MovieChat Forums > Sling Blade (1997) Discussion > Who else disliked Linda?

Who else disliked Linda?


She loved Frank, but she was a terrible mother. She ALLOWED Doyle to terrorize her son!
All because she was afraid to be alone, because he threw her a *crumb* every now & then. And don't say its just 'because he threatened her'. She obviously had many chances to get rid of him & keep him OUT but she took him back.
Terrible.

I hated her almost as much as Doyle.



"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

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[deleted]

I think it's incredibly selfish of her to expose her son to Doyle just to save herself from "loneliness."

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Agreed.
And I hate it when women say "I'm all alone."

If you have a child or some other family member living with you, YOU"RE NOT ALONE!




I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

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The thing I found curious is that Frank talked at length about how Doyle had threatened to kill Linda if she left him and because of that she was afraid, but she never exhibited any fear in confrontation with Frank, she seemed quite assured around him. Vaughn also says that Doyle is a very dangerous person but he never comes across as one, little Frank stood up to him and all Doyle did was cave. He was a mean person and a bit of a douche, but dangerous? He seemed as though he only ever picked on people who were weaker than him because he knew they wouldn't fight back but if they did, he didn't appear to be a person who would be able to take care of himself. He certainly wasn't a big man, but a bully and a coward.

Best film ever made? The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

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The thing I found curious is that Frank talked at length about how Doyle had threatened to kill Linda if she left him and because of that she was afraid, but she never exhibited any fear in confrontation with Frank, she seemed quite assured around him. Vaughn also says that Doyle is a very dangerous person but he never comes across as one, little Frank stood up to him and all Doyle did was cave. He was a mean person and a bit of a douche, but dangerous? He seemed as though he only ever picked on people who were weaker than him because he knew they wouldn't fight back but if they did, he didn't appear to be a person who would be able to take care of himself. He certainly wasn't a big man, but a bully and a coward.

I got the impression from Linda that Doyle's behaviour was adolescent and should largely be ignored, she didn't appear to be afraid of him though.

Best film ever made? The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

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I don't hate her, she comes across as a kind hearted, generous person. Unfortunately for Frank, she is also stupid as a fence post. Everyone covered the Doyle situation already but her allowing Karl to not only befriend her young son but to move in with them without knowing basically anything about him is another huge sign of her lack of intelligence or judgement. The one piece of information about him that she does have is that he was just released from the "mental hospital." That failed to register on her Sit Up and Take Notice meter and, in fact, she doesn't even consider the reasoning behind his confinement any of her business. This dumb ass couldn't spot a warning sign even if she charged head first into one.

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cgsofwa... I hate to say it but I had a mother just like that, very kind but I'd hate to say stupid as *beep* I had a stepfather just like Doyle and I hated him with every being of my body and still do. I think it's great that you understand the difference between being a bad mother and being just plain stupid.

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I thought Linda was a sweetheart of a woman and a great mother.

BUT -- I don't know what the hell she was thinking when she let that monster Doyle into her life and her son's.

She took Doyle back -- over and over again -- despite that fact that he was a mean and emotionally abusive SOB, cheated on her, was nasty to her son, treated everyone like shït, drank and then became physically violent and had destructive tantrums, etc., etc., etc.

That she would actually entertain the thought of marriage to such a maniac, or even continue to see him, seems ridiculous.

She seemed too smart for that. I don't think a real woman would have been that dumbly blind and irresponsible.

It just strained credulity. I don't think it was realistic; it took me out of the film because it seriously did not ring true.

It just didn't make sense, and it's the one thing about the film I can't stand.

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I was in Law Enforcement for 12 years and unfortunately I can assure women like Linda are all too common. It's not that they're dumb or bad people. They just get caught in these cycles of abuse. Low self esteem and a lack of self worth are contributing factors.

In fact, if I was to take a guess, her father probably treated her and and mother the same way.

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I think it's more likely that the suicide of her husband that put here in a bad place. Abandonment is a terrible thing and if she had no other adults to turn to after his death she was probably caught in a perfect storm that lead to abuse and fear.

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WOW... How naive are you! It happens way more often than you can ever imagine. I grew up in a household just like that and I had a mother like Linda and a stepfather like Doyle. Believe me you are lucky to have never grown up around that.

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WOW... How naive are you!


WOW! Sor-eeeee!

I still say that Linda was not stupid.

She just seemed to have an incredibly bizarre blind spot when it came to Doyle, and previous scenes demonstrated that she knew how effed up he was.

So the fact that she would contemplate marrying Doyle -- or even stay with him -- was incomprehensible to me.

It just didn't seem realistic or believable to me.

I know you have described your own mother as "stupid," but I sure as hell didn't see Linda as dumb. She seemed intelligent enough to me.

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She was a spineless doormat of a woman. I didn´t care for her at all.


If it harms none, do what thou wilt.

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[deleted]

But I can't judge her. No one else should either.


Hey, no one is "judging" her. Merely expressing an opinion.

They can't understand why she stayed. You can rationalize it all you want. It seems a mystery to them and to me as well. Linda wasn't by herself since she had a young son (and his welfare) to consider as well as her own.

Do you think these men are monsters when the women first meet them? Of course not.


Your rhetorical question is pretty irrelevant. No one knows what Doyle was like when Linda first met him. But given his personality it should have become evident within a short timeframe that he was a total SOB (as someone stated in another thread).

Why do they stay? For many different reasons. Fear, financial reasons loyalty.


Another rhetorical question that comes across as rather preachy. When Doyle had his big blow-up after the band fiasco, Linda expressed the opinion that it might be better to be dead than go through what she did with Doyle. And that she was "tired of my child seeing this." So even she was capable of being pushed to the point where "fear" was no longer a factor. Financial reasons? No cause to stay with Doyle then. Frank even said Doyle didn't help Linda out with money. Loyalty? Why be loyal? Doyle ran around with other women.

And then she goes ahead and makes plans to marry the guy? It doesn't make sense.

I'm sorry about what happened to your sister, but her situation was very probably not the same set of circumstances as in this film. Each case is different.

Again -- no one is judging Linda. Merely expressing bewilderment at her actions (or lack thereof).

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[deleted]

I do think people judge when they make a statement like "Linda is a bad mother".


But no one said Linda was a bad mother. The other poster even said she was a great mother.

it's also a judgment.


No it's not. Merely an expression of bewilderment at her passiveness.

The Linda character was an abused woman and a victim. I guess because there weren't scenes showing physical abuse, some people downplay this point.


No one is "downplaying this point." Again, they're simply expressing bewilderment at why she didn't seem able to extricate herself from being an abused woman/victim. Seeing scenes of physical abuse is unnecessary. We already get it. We can see she's being victimized. So why doesn't she do something about it? She's got her young son to consider, not just herself.

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[deleted]

But the poster to whom you replied did not:

I thought Linda was a sweetheart of a woman and a great mother

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[deleted]

I didn't know there were rules.


Come off it, you're like a dog with a bone.

Everyone "gets" what you're saying, you don't have to keep repeating it.

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[deleted]

No, I didn't hate her. Her character is a relatable one. There are many women in relationships like hers,perhaps even more in small towns in the South.

She has no self-esteem, no family support, and she lives in fear of Doyle. Its easy to criticize her, but you don't know what its like to live in her shoes.

I'm a civilian, I'm not a trout

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People can really relate to this movie having had a mother like Linda and a step father like Doyle. Wow...feel really bad for any kid that lived in that environment....sorry but Linda was dumb and Frank and Karl were smart.

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thats what i was thinking,weak willed women make me puke,silly btch.

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She didnt allow doyle to terrorise her son: she lived in fear over what else he might be capable of doing. She was living in an abusive relationship with a controlling, manipulative and violent man. She had no idea day by day, hour to hour just how he would react. This fear clouded her judgement and made her desperate to think better of him than he was. A lot of the time, these women don't leave their abusive partners not because they're weak and spineless but because they're afraid it will be worse if they left. They're afraid their partner will literally kill them if they leave them.

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Yes she did allow him. She allowed him to boss them all around.

She brought him into the house to BEGIN with! She allowed him back after he assaulted her & others.

Linda most certainly allowed Doyle to torment her son. She was a spineless jackass.


I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

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