Its not just Ursa who gets blamed; I've seen fans imply that Iroh is a misogynist because he didn't reach out to his niece like he did Zuko. I've seen remarks about how Zuko was a bad brother who wasn't nice to her. I've even seen a comment or two about how part of Azula's problems were that Mai and Ty Lee weren't real friends. There seems to be a feeling that someone, such as Ursa or Iroh, should have fixed her. I also get the feeling that this is one of the reasons why some people ship TyZula; they want Ty Lee to heal her with unconditional love. To me it seems like a classic abusive relationship except that the abuser is female instead of male.
Incidentally I saw these comments on the avatar.spirit.net forums in case you were wondering. There's a clique of Azula fans there who have rather frustrating interpretations of the character.
I think there is something about the abusive mother that people generally find more frightening or abnormal than the abusive father. I'm thinking of the hate Catelyn Stark from A Song of Ice and Fire gets for being cold towards her husband's bastard who is raised alongside her own children and also of how psychiatry has blamed mental disorders on the patient's mother. There's this feeling that any decent woman will coo over any baby or else she's a bitch.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2012-09-05 03:29 am (UTC)Incidentally I saw these comments on the avatar.spirit.net forums in case you were wondering. There's a clique of Azula fans there who have rather frustrating interpretations of the character.
I think there is something about the abusive mother that people generally find more frightening or abnormal than the abusive father. I'm thinking of the hate Catelyn Stark from A Song of Ice and Fire gets for being cold towards her husband's bastard who is raised alongside her own children and also of how psychiatry has blamed mental disorders on the patient's mother. There's this feeling that any decent woman will coo over any baby or else she's a bitch.