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History of Wolves


"Electrifying . . . as beautiful and as icy as the Minnesota woods where it's ...
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During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

Created: 11/18/17

Replies: 20

Posted Nov. 18, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?


Posted Nov. 26, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Tired Bookreader

Join Date: 08/19/11

Posts: 209

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

The religious aspect was intriguing. The fact they didn’t look at Linda was probably because she possessed negative karma. If she had been more positive and not gone for drugs, their son would still be alive.


Posted Nov. 26, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
kimk

Join Date: 10/16/10

Posts: 889

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

I think that Patra in particular was subconsciously trying to avoid taking responsibility for Paul's death by putting the blame on someone else.


Posted Nov. 26, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Maggie

Join Date: 01/01/16

Posts: 434

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

Leo always thought he was doing the right thing because of his religion. I think Patra wanted help for her son and thought Linda would get help. Leo would not look at Linda as he thought he was right and Linda was interfering. Patra out of loyalty to her husband and guilt that she could not save her son so she could not face Linda.


Posted Nov. 27, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rebeccar

Join Date: 03/13/12

Posts: 548

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

I'm sure that Patra and Leo felt like Linda was an adversary. No matter what a parent has or has not done, there are probably moments where they second guess their past actions and feel as if they are up against the world. Maybe parents who try experimental medicine that failed wish they had just taken the money and traveled with the child to vacation destinations and helped the child to forget about illness and hospitals for a few moments at a time. I've known people whose child died in a car crash en route to school. The parents kept thinking if only they'd left the house one minute later or one minute earlier I think any parents feels sadness when a child dies, whether the children die in hospitals or not. I also think that a lot of parents of many different faiths turn to prayer when doctors tell them it is in God's hands or there is nothing more that they, the doctors, can do. Patra did not seem committed to any actions.


Posted Nov. 27, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
annar

Join Date: 06/13/11

Posts: 114

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

I think Petra felt guilty. She knew something was wrong with Paul and she was afraid to go against Leo.
Leo was so sure he was right, so he didn't want to have anything to do with Linda.


Posted Nov. 28, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
dottys

Join Date: 09/30/17

Posts: 13

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

I believe that they were ashamed and were remorseful, but because of their beliefs they were unable to fully acknowledge their guilt in causing his death.


Posted Nov. 28, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
JLPen77

Join Date: 02/05/16

Posts: 362

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

I drew the conclusion that they felt guilty in different ways for different reasons, never fully acknowledged, and they wanted to blame Linda as a way to cope with that, so they distanced themselves from her. In effect they were using her in their grief, just as they had used her when Paul was alive. They were older, more experienced and privileged, compared to Linda, and they took advantage of her, then turned on her. To reach out to her wold have required them to face up to their own problems, and neither of them was ready to do that.


Posted Nov. 29, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
susiej

Join Date: 10/15/14

Posts: 363

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

I felt that Patra, in particular, seems to want to blame Linda as a means of excusing herself - maybe because she, of the two, seemed less certain about their methods of raising and treating their son. She is less certain and committed to the religious practices they avow, and seems somehow caught between saving her son and saving her marriage (which appeared to be dependent upon religious practices she was less committed to). Patra appears to feel the need to place blame elsewhere and Linda becomes her scapegoat. In addition, she may be afraid that, in speaking to Linda, Linda may say these very things outloud - and Patra cannot chance hearing them.


Posted Nov. 29, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
veronicaj

Join Date: 05/25/17

Posts: 21

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

Patra was a difficult character to sympathize with. She was a weak and insecure person who couldn't/wouldn't think for herself. I hold her as the ultimate responsible party. She KNEW deep inside that her son was in jeopardy. She worried more about herself and her relationship with Leo than the health of her son. Her actions in court were a continuation of her selfishness.


Posted Nov. 29, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
barbf

Join Date: 11/29/17

Posts: 25

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

I totally agree with this impression. The adults in this novel were very cold, distant and so self absorbed that they were emotionally unavailable to the two children in the story. Linda the teenager was basically alone and lonely (she was a lone wolf?), a neglected child. The son obviously was even more neglected, suffering even worse consequences.


Posted Nov. 29, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
ashleighs

Join Date: 11/13/17

Posts: 14

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

Patra followed Leo's lead when it came to Paul's illness. She expressed concern and hesitations when it was happening, but Linda noted those, not Leo. I think Linda was later ignored because Patra felt guilty for not stepping up. She placed blame on Linda to feel better about her own decisions.


Posted Nov. 29, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
barbf

Join Date: 11/29/17

Posts: 25

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

Adults using children to fulfill their own psych needs - always a sad situation, unfortunately also frequent.


Posted Nov. 29, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
laurap

Join Date: 06/19/12

Posts: 401

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

Patra indicates when she and Linda speak outside the court house that Linda's "wrong thinking" (the fact that she "always thought Paul was sick") somehow created bad vibes that contributed to Paul's death. If Linda had been more positive, Patra intimates, Paul would not have died. So blaming Linda was easier for Leo (whose religious beliefs controlled the situation) and Patra (who went along even though troubled, it seemed, by Leo's direction) than accepting responsibility for their own actions.


Posted Dec. 02, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
celiap

Join Date: 07/27/17

Posts: 57

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

It did not seem odd to me. In fact, I think Leo and Patra blamed her for Paul's death. They were praying for Paul to be healed, but she wasn't, so they believe that her negative energy caused their prayers to go unanswered.


Posted Dec. 03, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
madelonw

Join Date: 11/20/17

Posts: 18

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

It did not seem odd that Leo did not acknowledge Linda at court because he did not want Linda around most of the time. It did seem odd that Patra did not acknowledge Linda because she was so friendly before. I feel that Leo convinced Patra that Linda was somehow responsible for Paul's death. This gives an emotionally distraught mother someone on whom to shift the blame. l
Leo showed no remorse.


Posted Dec. 04, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rebeccak

Join Date: 05/26/12

Posts: 78

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

I found it odd that Patra, not Leo, avoided speaking to and looking at Linda. Throughout the story, I felt like Patra was brainwashed by Leo. From the beginnings of their relationship - when she was a young student and he was a professor - to how she interacted with him later (completely ignoring everything around her when he called, the strange way she left Paul home alone to get Linda to babysit him so she could pick him up from the airport), it seemed like Leo had a hold over Patra. Leo also acted superior to everyone. Additionally, Patra contacted a doctor's office and seemed to be wary on the stand during the trial when he heard that. If anything, I think by ignoring Linda, Patra was showing her submission to her husband more than her displeasure with Linda.


Posted Dec. 04, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
marganna

Join Date: 10/14/11

Posts: 153

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

No, I do not find it odd that Leo & Patra avoided speaking to Linda or looking at her. Leo has his belief & stands firmly in its shadow. Patra is a lost soul who followed in Leo's beliefs which led to her son's death. I did not sense any guilt or remorse from them - only blame, anger, denial. Bringing Linda into their consciencness would make a crack in their righteous.


Posted Dec. 15, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
reene

Join Date: 02/18/15

Posts: 497

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

Patra badly needed someone to blame. She was not so deeply into the religion as Leo. If she was not so intimidated by Leo she would have gotten help for Paul. She did not look at Linda because of her guilt. I also believe that depending on how the trial went, Leo planned on using Linda as a scapegoat and Patra once again would go along with him. They needed to look upset with Linda during the trial.


Posted Dec. 16, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
barbf

Join Date: 11/29/17

Posts: 25

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

I agree with Reene that Leo is evil and is using Patra, but I see Patra herself as much more weak. I am not sure she has enough personality to have the feeling of guilt. She seems too brainwashed to have that strong of a feeling. She seems more numb to me.


Posted Dec. 18, 2017 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
acstrine

Join Date: 02/06/17

Posts: 438

RE: During the trial, did it seem odd to you that Leo and Patra avoided speaking with Linda, or looking at her? Did this indicate they know they did something wrong in not saving Paul? Did they seem to feel remorse for his death?

Truthfully, I do not think Leo looked at Linda during the trial because he was arrogant and not interested one way or another in what Linda thought. His religion made him right, and no one else's opinion mattered. I do not think he was remorseful--he had been an honorable, righteous, religious warrior. Patra, on the other hand, avoids Linda because I believe she is deeply ashamed. Linda is a reminder of her failure to act for Paul, a reminder of her weakness in standing up for herself and her son. It was Linda, who finally, realizing that something was not right, went for medicine. It was Linda who told Patra that he "needed something". this Patra was disengaged, staying out of Paul's room, sleeping on and on. It is easier for Patra to treat Linda badly in an effort to feel better about herself.


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