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“I didn’t even know it was wrong until I saw my son and how……. how abnormal he was. The doctor tried to blame it on a birth accident. The cord
was wrapped around the baby’s neck as he pushed through the birth canal. He went without oxygen for a while. But I knew it was mostly because of
Montgomery and me.” 313 Therefore, we can see that Montgomery’s sexual deviation to Bella occurs
for a period of time, whereas, they should realize that they have done something wrong and forbidden.
4.3 The Influence of Montgomery’s Sexual Deviation on Nicolette’s Personality Deviation
People change throughout their lifetime. This is so because people live in a certain place with certain people that are called society. This situation affects our
behavior and personality. Therefore, there is always desire to follow the surrounding and it makes us change Hurlock 108.
Nicolette’s surrounding takes a big role in shaping her personality because she lives around the surrounding. As Nicolette’s husband, Montgomery also has a
big role who can affect the changes on Nicolette’s personality. We can see that Nicolette experiences personality changes after knowing Montgomery’s sexual
deviation. It shows us that Montgomery is the main factor who influences the changes on her personality. Therefore, the changes on Nicolette’s personality are
for worse. Hurlock 120-122 classifies changes in the personality into three major categories. One of them is the personality which changes for the worse. Thus,
Montgomery’s sexual deviation influences Nicolette’s personality to change for worse.
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Craig 10 also states that one’s development is also influenced by his interaction with hisher environment. We can say that it is understood as a process
of someone has to be better or worse. Nicolette interacts with her environment that is her family and her society. Directly or indirectly, what she gets during her
interaction with the environment brings her into a process to be better or worse. In this study, her interaction with her husband and her society where she lives
influences her personality development for worse. According to Perrine 71, dynamic character is a character who undergoes
many changes in some aspects of their characters, personalities, ways of thinking, or outlook from the beginning until the end of the story. In this study, Nicolette
can be classified as a dynamic character because she experiences changes on their personality from the beginning until the end of the story. Nicolette’s personality
development is influenced by Montgomery’s sexual deviation that is incest. In the beginning of the story, Nicolette is a tough person. Her toughness
can be seen through her mannerism and her thought during her childhood and during the beginning of her marriage with Montgomery. Her family background
makes her accustomed to handle difficult things, to survive and to fulfil the life demands without much money, and to remain acceptable to live among the
multiple societies with its closed social order. Her father has taught her to be tough with all matters of life since she was a child. Her toughness can also be seen
during the beginning of her marriage with Montgomery. During their marriage, she does not only experience happiness, but also bitterness. Montgomery is not
the most perfect husband she has ever thought before marrying him. She does not
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even really know about him. Montgomery has two personalities. He is a giving, loving, romantic husband. But, he can be a distant, volatile, quick-tampered, and
even cruel many times. He often punishes her mentally and physically, especially when it deals with his family.
However, her toughness makes her hard days with Montgomery. Somehow, she feels uncomfortable with Montgomery’s bad behavior to her, but,
she tries to remain tough. It is for her children’s and her sake. Besides, she really loves him then she thinks that she should not bother Montgomery’s punishments
to her. After she knows Montgomery’s betrayal that is molesting their daughter, Dessie, she tends to be sensitive.
Before knowing Montgomery’s sexual deviation, she can avoid crying though Montgomery’s punishments are quite hurtful. According to the quotation
above, we can see that Nicolette is suffered from Montgomery’s abuse. I suddenly realized that Montgomery had done to me is the same thing he
had done the girls. They had kept his secrets, kept silent about his abuse, hidden it for years out of fear and terror. And so had I. 110
She tries to live with this. Montgomery’s punishments do not make her
stop to love him, adore him, and make her want to leave him or even hate him. It does not make her give up from their marriage. She can accept his bad behaviors
to her, but, Montgomery’s sexual deviation is exception for her. Her toughness disappears. She regrets herself for not being a good mother who can always
protect her children, she regrets herself for ignoring any signals about Montgomery’s sexual abuse which has been suffered by their daughter. The truth
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of Montgomery’s sexual deviation makes her feel weak and fragile. She becomes sensitive.
Bleeding and not available. And we had to play. I was paralyzed and useless, and tears came easily. 95
Nicolette never imagines that Montgomery dares to hurt his daughter. In
her point of view, Montgomery is a loving father. He often spends his time playing with their children, reading stories before they sleep, giving them
surprises and gifts so often, and other usual things a father does to his children. It is difficult for Nicolette to realize that incest happens in her family. Her sweet
daughter has been sexually abused by her father. Nicolette never imagines that Montgomery makes use the time when he and their daughters are close to abuse
them. The truth is so painful for her. Her tears fall many times. It expresses how hurt she is of knowing the terrible truth of her lovely husband’s sexual deviation.
I cried until I had no more tears left. I cried until the sound of a voice penetrated and I realized we were sitting on the floor, Philippe’s back
against a kitchen cabinet, me in his lap. And shame flooded through me. 173
Nicolette realizes that she rarely cries during her life, but after she knows Montgomery’s sexual abuse to their daughter, she cries many times. Before, she
does not like to show her sadness in front of people. But, after knowing this terrible truth, she can cry in front of Sonja’s husband, Philippe. Therefore, she has
to face her husband whom she really loves, adores, and respects in order to protect their children from their evil father.
I cried until my nose ran and my noise gave out and I was weak as a baby. It was a perfectly delightful cry. I was snotty, exhausted, and had a
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headache. A ten as far as cries go. I had never cried much in my lifetime, but since getting pregnant with Jason, and since leaving Montgomery, I
seemed to cry all the time. 356 Before knowing Montgomery’s sexual deviation, Nicolette is submissive
and loves him very much, whereas, actually she is an independent woman. I wouldn’t start out my marriage being intimidated. I would not become
my mother. I wouldn’t. 12 In the beginning of her marriage, Nicolette thinks that she does not want to
be like her mother who depends on her father. Because she really loves Montgomery, what she has ever thought to be independent changes to be
submissive. During her marriage, Montgomery controls her life. “I learned without a car because he took away the keys so many times.
Half the time groceries are ordered over the phone and delivered, or Rosalita picks them up. I shop for clothes through catalogs and have them
shipped to the door.” 109 Nicolette can not live as free as another wife who can walk around the
town, shopping and visiting nice places they like without their husbands’ watching. According to the quotation above, we can see that Montgomery
controls her life. However, Nicolette never protests to him that he is over protective to her. It is because she thinks that he is a good husband too. He often
behaves her nicely, gives her many gifts, surprises, and romantic things to show his love. Therefore, Montgomery’s punishments are not a big subject for her. She
is submissive to him for whatever he asks her to do. She never says no, disagrees with him, or fails him in order to please him and get comfortable atmosphere. We
can see that she loves Montgomery through her reaction. When Sonja, her best friend, asks her to leave him, divorce him, and find another man, she refuses
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Sonja’s suggestion though she knows that there have been many punishments Montgomery has done to her.
Sonja sighed and pulled into traffic. “There are other men out there. Good men.”
I smiled tightly, “One man in a lifetime is enough, thank you. Besides, I want nothing to do with some sex-starved male out to prove himself on the
horizontal battleground.” 53-54 According to the quotation above, we can see that Sonja knows who
Montgomery is. She thinks that he is inappropriate to Nicolette. Thus, she wants Nicolette to leave him and find better man. However, the quotation above shows
us how much Nicolette loves him. She has chosen him to be the partner of her life. She will take whatever consequences of marrying him. She does not even want to
leave him, divorce him, and find another better one. Nicolette’s personality changes after knowing Montgomery’s sexual
deviation from being submissive to rebelling against him. Nicolette is hurt after knowing the sexual abuse suffered by her daughter. During this time, she regards
Montgomery as a good father for their children. What he has done to their daughter brings her to rebel against him. She decides to leave the house and
escape from him. There are reasons why she tries to leave him. First, she is really disappointed with him. Then, she knows it will be terrible to let Montgomery
getting close to their children and it will risk too much if she directly uncovers the abuse to him. Second, she knows that Montgomery has the power to control the
politics, the law, and her, herself. Then it will be difficult to leave him. She has no choice. She just thinks about her children’s safety. She realizes that her action of
leaving him is a terrible thing she has ever done during their marriage. During
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their marriage, she never says no, disagrees, or displeases him. She never rebels against him. But, in this case, she leaves the house and brings the children. It
means she rebels against him. She needs a big courage to do this because Montgomery will really get mad.
Therefore, by Sonja’s help, she decides to divorce him. She has never thought about divorcing Montgomery before. It is really difficult for her to do
that. Her love to their daughters makes her struggle to rebel Montgomery, her loving and cruel husband. She can make decision to divorce him because of her
daughter’s suffering caused by Montgomery. “I’m in trouble.” It surged over me then. A wave of fear. An awful
paralyzing fear. I thought of my girls and the torture they had been through, and I ached for them. For the girls. The thought came unbidden.
For the girls I could do this. I was seeing a lawyer about Montgomery. 106
Whenever Montgomery finds them, he forces them to return to their
house. Montgomery threatens Nicolette to go with him, if not he will take the children with him. Nicolette agrees because she knows that Montgomery can do
anything to them and it will risk too much. Besides, their daughters mean the world for her, then, she does not want to lose them. She pretends to be innocent
who does not know at all about his sexual abuse to their daughter. But, inside her mind, she plans to escape from him again. During that time, Montgomery asks her
the reason why they leave the house. She screams to him and tells him her disappointment of his betrayal of having affairs with others women and having a
son from one of them. However, she does not tell him about what he has done to their daughter, Dessie, and his sister, Bella.
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I screamed at him about truth and fidelity and disease and vows. I screamed about pain and heartache and Paris. I screamed all the things I
had felt when I looked at the pictures of my husband kissing Glorianna. I screamed all the feelings I had not reacted to that night. All the hurtful
emotions and pain I had pushed away because my girls’ pain was greater than my own. Theirs the biggest horror. The biggest betrayal. 252
The quotation above shows us the change on Nicolette’s personality of
loving and being submissive to Montgomery becomes rebelling against him, whereas, before, Nicolette is very submissive to him. She never protests, argues,
or displeases him over anything. It is because she never imagines that Montgomery dares to do the worst thing to their daughter. Nicolette feels the
greatest pain of his betrayal to her. She does not only betray her by having affairs with other women, but also by abusing their lovely daughter. Therefore, she
shows her unbearable disappointment to him by screaming all the feelings she has in that time to him.
Therefore, when there is a chance to escape, Nicolette does her plan and it works. She tries to escape again by hurting Montgomery until he collapses and
there is a chance for her and the children to escape. Here, we can see that Nicolette who really loves Montgomery and being submissive to him can do the
bad thing to him just to make the children safe. Nicolette who never says ”no” to him becomes a wife who can even hurt him.
I stared at his face, lit dimly with light and shadow. Raised my arm up high. Over my head. Brought it down and hit him. Hard, in the back of the
skull with the wet brick I had just removed from the toilet tank. 254 Nicolette knows that the only way to protect her children is facing
Montgomery by herself. She has lived with Montgomery with all of his rules for
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several years. She has been loyal to him. However, in this case, she can rebel him though she knows that it will risk too much, then, she will take it for granted.
What would Montgomery do? Tears coursed down my face, a torrent, and I turned so the girls couldn’t see from their place inside the truck. I
couldn’t breathe. “Oh God. I hurt Montgomery.” 261
Her marriage becomes so terrible from beautiful. Nicolette does not care anymore about the feeling of love, obedience, and respect to her husband. She
will do everything to protect her children from anyone, even Montgomery. Therefore she will be able to kill anyone who hurt her children. She realizes that
she has made a big mistake for not knowing and indicating that abuse takes place. Her daughter never tells Nicolette about what her daddy has done to her before.
Nicolette knows it lately. A fierce anger surged up from the burning in my gut. “I would have killed
him…. I would have killed anyone I found hurting my babies.” I turned around, facing the doctor, whose face was clinically interested, but whose
eyes were bruised. “Anyone.” 146 Nicolette knows that Montgomery has the power to do everything
including taking the children back to him, and Nicolette does not want it to happen. Nicolette brings a gun in order to protect the children and her, herself and
to prepare from whatever can happen to them. Because she knows that she and the children are being hunt by Montgomery.
I was hyperalert, half-asleep, when I heard the crunch of sand and gravel beneath someone’s feet. I reached in the darkness for the 9mm handgun on
the bedside table. I kept it locked up while the children were awake, but on the day Montgomery disappeared at the airport, I began sleeping with the
gun near me, like a night-light or a teddy bear. 168 We can see that before knowing the truth about Montgomery’s sexual
deviation, Nicolette is a submissive wife. She remains obedient to his husband,
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although he often gives her punishments and it really hurts her. Nicolette changes into a wife who has left the house and Montgomery, decided to divorce him,
brought the children, and tried to converse him. The terrible thing she does is that she plans to kill Montgomery before he kills her and takes the children with him.
Montgomery is not the good husband she ever knows. Nicolettes uncovers that she knows all Montgomery’s betrayal. Gloriana is one of Montgomery’s affairs,
one of Montgomery’s betrayals, but, Montgomery’s sexual abuse is the biggest betrayal for her.
I screamed at him about trust and fidelity and disease and vows. I screamed about pain and heartache and Paris. I screamed all the things I
had felt when I looked at the pictures of my husband kissing Glorianna. I screamed all the feelings I had not reacted to that night. All the hurtful
emotions and pain I had pushed away because my girls’ pain was greater than my own. Theirs the biggest horror. The biggest betrayal. 252
Without thinking, Nicolette fires the gun on Montgomery. She does not
have the feeling of love anymore. She just tries to protect the children because she knows that Montgomery can do worse to them and because she knows that
Montgomery is going to kill her and take the children to be given to the Grande Dame DeLande, Montgomery’s mother. Then, she just does not want her children
will be raised in the weird and evil lifestyle. I pulled the 9mm and fired. Twice. he bullets hit him, one in the upper
chest, too high to stop him, one in the face below his left cheek, the reports loud in the empty house, the echoes going on and on. 291
Nicolette really sees how Montgomerry is falling and dying. She kills her
lovely husband whom she loves since she is a teenager. She kills the father of her children. She kills the husband who creates her dreams, to become wealthy and
prominent in social position, becomes reality. She can do this terrible thing
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because of her children. Montgomery’s sexual deviation makes her commits a crime. Before, Nicolette is a religious person. She really lays her life on God’s
hands. There is a time she has to lie to a priest in order to the children’s sake. Then, she feels so sorry and plans to do a confession. Killing Montgomery who is
her husband is a sin. She knows it, but she is forced to do it. I stood over Montgomery, the shotgun pointed at his face, his mask
changing, softening. I watched the life drain out of him. And only when he was long dead and the weapon hung heavy in arms did I step away. 291
A person must have significant people in their life that may affect their
personality. When the significant people in an individual’s life changes and when the individual tries to adapt the pattern of behavior, attitudes, beliefs, values, and
aspirations to theirs, changes in his her personality pattern are inevitable Hurlock 126. Montgomery, Nicolette’s husband is the one who can make her personality
changes. Her personality develops into worse when she has to face the hardest thing in her life, the terrible truth. Therefore, it deals with her husband’s behavior.
As stated in chapter two, Pikunas 58-73 states that there are five factors that influence the development process. The factors are environment, family, peer
as models, society, and culture. In this study, the development process of Nicolette’s personality is strongly influenced by family and society. In this study,
Nicolette’s family who takes a big part on her development process is Montgomery, her husband. Therefore, society here means the society where
Nicolette lives. She lives in a society where Montgomery and his family have the power to control the politics, the law, the money, and even their women. The
society where she lives also be the factor to change her personality.
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Montgomery had become a powerful man in Moisson Parish what with graft as crawfish and his passing out lavish campaign contribution. The
law would protect him. No matter what he did. 222 Nicolette and Montgomery lives in the society where money and authority
speaks more than justice. Whereas, Montgomery is wealthy and prominent enough. Besides, his family is one of Louisiana’s oldest and finest families which
has power to control the politics, the law, the money, and even their women. Nicolette knows it will be difficult for her to leave Montgomery including by
divorcing him. She thinks that killing Montgomery is the only way to protect the children because she knows that Montgomery will harm them and do worse to
them. In this study, society is also one of the factors which influence her to be a cold blood killer.
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CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
