Doug's Relationship With His Father Character Analysis

While Doug would not find happiness on heaven, he did find happiness on earth following his mother’s liberation from her marriage. Mark’s treatment of Trish as a child, his unwanted sexual advances on her, his repeated sexual assaults on her when she refused his advances, and changing her name without her consent were examples of his cruelty. The hatred that Trish felt towards Mark was reflected in the rebellious energy of Doug. Likewise, Doug’s dislike of his father, and refusing to be belittled by his father, stemmed from Mark’s treatment of Trish. Despite his father’s wishes, Doug signed a record contract and pursued a career in music. That act of rebellion was the freedom that Trish longed for, and it set the foundation for her divorce from Mark. It is not surprising that Doug encouraged Trish to leave his father. Also, …show more content…
This was due to Pat and Bee having a relationship that was genuinely built on love and appreciation of each other. Like Doug, Phillip also pursued a career in music. Working for orchestras and composing music was representative of Pat’s love of aesthetic and traditional works. Pat had no relationship to rebel from. Thus, Phillip’s music represented the calmness of her life, unlike Doug’s rock and roll music that represented the built-up energy that Trish had. Another aspect of Phillip’s personality that mirrored Pat was the communal relationship he entered. Reflecting the dynamic of the relationship between his mothers and Michael, the relationship that Phillip had with Sanchia and Ragnar was one based on free love, and were the norms of fatherhood and monogamy were discarded. In fact, Phillip cited his mothers’ relationship with Micheal as justification for the nature of his relationship. Moreover, Phillip’s marriage to Sanchia to ensure that the three of them were parents to their children, was identical to the proposal that Micheal had about marrying either Pat or Bee in case one of them