#i feel so unstimulated and it's agonizing

[mxdam-a]

10. What energizes and drains them most?

margarethe finds social interaction energizing–whether in a large group or with just one person. she’s not the kind of woman who recharges with alone time and a book; she can enjoy that kind of time, but she’d enjoy it all the more if she had someone with her to chat with idly when the book got boring, and to share tea with, and to coo over lucifer with, and maybe to rub her feet while she reclined with her novel as they told her about their day, and… u feel?

she finds being alone and unstimulated absolutely agonizing and PROFOUNDLY draining, which is a big contributing factor to her, erm, garbage behavior at the beginning of the movie, not just toward ella but toward her children (”do shut up” etc). although she isn’t technically alone, her new husband has just hecked off to wherever, and she’s isolated in a new location without any adults of her own age and social status, with only… teenagers for company. you can see why she’s an asshole about it.

i started to try to continue this answer with different things that are energizing vs. draining for her, but i feel like it keeps coming back to this basic division. she’s mostly energized by things that come from other people, e.g. attention, validation, a shared experience, and mostly drained by things that come from isolation and lack of interaction.

i think, also… there may be something in here about purposelessness. the life of a victorian woman of her age/marital status/class was one filled with, well, idleness, and historically it had a huge impact on women’s mental health. it wasn’t just that they were ‘allowed’ to have huge amounts of leisure time filled with pointless or understimulating activity; they were forced into it, and actively barred from means of pursuing stimulation and growth. i think that margarethe combats the impact of that by finding purpose in social activity, and so being alone makes her feel like, why is she even there, you know?

character development questions. ; @herateleia.