Rosie feels tremendous guilt over how she became pregnant. How much of what happened to her is her fault? Is any of it?

Rosie feels tremendous guilt over how she became pregnant. How much of what happened to her is her fault? Is any of it?

I don't think it was her fault at all.

As a very young woman,indebted to the head of the family caring for her,she was not at fault in any way.

Rosie was vulnerable but she realizes her "no" could have been stronger. In this age of "sexual harrassment" it is easy to blame everything on the man. I do think if Rosie had been adamant about Truman "stopping" he would have stopped. I would say there were reasons, strong reasons, why she was seduced - but no good excuse.

Rosie thought she should have been stronger is stopping Truman, but there were many reasons she wasn't. Rosie was young, drunk and sexually inexperienced. She had never been kissed and didn't understand what she was feeling - a combination of desire and dread. She was completely vulnerable. I don't believe she was at fault.

I agree, lynne z.

She probably was also scared because he was her "boss."

Truman accepted the role of Rosie's guardian and protector. He betrayed her miserably. She shares no guilt. The fault is 100% Truman's. There is real guilt ( Truman's) and neurotic guilt ( Rosie's). She felt guilt but was not actually guilty of anything except being a lonely, trusting girl. Truman used and abused both her loneliness and her trust in him.

I don't think that Rosie was at fault at all for Truman's behavior - she didn't try to seduce him; she was young and naive, and probably didn't even recognize the effects what he was doing other than a very abstract way. In addition, he seduced her while she was drunk (something new to her), and selfishly only thought of his desires, not of his responsibility. She would not have known how to prevent a pregnancy, even though she had a vague idea of the mechanics.

An older, married man who is in a position of authority takes advantage of a young sexually inexperienced girl who is living in his house. Seems pretty clear to me where the blame should fall. I can see no culpability on her part. He got her drunk and would not stop when she said no. He is solely to blame for the incident and her subsequent condition

I certainly did not feel Rosie was at fault. She was so young, sexually inexperienced and so naive. He seduced her and Truman was lonely and was only thinking of his desire, not his responsibility to his ward. He was to blame, that is clear.

I felt Truman was in control of that situation. He was the one at fault

She was not guilty at all-- for all of the reasons listed above.

Rosie was in no way responsible, and while I agree that we tend to blame the man - in this case, he was totally at fault. He was the "adult" and she was his responsibility. He comes across as weak and selfish throughout the book.

i

Rosie was not responsible whatsoever for what happened, but her generation was brought up to think that if a man took advantage of a woman, she must have encouraged him to do so. Rosie was forced to internalize what happened after the main person she trusted hurt her. My heart broke for her.

I agree with everyone who said Rosie was not to blame at all. As a sexually inexperienced young girl, she would not have been able to stop Truman, who was clearly in a position of control.

I agree that Rosie was not responsible at all. I was sad that she felt such guilt about it, but I think that was typical for the time and circumstances.

Rosie is not at fault. She was put in a situation where she could be taken advantage of and her "boss" was really in control. Rosie was young, naïve, and on her own without a support system. She was like countless women who faced this pregnancy without family and friends and then also had the condemnation of unfair societal norms.

She should not feel guilty, but unfortunately it seems that women always pay the consequences as they are the ones who can get pregnant.

This sadly happens time and time again in this world.