On April 20, 1999, a mother's worst fear became a reality. Nothing could prepare Sue Klebold for the news that her impressionable son, Dylan, and his opportunistic friend, Eric, had gone to Columbine High School that morning with malicious intentions. Despite the fact that Sue was an active member of her community and a loving mother to her children, many parents and others nationwide were quick to attack her and her husband. How were they unaware of Dylan's poor mental state and his elaborate plans to attack his classmates? What kind of mother doesn't know that her own son is suffering? Almost seventeen years after the tragedy, Klebold released a memoir depicting the fateful day and its nightmarish aftermath, painting a picture of the many losses that she has suffered, including the physical loss of her beloved son, the loss of her perception of him, the loss of an ability to deny his pain and brokenness, and overall, the loss of a belief that life is logical and playing by the rules will prevent any suffering. Yet, out of all these losses, perhaps the most intriguing and disturbing is "the loss of her identity as something other than the mother of a killer" (Endnote 9).
…show more content…
The elaborate, protective, and onerous role of a mother is so subjective, but based on all of the ingrained societal standards portrayed in the news, film, social networks, and literature, Sue had failed at her womanly duty to defend her child from the bad in the world, while preventing him from being the bad in the
The elaborate, protective, and onerous role of a mother is so subjective, but based on all of the ingrained societal standards portrayed in the news, film, social networks, and literature, Sue had failed at her womanly duty to defend her child from the bad in the world, while preventing him from being the bad in the