You Can See Everything: A Masterpiece in Cognitive Dissonance

Perhaps I’d think differently if not for the kids. It’s hard not to see two children, born right before an eleven-year prison sentence, as a Hail Mary for a lighter one. That intentional decision is the part of Holmes I can’t get past. Yes, an abusive relationship can push you into things you’d never choose. But does it let you forfeit your responsibility as a mother? Her protection of her own children seems to go about as far as her protection of her patients did. I’d love to see someone study what happens to maternal instinct under duress. Until then, must I conclude that she lacks the empathy of a mother?