Unhealthy Relationships in Mama

When the book “Mama” by Terry McMillan begins, the first sentence is “Mildred hid the ax beneath the mattress of the cot in the dining room” (McMillan). Mildred had just killed her husband of ten years. He was abusive, a drunk, and a cheater. What I wanted to discuss is how these drunkard and abusive tendencies can be passed onto the children as they hear their mother get beaten and their father doing the beating. Mentally, I feel as though it takes a huge toll on the children, they are traumatized. I also feel like it teaches unhealthy lessons to the children. If the kids see that Mildred is getting beaten by their father but then continues to stay in the relationship, they may think it is okay for a man or woman to abuse them. Also, the children may feel fear, confusion, and worry. Another topic discussed besides abuse is infidelity. Crook, Mildred’s husband goes out drinking and cheats on Mildred. Mildred puts up with it for the sake of her kids. However, Mildred begins seeing Spook, a married man. This relationship between them reminded me of a movie I watched called “Adulterers” on Netflix. A married woman and a married man are having an affair with each other. Infidelity played a role not only for Crook, but Mildred and Spooky too. Overall, “Mama” so far has shown what unhealthy relationships look like and how the children know what is going on and try to speak up about it, but are silenced because they are just “children.”