Whispers: by Belva Plain.

It is far too common a story as far as the first part goes, a man abusing his wife and pretending he is not doing it, telling her she fell, or that it was her fault making him angry. Most societies unfortunately go with the lie or help actively to perpetrate it - partly because the man has the power physically and financially in most cases, partly because the woman has the need and responsibility not only about the children but also for love itself, partly because most societies treat young women as commodity and if the man loses this one he has usually a choice of a hundred others, or more if he is young and attractive enough and doing well - or even if he is merely able to feed another one.

Uses to be that there was no redress whatsoever, and the women took it out on children if they could when it was impossible to keep it in, or on other helpless souls at their mercy if they could. And this suffering with the imposed inability to do anything about it made a separate culture of women all over the world that specialised in verbal and emotional weapons, so women could inflict tremendous damage without lifting a finger, merely by a gossip session or a raised eyebrow.

Times may have changed somewhat but not enough, as anyone can experience. Police have to implement the law after all and that is where it comes to finally, even if a nation and a culture is raised enough in awareness to have laws to protect a woman. Often the husband has connections who not only refuse to help the abused and victimised woman but help the husband track her down to kill her. Or he can afford powerful attorneys and deprive her of the children, reputation, and much more. Not too many people are willing to take on a man who will go to any length to persecute an enemy, preferring to stay on the right side of the bad guys even when their own self respect is involved, and certainly a hapless victimised woman is a cause for few.

On the other hand most are all too willing to malign or further abuse and attempt to corral any woman who manages to escape an abusive man, whatever her relationship with him - daughter, sister, wife, friend. Hunting an injured one for a bite is the game of ghouls, and people are all too willing to turn into one for a bite.

The good thing about this book is the successful escape of this woman from the abusive husband, and her not necessarily jumping into another relationship immediately for security, but taking her time. It is necessary to paint a picture where normalcy is restored with a little courage, so more and more women become persons rather than staying cowering penned in slavery, or do not use this usual scenario to make slaves out of perfectly good men by clinging to a false helplessness.

One excuse most abusers offer is that they cannot control their temper. This is obviously false, since few are so out of control that they would attack their physical or otherwise superior males - an abusive boss, a rich and insulting customer, an armed policeman, and so forth. It is only a helpless woman they attack usually in privacy behind closed doors, so there are no witnesses they cannot control.

Of course it is extremely useful to thrash the wife before small children so the children cower and obey and never take side of the mother or never attempt to protect her. It is a tactic that mostly works. If not, the abuser can go viciously after the child that dares to be just.

Not that different from the tactics of nazi or any other totalitarian faith, culture, system of ruling slaves.