truth and we rely on "those who know" supposedly.

I'd like to read more on this. Would be nice if eventually Eva sees the true difficulty of being a mother in Gideon's mum. HER mum had it easy (jumping on the next husband when the bits don't fit) but it is Gideon's mum (and her relationship with her son) that has more depth.

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Hi everyone, I thought a lot about this subject and I have to agree with Crossfire. I am sure that Gideon suffered from the lack of support of his family, but what I find more insidious is the fact that this mother not only did not believe him, she pitted him against his brother when she took Christopher's word against Gideon. Then instead of taking Gideon at his word about being abused, she continued to allow the "abuser" access to Gideon. I would think that any prudent mother with half an ounce of sense, would have fired said psychiatrist/psychologist/grad student and then found someone else to help her with her problems. It seems that the world solely revolved around Elizabeth Vidal. I really hope that the next book deals with these issues. What does everyone else think? I find this entire process so fascinating!

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Hi everyone,

I thought a lot about this subject and I have to agree with Crossfire. I am sure that Gideon suffered from the lack of support of his family, but what I find more insidious is the fact that this mother not only did not believe him, she pitted him against his brother when she took Christopher's word against Gideon. Then instead of taking Gideon at his word about being abused, she continued to allow the "abuser" access to Gideon. I would think that any prudent mother with half an ounce of sense, would have fired said psychiatrist/psychologist/grad student and then found someone else to help her with her problems. It seems that the world solely revolved around Elizabeth Vidal. I really hope that the next book deals with these issues. What does everyone else think? I find this entire process so fascinating!

This was NOT my opinion at all. I think she probably did what most mothers do without realising the future damage. (Like when your child comes home to say there was a fight in class and he says the OTHER child hit him first. You ask the other mother ofmthe other child, and you will hear,of course, the opposite. What do you do? You ask the teacher, teacher says your child lost his temper and threw the first punch. You ask the other classmates they say the same. What do you then do? It is never easy. She has never been forgiven by Gideon and will probably never forgive herself. But she is trying. But Gideon is too hurt to brdge that gap. hope further down in the book we will see that Eva will be the one to help him bridge it, cos you see that he wants to.

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Hi Crossfire, I apologize if I misunderstood your position. My position is as such. If a child claims that they have been sexually abused, they are to be believed PERIOD!!!! No if's and's or but's....PERIOD!!! I understand the analogy of a child getting into a fight, but I state clearly this is the rule to the exception. Common sense would dictate that there are many many forms of sexual abuse that wouldn't necessarily show up during an exam, such as oral sex, fondling, touching, etc. None of those things could be evidenced unless a child were forced to perform oral sex on an adult, then petechiae or little red dots, or bruising, hemorrhages could be found at the back of the child's throat. I have seen that clinically for myself on a few occasions. My position here is absolute! A child is always to be believed...PERIOD!! A child is always to be given the benefit of the doubt...PERIOD!! 9/10 times, a child will keep the sexual abuse a secret, and even with clinical physical documented evidence, a child will be reticent about reporting the abuse. Often times, the child believes the threats that the abuser has made; ie. I will hurt you, your family, they are going to take you away from your family, etc. The fact that Gideon had the courage to speak up and tell his mother was huge! I can't even imagine how much suffering he must have endured before the opened his mouth to someone who was supposed to love and protect him. So no as far as I am concerned Elizabeth Vidal not only dropped the ball but she sent her son back to the person who was abusing him. It is morally reprehensible! If I had my way, Elizabeth Vidal should loose custody of Ireland and face criminal charges. This woman wasn't lacking funds, resources or opportunities to find counselling elsewhere. She could have easily found someone else to counsel her and her son, but she didn't. Again, she could fired the entire team just to be on the safe side and she didn't. She chose her convenience over that of her child. I also think that it is also absolutely asinine and RIDICULOUS that Elizabeth Vidal would ask Christopher about Gideon's abuse. There are SO MANY things wrong with that thought process that I wouldn't even know where to begin! I have absolutely no sympathy for Elizabeth Vidal whatsoever. My sympathy has and always will lay with the child. That child will have to live with the horrific effects of being abused for the rest of their lives. Elizabeth Vidal should live with guilt. More so, she hasn't done anything to atone for her error in judgement. Why should Gideon forgive her? In the end it will be very interesting to see how Sylvia will deal with this issue. It is clear from the books that Gideon has far from dealt with these issues and the part that her mother played in this entire thing.

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I agree with GiGi a child is always to be believed with or without proof by their parents. Because let's say for just the sake of discussion Gideon made the whole thing up... That's an unusal thing for a child to make-up without being coached in that direction - so then the question becomes what is happening in the mind of this child that they would make-up such a thing? Either way the child is presenting with a serious problem that needs compassion and immediate attention, which Elizabeth failed on both counts.

 

But, I think we're given a clue when Gideon says to Elizabeth at the Sunday records brunch in BTY when she protest him taking Cary away from the party Gideon says something to the like "I thought you would like him." and "Cary is Eva's friend which makes him a friend of mine." Odd thing to say to a mother unless she likes younger men and maybe was having an affair with the student counselor who was abusing Gideon and she helped to cover it up so her affair wouldn't come out and destroy her marriage. Or... Elizabeth is one of those evil beyond evil mother's who shut down as far as Gideon was concerned because he reminded her too much of his father who took the easy rode out and left her with all the shame and the blame. Maybe she didn't care what happened to him as long as she didn't have to deal with it and maybe it was Vidal Sr. who paid to cover it all up and make it go away. What little I've read about Elizabeth, she seems like she's a missed dose of thorazide away from crazy to me. Yes I know that Elizabeth was pregnant at the time, but hey, pregnate women cheat because she may have only married Vidal Sr. for the security of his money - she was left penniless it seems after Gideon's father died. I think that's why Gideon has controlling interest in their company - he needed them at one time and now they need him. I love it! 

 

And I don't think Elizabeth asked Christopher Jr. if Gideon was being abused. I think she might have asked him if he'd been touched just so she and Vidal Sr. would know how to contain the situation if only one of the boys were being molested and wouldn't you know it... it's the outside child so to speak. Just another problem (like his dad) to be dealt with. I can see Vidal Sr. & Jr. hating Gideon from the first - Sr. because he's the beautiful ex's kid that maybe Elizabeth was still having a hard time of letting go and Jr. because Elizabeth and Ireland look like Gideon, Chris Jr. does not. And black hair and blue eyes must be the highly wanted traits in that family especially because everyone was so shocked Eva was a blonde.

 

Last point, Gideon tells Eva in BTY that his mother is the only woman that's ever been to his apartment.... I wonder if that was by invitation or did she just pop over? However it happened he must of said something that made her never come back because we never see her there thus far???

 

I loved when Eva confronted Elizabeth in RIY and she tells her to go to and Eva says, "I'm already there and so is your son." Game Over. That was the slap heard around the kindle.

 

I'm getting way to into it here. Time to find something to do until June 4th. Oh yeah those little people running around - I'm suppose to raise them or something. Yeah, I'll go do that. LOL.

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Hi Crossfire,

I apologize if I misunderstood your position. My position is as such. If a child claims that they have been sexually abused, they are to be believed PERIOD!!!! No if's and's or but's....PERIOD!!! I understand the analogy of a child getting into a fight, but I state clearly this is the rule to the exception. Common sense would dictate that there are many many forms of sexual abuse that wouldn't necessarily show up during an exam, such as oral sex, fondling, touching, etc. None of those things could be evidenced unless a child were forced to perform oral sex on an adult, then petechiae or little red dots, or bruising, hemorrhages could be found at the back of the child's throat. I have seen that clinically for myself on a few occasions.

My position here is absolute! A child is always to be believed...PERIOD!! A child is always to be given the benefit of the doubt...PERIOD!! 9/10 times, a child will keep the sexual abuse a secret, and even with clinical physical documented evidence, a child will be reticent about reporting the abuse. Often times, the child believes the threats that the abuser has made; ie. I will hurt you, your family, they are going to take you away from your family, etc. The fact that Gideon had the courage to speak up and tell his mother was huge! I can't even imagine how much suffering he must have endured before the opened his mouth to someone who was supposed to love and protect him. So no as far as I am concerned Elizabeth Vidal not only dropped the ball but she sent her son back to the person who was abusing him. It is morally reprehensible! If I had my way, Elizabeth Vidal should loose custody of Ireland and face criminal charges. This woman wasn't lacking funds, resources or opportunities to find counselling elsewhere. She could have easily found someone else to counsel her and her son, but she didn't. Again, she could fired the entire team just to be on the safe side and she didn't. She chose her convenience over that of her child.

I also think that it is also absolutely asinine and RIDICULOUS that Elizabeth Vidal would ask Christopher about Gideon's abuse. There are SO MANY things wrong with that thought process that I wouldn't even know where to begin! I have absolutely no sympathy for Elizabeth Vidal whatsoever. My sympathy has and always will lay with the child. That child will have to live with the horrific effects of being abused for the rest of their lives. Elizabeth Vidal should live with guilt. More so, she hasn't done anything to atone for her error in judgement. Why should Gideon forgive her?

In the end it will be very interesting to see how Sylvia will deal with this issue. It is clear from the books that Gideon has far from dealt with these issues and the part that her mother played in this entire thing.

OMG you certainly put up a strong case! It is such a dark area. You are absolutely right...oh dear, how is Sylvia going to handle this in Entwined? I know i was hoping that Eva would help bring them together again, but how? You are right she WAS terribly irresponsible to send him back. Oh the poor child. Now That part where he said "especially when you think they care for you" breaks my heart! Now I am not sure how I want this mother/son relationship to pan out.

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I agree with GiGi a child is always to be believed with or without proof by their parents. Because let's say for just the sake of discussion Gideon made the whole thing up... That's an unusal thing for a child to make-up without being coached in that direction - so then the question becomes what is happening in the mind of this child that they would make-up such a thing? Either way the child is presenting with a serious problem that needs compassion and immediate attention, which Elizabeth failed on both counts.

But, I think we're given a clue when Gideon says to Elizabeth at the Sunday records brunch in BTY when she protest him taking Cary away from the party Gideon says something to the like "I thought you would like him." and "Cary is Eva's friend which makes him a friend of mine." Odd thing to say to a mother unless she likes younger men and maybe was having an affair with the student counselor who was abusing Gideon and she helped to cover it up so her affair wouldn't come out and destroy her marriage. Or... Elizabeth is one of those evil beyond evil mother's who shut down as far as Gideon was concerned because he reminded her too much of his father who took the easy rode out and left her with all the shame and the blame. Maybe she didn't care what happened to him as long as she didn't have to deal with it and maybe it was Vidal Sr. who paid to cover it all up and make it go away. What little I've read about Elizabeth, she seems like she's a missed dose of thorazide away from crazy to me. Yes I know that Elizabeth was pregnant at the time, but hey, pregnate women cheat because she may have only married Vidal Sr. for the security of his money - she was left penniless it seems after Gideon's father died. I think that's why Gideon has controlling interest in their company - he needed them at one time and now they need him. I love it!

And I don't think Elizabeth asked Christopher Jr. if Gideon was being abused. I think she might have asked him if he'd been touched just so she and Vidal Sr. would know how to contain the situation if only one of the boys were being molested and wouldn't you know it... it's the outside child so to speak. Just another problem (like his dad) to be dealt with. I can see Vidal Sr. & Jr. hating Gideon from the first - Sr. because he's the beautiful ex's kid that maybe Elizabeth was still having a hard time of letting go and Jr. because Elizabeth and Ireland look like Gideon, Chris Jr. does not. And black hair and blue eyes must be the highly wanted traits in that family especially because everyone was so shocked Eva was a blonde.

Last point, Gideon tells Eva in BTY that his mother is the only woman that's ever been to his apartment.... I wonder if that was by invitation or did she just pop over? However it happened he must of said something that made her never come back because we never see her there thus far???

I loved when Eva confronted Elizabeth in RIY and she tells her to go to and Eva says, "I'm already there and so is your son." Game Over. That was the slap heard around the kindle.

I'm getting way to into it here. Time to find something to do until June 4th. Oh yeah those little people running around - I'm suppose to raise them or something. Yeah, I'll go do that. LOL.

Oh yes! I forgot about THAT remark Gideon made to his mum at the party! What was THAT supposed to mean! we'll have to find out in Entwined. This is amazing, do you think she (Sylvia) plans so far ahead when she writes bits like that? Or is it crazy fans like us that make her stay on her toes?
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Hi Mrsmajessick, I agree with many of your points. I really hope that Sylvia deals with Elizabeth Vidal. Somehow I am not sure how she could get around the topic of Gideon's trauma or subsequent healing without including her in the discussion...so to speak. Time wil tell. :)

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Hi Mrsmajessick, I agree with many of your points. I really hope that Sylvia deals with Elizabeth Vidal. Somehow I am not sure how she could get around the topic of Gideon's trauma or subsequent healing without including her in the discussion...so to speak. Time will tell. :)

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Hi everyone, I was thinking about what everyone said and I did a little investigating of my own. I went back to Sylvia's book Reflected In You and I looked up the scene between Eva and Gideon's mom. On page 298-299... Elizabeth Vidal stated " I'm Christopher's mother too, and he was there. He swears nothing happened. Who was I supposed to believe when there was no proof? No one could find anything to support Gideon's claims." That quote in itself suggests that Elizabeth Vidal did indeed question Christopher about Gideon's sexual abuse, which is wrong on so many levels. It is clear that Elizabeth Vidal will never win mother of the year.

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Hi everyone, I was thinking about what everyone said and I did a little investigating of my own. I went back to Sylvia's book Reflected In You and I looked up the scene between Eva and Gideon's mom. On page 298-299... Elizabeth Vidal stated " I'm Christopher's mother too, and he was there. He swears nothing happened. Who was I supposed to believe when there was no proof? No one could find anything to support Gideon's claims." That quote in itself suggests that Elizabeth Vidal did indeed question Christopher about Gideon's sexual abuse, which is wrong on so many levels. It is clear that Elizabeth Vidal will never win mother of the year.

Yup, that 's what I thought. But, lately I've been asking myself do I trust Elizabeth Vidal and the answer comes up NO. She could easily be lying to Eva. I mean would she readily admit to Eva that she's a real witch who is the worst mother ever. I mean when you get down to the bottom line Elizabeth and Monica aren't that much different - Yes Monica got Eva out of there - but what choice did she really have with child protective services involved and Eva was pregnant - no getting around that. I have a hard time buying that she didn't notice that her little girl was being repeatedly raped for four years! I have two little girls and I can tell when there's something wrong even before they say it = Mother's intuition, something Monica & Elizabeth obviously don't have. And Monica was very upset that Eva told Gideon about the abuse just as Elizabeth was when Eva confronted her.  I just keep coming back to Gideon's comment about knowing Elizabeth would like Cary and his warning regarding that - makes me think something might have been going on between Elizabeth and Gideon's abuser. The whole thing is so ugly.

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Yup, that 's what I thought. But, lately I've been asking myself do I trust Elizabeth Vidal and the answer comes up NO. She could easily be lying to Eva. I mean would she readily admit to Eva that she's a real witch who is the worst mother ever. I mean when you get down to the bottom line Elizabeth and Monica aren't that much different - Yes Monica got Eva out of there - but what choice did she really have with child protective services involved and Eva was pregnant - no getting around that. I have a hard time buying that she didn't notice that her little girl was being repeatedly raped for four years! I have two little girls and I can tell when there's something wrong even before they say it = Mother's intuition, something Monica & Elizabeth obviously don't have. And Monica was very upset that Eva told Gideon about the abuse just as Elizabeth was when Eva confronted her.  I just keep coming back to Gideon's comment about knowing Elizabeth would like Cary and his warning regarding that - makes me think something might have been going on between Elizabeth and Gideon's abuser. The whole thing is so ugly.

Hi Mrsmajessick,

You make a valid point about Elizabeth Vidal. It is so hard to know whether she is telling the truth. I suspect that maybe she is. Thus far she has thrown herself under the bus....ie...she nothing while Gideon was being abused. After reading the book again, I came up with a few theories of my own to explain everyone's actions.

1. I suspect that Gideon may have cut his mother out of his life, which by my estimation would have sent a woman like Elizabeth Vidal into the stratosphere. In stead of saying I am so sorry that I failed you son, Elizabeth Vidal decided to sweep everything under the rug and that would have alienated her from her son even further. So what does a woman like her do...she interjects herself into her son's life even further. She makes inappropriate friendships with her child's friends thereby holding on to some supposed bond with her child.

2. As far as mother of the year award neither woman will ever win. I think I understand Monica a little more (I Don't agree!! Don't get me wrong). She strikes me as type of woman who obtains her self worth from her status. Therefore her mission in life is to make sure that she finds herself a wealthy man and that her daughter as well is married off to a wealthy man. I think that maybe Monica saw Eva's rapes damage to the product. What man would want a woman who is "damaged goods"? Like it or not, there are many in society that still hold this philosophy. So what can Monica do to ensure that her daughter is well taken care of? She monetarily goes after the husband she is married to, to provide and ensure that firstly; everyone will keep their mouths shut , and secondly, Eva will be taken care of. She won't have to worry about money within the social community (she is independently wealthy and thereby gets to keep her socialite status).

3. I agree with you completely that Monica completely dropped the ball as far as raising her child. You are absolutely right! A good mother knows what's going on in her child's life. It is clear that Monica did not. Maybe Monica was the type of mother who thought that once she gave birth to Eva, it was the responsibility of the household staff to raise the child. There are many people, in today's society, who still subscribe to this type of philosophy. Monica's parents basically disowned her when she got pregnant with Eva. So I could see all the events leading up to the birth of her child and subsequent marriage reinforcing her fears about money and status.

4. I think Monica was upset that Eva told Gideon about the abuse, because Monica was afraid that Gideon may not want "damaged goods". I think it may be a very real fear for her. Those are just my thoughts . What does everyone else think?

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