Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-34563899-20180202235154/@comment-31231929-20180206180206

I'm going to try and re-explain why I think Rumple's actions hurt Milah and I will try my best to provide evidence. So here goes:

Rumple and Milah are poor, which meant their lives were already difficult at the earliest point we see them in the timeline. Being socially accepted is very important in any society, but it can be even more important in a low socioeconomic status because it means you can get outside help. There is no government assistance where they live, so Rumple and Milah would have to rely on help from the other villagers if they needed it. When Rumple cripples himself, he becomes the village coward which causes his family's status in the social ladder to nose dive. When he returns, Milah is angry at him for injuring himself and lashes out. Milah was verbally abusive in this instance, but she was doing so because Rumple's actions hurt the lives of their family whether he meant to or not. So I can sympathize with her. Milah tells Rumple that "This isn't a life" (a sign of depression) and asks him if they could leave. Rumple then refuses to speak with her about it, saying "We talked about this." When Milah goes to the tavern in 5x14, she is harrassed. I believe this is due to the social status Rumple put them in. When Rumple comes back with the cure for Bae and tells her he sold his second born child. Milah responds with "You sold our child?" Rumple then says "We don't have a second born child. We just have to make sure we never do." To which Milah replies, "Because you sold it, you sold our future, our family." Hence why I think Rumple selling his reproductive rights was also selling hers. Yes, Milah was willing to kill Fendrake to save Bae, but she was in a desparate situation and it seemed like the only option she had. When Milah and Rumple meet up in 2x04 years after she runs away from her incredibly difficult life caused by Rumple which made her spiral into depression, he kills her for rejecting him. Before that, when Rumple confronts her about leaving Bae, she said "I let my misery cloud my judgement." He askes her why she was so miserable and she responds with "I never loved you." I believe this to be false because in 2x14 she looks at him fondly and is concered when Rumple tells her he's been called to the front. Rumple tells her he wants to prove he isn't a coward like his father was and she tells him to go and fights. They also say "I love you" and that they can "start living the life they've always dreamed of." So Rumple crippling himself essentially hurt Milah because it took away her (and their family's) oppurtunity at having the life they want.

Was Milah verbally abusive to Rumple? Yes. But she lashed out at him because he made their lives even more difficult then they already were which made her depressed. As someone who suffers from depression, I can understand why Milah acted the way she did. She wasn't right to be verbally abusive and leave her family, but I can symphathize with her given the situation she was put in.