Blame and Accountability in Parental Relationships
Matt Fowler:
Do you wanna know why our son is dead? Do you really wanna know? He went there not because of me. He was with her not because of me. He went there because of you. Because you are so controlling, so overbearing, so angry, that he was it! That he was our only son!
Ruth Fowler:
That is not true!
Matt Fowler:
Oh, yes it is. Yes, it is. Ever since he was little, you were telling him how he was wrong. I remember, one time you yanked him out of a little league game and sent him home, for throwing his glove in the dirt. He was what? Nine years old. Everything he did was wrong. Well, what was wrong with him, Ruth? You are so unforgiving. You are. That's what he said. And now you're pulling the same shit with me, and that's a horrible way to be. It's a horrible. You're bitter, Ruth. And you can point your finger all you want at me, but you better take a damn good look at yourself first.
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Confrontation Over Parenting Decisions
Matt Fowler:
I know what you think, that I was too lenient! That I let him get away with -
Ruth Fowler:
Everything!
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Resistance to Change Amidst Life's Transformations
Natalie Strout:
You don't change, do you?
Richard Strout:
Change? No. No, I don't change. Everything around me changes. You change. You take my house... and you take my kids... and you fuck this other guy. But me, I don't change at all.
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Parental Rights and Emotional Distance
Richard Strout:
Where are they? With him?
Natalie Strout:
That's none of your business.
Richard Strout:
They're my boys, but they're none of my business.
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School Priorities Over Romantic Distractions
Ruth Fowler:
He needs his head in school, not in her.
Matt Fowler:
So to speak.
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Reflections on Youth and Reality
Willis Grinnel: [watching Natalie]
What I would give to have back my youth.
Matt Fowler:
Well, Willis, you never had that in your youth.
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Silence Between Waves: A Reflection on Stillness
Ruth Fowler: [about her grief; [music]
It's like the moments between waves crashing—or pauses in ]. There's no noise, but it's deafening.
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The Complexity of Relationships and Traps
Matt Fowler:
Well, look. He lost an arm. The trap has nylon nets called "heads". Two side heads to let the lobster crawl in. And inside, what's called a bedroom head holds the bait... and keep him from escaping. You know the old saying: "Two's company, three's a crowd"? Well, it's like that. More than two of these in a bedroom and something like that's happen.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
