#angeline fowl
I always hated Artemis’ mother
Like obviously Angeline’s breakdown after her husband’s supposed death wasn’t her fault, but she still sent her son away to boarding schools in foreign countries and treated him as much older and more independent than he really should have been at his age, and had replacement babies after she thought he had died. She seemed immature and childish and like Artemis was the adult instead of her. She didn’t understand him in the slightest and made no attempt to do so.
I never understood why Artemis didn’t express more anger towards his parents for the way they treated him especially after the Demon Colony
Aight, so here’s my two cents. I see a lot of my own mother in Angeline. They both were raised very wealthy and privileged, were likely rarely scolded, and were taught entitlement. They both exhibit narcissistic qualities, despite being loving and sweet-natured.
Now, Artemis was around 10 when his father disappeared, and because his father rarely interacted with him, I’d say this strengthened Artemis’ bond with his mother. She was all he had. Ofc he had Butler, but there is an unmistakable bond most children feel to their mothers, and Artemis is no exception. Artemis is smart enough to see through his mother’s hysterics, her flaws, and her gaslighting or blaming, but she is his mother. She is the only mother he will have, and he balances these two out in his head: to him, he is the *true* head of the household because they taught him he was. He doesn’t know anything else. He doesn’t know that children shouldn’t take on the responsibilities expected of him. He doesn’t know anything other than what his parents have told him he is.
Artemis doesn’t know who he is, so he will become whatever his parents mold him to be, even as a teenager and even as an adult. And because he doesn’t know who he is, that makes it easy for Angeline to manipulate him. You can’t really blame Artemis for not sticking up for himself or making demands of his mother or parents; that’s how victim blaming happens. He is desperate to have the family he was always told they were. He is desperate to belong, and to be loved. And many times, children will mix love and manipulation. They end up thinking they are the same thing. And to those who think he’s not being manipulated? Oh darlings… where do you think Artemis himself got it from?
