Born Beautiful, Rachel's Story #04

"You're not mad at me Hugo. You angry over all the other things that you can't control. You can control me. You don't know what you're doing in--"

"I know what I'm doing Olga," he said while watching his son manhandle his wife. "I'm disciplining you for disobeying and disrespecting me," he said staring at her wide eyed as if he was crazy and he was.

"You treat me as if I'm the enemy, a trespasser, and/or a poacher caught on your property instead of your loving wife," she looked at him with sadness before looking at him with insight. "You're not angry at me Hugo. You're angry with everyone else and everything not in your control," she said.

"You have crazy ideas Olga that a woman is as good as a man," said Hugo pushing his son back and away from his wife to allow him the room to pontificate his point while pacing back and forth in front of her as if he was a teacher lecturing and lambasting his only student. "How could you think that?" He shook his head. "I'll never understand why you think that."

"I'm human too Hugo. I deserve to be--"

"You're a woman. You deserve nothing. You deserve only what I give you," he said waving his finger in her face before slapping her again.

"I'm your wife and the mother of your children. Are you too drunk to know who I am? Your treatment of me is wrong. I deserve better than this."

"Deserve? You deserve nothing. You're entitled to nothing. It doesn't matter that you're my wife and the mother of my children. You're a lowly woman. Men are born to be God's soldiers. Men are the chosen ones, not women," he said pointing to the roof of the barn as if he was pointing to God sitting there in the rafters looking down at him with approval. "Men are smarter, stronger, and better than women," he said pounding his fist in the palm of his hand with the declaration of each adjective as if he was in church and pounding the bully pulpit. "Do you hear me? Do you understand?"

"Yes Hugo, my dear husband, I hear you and I understand you. I'm nothing and no one without you telling me when to eat, when to breathe," said Olga putting her head down in shame while mumbling the last part of her submission under her breath, " and when to shit."

"Women are only here to give men what we need, sons, food, and sex," said Hugo continuing his drunken sermon. "Women are only here to give men pleasure not pain, happiness not sadness, and obedience not disobedience. Worthless without me, you're not my equal. What I am is your superior, your protector, your provider, your teacher, and your disciplinarian," he said standing in place to puff out his chest and blow out his too proud nonsense. "The king of my castle, I'm the boss of you," he said pounding his chest before pointing at her.

"Yes, your majesty," she said under her breath too softly for him to hear but loud enough to make her son to smile.

"Don't forget that. Never forget that," said her husband slapping her hard across her face to get her attention when she looked away from him to look helplessly at her son. "How dare you not look at me when I'm talking to you!" He pointed his fat, stubby finger at her face. "Respect and obedience Olga, respect and obedience is all that I ask of you. Once you learn to respect and obey me, I won't have to discipline you again."

"Hugo, have mercy. I respect you and I obey you. I do. I really do. I've always been a good wife ever since I married you when I was only fourteen-years-old and you were twenty-four-years-old. You're my man, the only man in my life. Other than my son forcing himself on me with your blessing," she said looking at her son with an apologetic look before focusing her attention back to her husband, "I've always been faithful to you. Having intimately known you since I was a virgin on our Honeymoon bed, I've never been intimate with another man. Haven't I always given you the respect that you deserve for providing for me and our family."

"You respected me then. You obeyed me then but not so much now," said Hugo looking at her with disdain. "Now you say one thing and do another."

"I've always obeyed your every verbal command, your every unspoken look, and your every sexual whim? Proud to be your wife and the mother of your children, I've always treated you with the respect and obedience you deserve as you my husband and me your lowly wife. Please have compassion for me," she said begging him with her eyes and continuing asking for his mercy when he didn't answer her. "How can you do this to me after all we've been through together and after all that I do for you?"

Obviously feeling shame in being so helplessly humiliated in front of her son, not looking up at her husband, Olga stared at the ground in utter misery while sobbing.

"Just as I own this farm and these animals," he said looking around the barn before looking back at her, "I own you. How dare you bring that Women's Rights pamphlet in my house! How dare you have crazy thoughts of equality! How dare you think you're the equal of me! You must be punished for disobeying me and for disrespecting me," he said pointing his finger at her again as if personally blaming her for all of his political, economic, and social frustrations.

To be continued...