Character pyschological analysis: Filling in the blanks: What Happened with Audrey?

Filling in the blanks: What Happened with Audrey?
A psychological analysis of Audrey during her important role in 'Educated'

Tara's brother Shawn mistreats his wife Emily, bringing back memories of abuse for Tara, who then contemplates her responsibility for Emily's safety and confronts an uncomfortable past. Tara is irresponsible and mishandles the situation horrendously. Audrey is involved in this issue and she is clearly torn between the same feeling of responsibility but also must deal with her family in a way Tara does not, which leads to an outcome unfavorable to Tara and she is unable to use Audrey to achieve her goal, and rather makes her situation worse. After one incident, she leaves the matter to her father and visits Audrey the next day.

Tara "drove seven miles along the mountain range" and "parked behind an RV that was nearly as large as the house itself." and so it appears that Audrey is close to her family (unlike Tara), she lives close to them and the large RV was likely due to the family's successful business (. This shows how confronting her parents later about Shawn's abuse is more complicated for her. Audrey answers the door in Pajamas with a child in her arms and more around her legs, providing a stark contrast with Tara, who rejected this life in choosing to pursue an education against the family's wishes. They are opposites, Audrey embodies what Tara was expected to become. The encounter is awkward, the "conversation was slow, halting. Audrey asked me no questions about England or Cambridge" however, this would be expected considering they had not spoken for so long. Alternatively, Audrey is wary of Tara because of her deviant behavior. Asking about college would be an easy ice-breaker. The family, specifically her father, likely condemned this decision and made it into a taboo subject. Audrey did not attend public school either, although she attempted to get a GED, it was determined her grade level was "between the fourth- and fifth-grade levels". Thus she can not understand Tara's life choices. When Tara repeats something Shawn used to say, Audrey's "mouth hung open in a perfect circle." This response seems exaggerated, perhaps fit with the plot of confronting Shawn, and maybe Tara said it intentionally to further this aim. Tara says it never occurred to her that Audrey would have suffered the same abuse, which makes her seem self-centered in only caring about herself. Tara makes it seem like this event causes Audrey to reach out about the subject.

Audrey's message is poorly written grammatically, but the inclusion of "little punctuation" may be the result of Audrey revealing a lot that was buried within her. Audrey said she should have stopped Shawn "before he could do to [Tara] what he’d done to her" and thus confesses her guilt, confirming Tara's realization. Audrey says she experienced post-traumatic stress prior to her wedding because of Shawn but her mother, Faye, rejected her claim, affirming her memories were false. Faye is intentionally gas-lighting Audrey. Before, Tara thought Faye was only unaware of the abuse. Thus it is difficult for Audrey to confront her parents on the matter, yet she will do this "with or without'' Tara, believing "God will hold me accountable". Gene is the patriarch and voice of God, while Audrey's intentions are good her father later uses her faith to manipulate her into giving up on this goal. Tara is not empathetic and actually resents Audrey for involving her, even though she felt the same. Audrey shows Tara's email to Faye and Tara is hopeful but still asks Audrey to wait. Despite saying that she knew what was at stake, Tara never acknowledges that the situation is more sensitive for Audrey, who has nowhere to go, children, and no way to sustain herself independently. Tara thinks only about herself, thus the plan was doomed to fail. The next time Tara goes home, Audrey is not getting anywhere and asks Tara to stay. Audrey says Shawn had become "too strong", his influence and persuasion were too great to confront him alone. Tara tried to evade the situation, giving excuses: "she wasn’t alone, she had Mother" and saying their parents "had changed and that we should trust them". Tara is uncooperative and is not taking responsibility. After this exchange, she "boarded a plane and took myself five thousand miles away". This seems like an admission of guilt on Tara's part, but she does not explicitly say she was wrong. Tara is concerned with her own life. Audrey, on the other hand, understands that she could become an outcast the way Tara did if she pursued this. Considering that guilt for Tara inspired Audrey initially, seeing Tara's reluctance undoubtedly would have made her reconsider her actions.

While in Cambridge, Tara receives a message from Audrey, reporting that Gene testified that Shawn was "cleansed by the Atonement of Christ" and that if Audrey "ever again brought up the past, it would destroy our entire family". So Gene has used his family's faith and Shawn does not take responsibility for his actions; the opposite of atonement. Audrey may be aware of this, but the fear of destroying her family is the more daunting aspect. Gene tries to manipulate his daughters, saying they must forgive Shawn or their "would be the greater sin". Audrey accepted Gene's demand and claimed she was provoked, and that Tara was in "the realm of Satan" and lived in fear. She ends her letter by saying Tara is not welcomed in her home, and that someone would need to supervise their calls to keep Audrey from "succumbing" to her influence. Tara is greatly surprised and offended even though she deserved this. Perhaps Gene successfully used fear of God to control the narrative (Jack). Audrey has grown up with him, and she has clearly followed the path he desired of her. Gene is a mastermind of distorting the word of God to control his children. Omitting Audrey's undetermined level of awareness in this mental abuse, she has only one option. She cannot leave her family nor destroy it. Tara nor her mother have helped her. If not motivated by fear, her choice was the only logical action if Audrey wanted to keep her life. It was easier to turn on Tara and be accepted back into the family than it was to confront Shawn or get help from Tara. In these instances of emotional abuse, there are roles, and it is better for Audrey if Tara remains the scapegoat (Adler). Tara is educated, and is more aware of what is going on and therefore cannot be controlled, unlike Audrey. Since Tara did not help Audrey when she needed her, it would be easier for Audrey to betray her and conform to the family's treatment of her as an outcast. Tara could not know what happened, surely Audrey was under immense pressure because of her close ties to the family. Gene admits there was physical abuse demanding that the past was forgotten, yet Audrey chose to suppress it again, perhaps perceiving Tara differently because of her father's dehumanization of her and thus she feels less guilty, and can let go of the past.

In conclusion, Tara's plan to confront Shawn falls apart. Her unreliability causes Audrey to lose her motivation. She does not show any signs of being aware of what Audrey is going through. Audrey does not have the same control over herself or her life, and therefore her decision is a logical one, whether she was doing what she thought best for her family, or what she actually believed was right by God. Audrey is the exact opposite of Tara and illustrates how a girl in this family without an education is trapped and subject to manipulation even when it defies morals she displayed and was going to act on at one point, and thus the women in the family experience the bystander effect in regards to Emily's situation.

Works Cited

Alder, Lana“5 Ways Toxic Families Rely on Gaslighting.” Psychology Today, 2020, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-autism-spectrum-disorder/202010/5-ways-toxic-families-rely-gaslighting. Accessed 7 Apr. 2021.

Jack, Claire “Gaslighting in the Family: 7 Ways to Fight Back.” Toxic Ties, 3 Aug. 2020, toxicties.com/gaslighting-family-member/. Accessed 7 Apr. 2021.

Westover, Tara. Educated: A Memoir. New York: Random House, 2018. Print